How To Paint Plastic Car Parts. If you’ve ever looked at your car and thought about how easy it would be to spruce it up with a little paint, you’re not alone. Painting plastic car parts is more affordable than buying new ones and can renew the look of your vehicle. However, many people have found that painting plastic can be somewhat tricky if they don’t know what they’re doing. Read on for tips on how to get the best results when applying paint to your plastic parts:
Choose a Hot Day and Direct Sunlight
Choose a hot day and direct sunlight to help the paint dry quickly. The paint needs to dry quickly to avoid bubbling, peeling, cracking and yellowing.
Mask off the Area Around the Plastic
When masking off the area around the plastic, you can use many different materials to do so. Some of these are tape, paper, plastic, and paintable plastic.
Tape is available in many varieties such as painter’s tape that comes in various shapes and sizes. It can be used for light color touch-ups or even for applying multiple coats of heavy duty paints with its ability to withstand heat and chemical solvents. In addition to painting over it without warping your project surface due to its strong adhesiveness when exposed to temperatures above 350 degrees Fahrenheit (176 Celsius) or freezing cold weather conditions (below -50 degrees F).
Papers can be used depending on what type of surface needs protecting while painting but also because they’re easy-to-remove afterward! For example: newspaper works well if there aren’t any important details underneath but if there are then try using something else instead like cloths cut up into squares that won’t leave residue behind once removed later on down the road after completion.”
Sand Smooth and Remove Dust and Dirt
Before you begin painting, use sandpaper to smooth out any imperfections in the plastic. Once that has been done, remove dust and dirt from the area with a vacuum (you can even use your hand-held vacuum for this). Make sure to not leave any dust behind or it will get into your paint job and cause problems later on! Finally, wipe down the area with water so that it’s completely clean and dry.
Apply Primer to the Area and Allow to Dry Completely
Primer may not be necessary for all plastic parts, but it’s a good idea to use it if you’re painting on a part that is extremely sensitive to heat or moisture. Primer will help the paint adhere to the plastic, which in turn makes for better coverage. If you’re using a brush, apply primer directly to the surface with light strokes in one direction. If you’re using a sprayer, apply two thin coats of primer and allow each coat to dry thoroughly before applying another one (this will help prevent bubbles).
Apply Your Paint, Allow to Dry, Apply a Clearcoat, Allow to Dry
Now that you’ve cleaned and prepped your plastic parts, it’s time to paint. You’ll need a few things:
- Paint. Be sure to use the right kind of paint for your project. For example, if you’re painting plastic parts on a model car or hot rod and want them to look realistic, grab an acrylic enamel. If you’ve got some old plastic toys or toy figurines that need fixing up, consider brushing on liquid polycaprolactone (which is a clear synthetic resin) instead of painting them with traditional enamel paints because their high viscosity makes them ideal for fixing cracks and chips in plastic toys without running down their sides like water-based enamels would do
Use Automotive Plastic Adhesion Promoter When Needed
If your paint is not sticking to the plastic, consider applying a plastic adhesion promoter. This will help improve the bond between the primer and the plastic. Most spray-on adhesion promoters are formulated for automotive plastics, but you can also apply them with a brush or by hand if needed.
Painting plastic car parts doesn’t have to be difficult
The first step in painting plastic car parts is choosing a paint that’s compatible with the material you’re working with. For example, if you’re painting a part made of ABS plastic (like most exterior body panels), it would be best to use an epoxy-based primer for your base coat and paint. This will help ensure that your paint adheres well to the surface of your part and doesn’t peel or chip off over time.
Paint provides only one line of defense against discoloration and cracking: it cannot protect itself from UV rays or moisture alone. Therefore, masking off areas where there is no paint (for instance, around rivets) is crucial before applying any sort of clear coat or sealant.
Sanding down rough edges on plastic parts will make them easier to clean up when sanding off old finishes—if there are still pieces left behind after sanding, they may cause scratches in new coats applied later on in this process if not removed beforehand!
Conclusion
We hope you’ve enjoyed this guide to painting plastic car parts, and that you’ll be able to use it to give your vehicle the new look you’ve been wanting. Once again, we recommend always starting small and testing things out on a small area of your surface before going all-in. The last thing you want is for something to go wrong with an entire piece of plastic or an entire side of your vehicle, so never hesitate to try out a new technique in small doses first!
