for those of you that have painted some of the plastic pieces on our trucks i need some info on this i know to buy color matched black paint and a adhesive promoter and clean the plastic but with what? and what type of prep should i do? i want a nice finish and i am looking to paint the following, door handles, mirrors, faded black bumper inserts and the plastic valance where winsheild wipers are and the grill frame(which is chrome plastic), im sure theres more im just not thinking of it all as i will do some interior stuff as well, do i need to sand these items if so how much and what grit? im looking for advice cause i want this stuff to look amazing it all wont be done at once but piece by piece as i have xtra time thanks to all yall ....jay

 

ok well the dealer only sells color matched paint in 5oz bottles for 15 bucks but you can get homedepot spray cans for $6 bucks that are 11oz. Me and teach both did that so i bet he will chime in.
as for the prep of the plastic like handles and cowl. i sanded them with 400 grit sandpaper and then sprayed duplicolor adhesion promoter(6 bucks at pepboys) then three coats of paint and 3 coats of clear. you can sand the 1 coat of paint with 1000 grit sandpaper to get it smooth and then spray the next coats. when i cleaned the handles i just washed them in the sink with soap and water.

 

I plan on painting the top piece of my front bumper and light inserts too at some time. This helps alot.

 

I too have painted a couple of plastic pieces on my truck. Silver got the jist of it pretty good.

The main thing you want to remember is, a good prep is the key. The more time you spend prepping, the better the job is going to turn out.

When I painted my handles, I used 400 grit sandpaper to break down the texture. Then, instead of using 1000 grit, I used a steel wool pad to smooth out. When I was done sanding, I used laquer thinner to make sure there was no more contaminates on the plastic.

I shot my first coat thin, and even. Then the second and third coat, i laid a little thicker, getting the tone set. After I let it dry for a while, I sprayed three coats of clear on to of that.

When I did my cowl, I did 5 coats of paint, and 5 coats of clear. Same prep process.

Instead of paying the dealership a million dollars for paint, I too went to home depot and bought paint there. I sprayed a concealed area to ensure a color match. Got lucky on the first try. Black wont be so hard to match, I would think.

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out.

 

I painted a few of my plastic pieces and this is what I did. First, I hit the piece with a good degreaser. I personally like simple green but you can use whatever you like. After degreasing I sand the piece down with some 320 grit sandpaper. I have found that it makes the plastic smooth but still leaves just enough texture to help the paint stick. After that, I spray it down with some adhesion promoter. Then I go to my color coat and finally finish it up with some clear. So far all the pieces that I have done this way have come out looking good and ther hasn't been any peeling or flaking on any of them.

 

so i dont have to use a color match just matched color what about krylon fusion paint its for plastic? and what about the grill same prep on it? is it vinyl ?

 

On the grill I did the same steps. As long as you prep it good the paint job will come out looking nice. If you are trying to match the black, try the duplicolor black plastic trim paint (I think that is what it is called). I have found that a few coats of that followed by a good clear matches the factory paint very well.

 

well the weather seems to be getting better after a weeks worth of rain and 2.5 days of work that really hurt wallet....so i think i might get after some thing on my projects my taillight tint arrived yesterday and that will be the first to go on it looks to have a green hue to it on the paper looks odd but i clipped a small piece off and stuck it to my lights and im gonna like this stuff hopefully it all goes on good and then well see how the weather is holding out and i might pull my grill off and get it ready to paint well see how it goes.....any advice from off road for the tint application or even raider jay any advice guys......to make this an easier process other than take my time and do it right.....

 

jeez as soon as i said something bout the damned weather it starts pouring again cant i get a break jeez.....radar shows about a half hr a rain so ill haveta wait somemore....booooo

 

I only use auto paints. Just sand all the pieces with high grit sand paper then wipe them down. Duplicolor ( i think) makes auto prep wipes. You can get them at autozone, oreillys, etc. Just make sure you paint them in a dust free area. Also try to get some type of heat source by the parts.

If its raining, whats the temp down there?