Required prep for painting plastic bits?

[e304me]

Man, I just painted all of my trip (yes ALL of it) and my sideskirts with SEM, wish I would have know about the duplicolor stuff. Oh well it all looks great

[cncmastr]

Do you guys have any before and after of the plastic painting work, i'd like to get an idea of how it comes out.

[StereoInstaller1]

So now I feel like a total ass because I just took my grill, cleaned it really well with warm water after sanding it with some fine grit (like 400 or 500) and then painted it with some plastic bonding paint... Only problem is it came out matte instead of satin like said... Any suggestions? Their euro grills too so I cant just hit a junkyard

Sadness

oh bummer...you didn't test first?

As said before, get satin clear. Adhesion will be perfect.

Next time TEST FIRST!

(but you already knew that, right?)

[zshopa]

So now I feel like a total ass because I just took my grill, cleaned it really well with warm water after sanding it with some fine grit (like 400 or 500) and then painted it with some plastic bonding paint... Only problem is it came out matte instead of satin like said... Any suggestions? Their euro grills too so I cant just hit a junkyard

Sadness

the difference between satin and matte is kind of tough if you are using a spray can, but if it is matte now try spraying it with some matte(satin) Clear and see if you like the finish it should give it a slight shimmer and make it look more "satin"

[zshopa]

Thanks Zshopa and Luke. I've got body trim, a rear IS lip, bumper trim, grills, headlight rings, and wiper arms. Think it'll work for all of those bits?

the key to any type of body work/ painting is the Prep! if you remember that and follow it religiously you will have good results no matter what it is you want to paint.

[London]

So now I feel like a total ass because I just took my grill, cleaned it really well with warm water after sanding it with some fine grit (like 400 or 500) and then painted it with some plastic bonding paint... Only problem is it came out matte instead of satin like said... Any suggestions? Their euro grills too so I cant just hit a junkyard

Sadness

[Cloudbase]

Thanks Zshopa and Luke. I've got body trim, a rear IS lip, bumper trim, grills, headlight rings, and wiper arms. Think it'll work for all of those bits?

[Schnitzer318is]

LOL @ your new sig Luke.

[StereoInstaller1]

The only Duplicolor I could find at my local auto parts store (checker and autozone) is called "Bumper Cover" This looks different than satin, almost complete matte. There was another one called "Trim" that looked similar, but still more matte than satin. Is "Bumper Finish" the exact name of what you use? There are a couple more advanced stores I could check.

Thanks...

Yes,that is the exact product. It might be a little closer to matte than satin, but nowhere near flat.

Look for pics of my car. Bumpers, grille, any interior pieces...all that same product. "Trim" is much "flatter", BTW: SEMs trim is flatter yet.

GL!

Luke

[zshopa]

yea its fine, spray it on something else and see if you like the finish

[Cloudbase]

Cool thanks. I'll do that for sure.

But I'm still curious if the duplicolor stuff you are using is called "bumper finish", because the stuff I've got is called "bumper cover". Is this what you guys are talking about? I don't think it is...

[zshopa]

the bumper finish will look fine, and will be more durable, just prime it with a nice high build primer to fill in sand marks then wet sand the primer with 1500 clean that off and spray it with the finish, also if its too flat for you i would get a can of matte clear and it will give it a satin look

[Cloudbase]

I HIGHLY recommend using Duplicolor Adhesion Promoter and "Bumper Finish". You will have an incredibly long lasting flawlessly satin finish that will ALWAYS draw compliments and questions. It 100% kicks the crap out of SEM, and I have been using SEM for over 25 years (it used to kick ass).

The only Duplicolor I could find at my local auto parts store (checker and autozone) is called "Bumper Cover" This looks different than satin, almost complete matte. There was another one called "Trim" that looked similar, but still more matte than satin. Is "Bumper Finish" the exact name of what you use? There are a couple more advanced stores I could check.

Thanks...

[longms]

Dish soap and sanding. I started with 320 and finished with 600 just cause I had TONS of time and they turned out really well.

[zshopa]

+1.

400grit is ideal for painting so it doesnt flake off or show scratches.

^^what he said, also for prep, I like to use dish soap and rinse it off real well before painting ive had better success with that.