Painting Plastics

[atotx]

I've seen similar posts, but...

I'm looking at painting my 04 sportsman 600. I really dont want to replace the plastics with the other colors available through Polaris. I'm looking for a flat black finish from front to back, or something similiar.

Question 1) Has anyone ever tried rhino lining on plastics? If I took it to them to paint, i wonder if their lifetime warranty would apply?

Questions 2) Has anyone ever tried to powdercoat their plastics?

Any and all suggestions are definitely appreciated.

Thanks

Josh

[HappyCamper]

Don't know why it wouldn't work. Cars are all plastic now. Would need to rough up the surface so you didn't have the clear coating on it. I have used Polyurethane to touch up where I have scratched off the finish. Worked for me and you can't see the difference but I wasn't changing the color.
Item 2. I just looked on Google. There are companies that do powdercoat plastic. Look at this site: http://www.wrightcoating.com/service...s/default.html . I don't know anything about them but it is a start for your answers.

[chopper89]

It depends if your plastic is painted. if its not painted then its color impregnated plastic, and this can not be painted and made to last. the uv protectants that protect the color from fadeing in the sun wont allow paint or whatever to adhere to it. It wont fly off but any time a branch or any thing rubs against it. The paint will come off.If its painted then simple preping and cleaning will work . If you want to use rhino liner and your on a budget get a red scuff pad from a napa or autozone......etc. degrease with actone or automotve degreaser if you got it and apply to the directions. and if your uncertain if its painted or colored impregnated plastic take some sand paper around 320 or so and sand in a spot that you wont see, the bottom of a fender and if the color stays the same its impregnated plastic if you see layers its painted.
The plastics on cars are mostly polyolifins. and they come primed from the manufactures,or bare plastic for some imports, which is a whole diffrent matter i digress. plastic on cars are not the same as color impregnated plastic.

[atotx]

I spoke with a friend that works with Rustoleum, they have a plastic aresol that I might try. I'll clean with a mild solvent and scuff sand. This paint he recommend is supposed to fuse with the plastic. Guess we'll see.

Let's say this doesnt work and the paint does not hold up, does anybody offer aftermarket fenders for the sportsman? Will other year models or body types fit? Again, I have an 04 Sportsman 600.

[chopper89]

check with blueline he,s really good with parts for polaris, as for the arosol try a small spot first . let it dry as per directions and sand a little spot and if it doesnt peel when you sand on it you have decent adhesion, I dont know how durable it will be down the road though.

[craigooo]

Go Vinyl, Ive seen someone paint impregnated plastics and it does just what Chopper89 said it will do. Scratch like a lottery ticket. Have you considered Vinyl, its expensive compared to rustoleum but cheaper than a new fender by far.

[atotx]

Craig, are you suggesting a vinyl paint, or having a sign company custom make a vinyl sticker to wrap the plastics?

[jethrob]

I've dealt with painting boats some, gelocat is kind of the same deal, very hard to get stuff to stick to it.
You have to use a special primer that kind of softens the gelcoat and then bonds with it to get a paint to stick.
Also you are abosulety waisting your time if you are not spraying a paint that has a hardner in it. It's going to look like ass in a hurry. Also polyurethane based paint sticks much better to surfaces like this. It's a lot sticky'er.
You're only other chance is to do camo. You could do a flat black camo pattern with a couple different shades of black and gray that would look cool. Also touch ups would not be a prob. You'll just have to get the rattle can out once a year or so and add a little more pattern.

[n2mudn]

i talked to a local sign company about camoin mine and he said if i would bring the plastic pieces to him it would only be about $200.00 to wrap it. he suggested to paint the inside of the fenders with rustloeum flat black paint. he said that he has quality vinyl that would hold up pretty good. trust me spend the extra money and wrap it. if you want it to look good and last long. i painted the fenders on my old 400 ex and it sucked. the slightest little thing would scratch abd show the old yellow underneath, and my friend is a body man and he helped me prep it. just my opinion

[redneck2725]

Wrapping is a great idea. I could have one of the first camo sport quads. Might be a neat thing to do