Painting plastic

JDemaris · Apr 11, 2009

Anybody painted their plastic or vinyl parts sucessfully?

I've got a plastic dashboard cover on a Chevy truck I want to change the color on, but also don't want to wind up with a mess later, that's worse than just being the wrong color.

I see Krylon is selling a paint called Fusion special made for this, but I don't want to experiment unless I know it actually works in the long run.

I've also heard that there are special dyes made that, unlike paint, will actually soak into the plastic - but I know nothing about them.

Anonymous-0 · Apr 11, 2009

I wanted to paint some PVC so Googled plastic painting and read up on the subject. The best is probably to get the same stuff an auto repair shop would use as a plastic primer and then cover with the desired color. I decided to try the cheaper and easier Fusion paint as a primer coat. Picked one that was close to the desired color and and it worked well, but would consider just going with white the next time. Used fine sand paper to rough the PVC a little and cleaned with lacquer thinner. The Fusion paint adhered very well. Allowed it to dry a week then covered it with the desired color standard paint and am happy with the results.

WantACaseLASomeday · Apr 11, 2009

If you have to take it out to paint it anyway, what does one the right color cost from a salvage yard? As I recall you are in a cold climate and I would think there would be too much shrinkage and expansion with the seasons for paint to work well. I had a Chevy dashboard split from the cold, and that was in central kansas, and it wasn't all that cold by standards in some parts of the country.

trucker40 · Apr 11, 2009

Either the dye or Fusion paint works good as long as you follow the instructions.You want to get whatever the instructions say to clean it with before you paint it or it could come off.Maybe ask a body shop how to do it and what to use.There is some stuff you mix with regular auto body paint that you spray on plastic bumpers that works good too.Dont remember what its called.

J.C.in AZ. · Apr 11, 2009

I use Krylon "Fusion" in the shop for painting my creations of plastic,mainly"G" guage model railroad cars,buildings etc.These creations when finished are put in an outdoor site and are subjected to the Arizona weather year around. Fusion seems to be somewhat UV resistant but I touch up and repaint all the parts of the display annually.I use it to restore my yard sale purchase of Ertl 1/16 Tractors and Equipment also.I also use Rattle Can's of Rustoleum spray on plastic with good results as far as UV and weather degradation are concerned also.Neither Paints are a long term answer to plastic color degradation however,in my opinion. JC

Michael Soldan · Apr 11, 2009

jdemaris,I have just used Krylon on an old Dodge truck door panels. The job turned out great and Krylon does exactly what it claims. The original red plastic had faded to an almost white colour. Be sure to thoroughly clean the plastic parts before appling the coating. The truck panels had been wiped with some kind of cleaner polish like Armourall or some such plastic preserver/cleaner. A good wipe with laquer solvent ought to do it. This paint was developed to paint and renew plastic lawn furniture and it does a great job! I should point out, if it starts to "fisheye" on you you need to clean the parts agin. A very fine sandpaper can remove flakes of dried plastic if they have deteriorated that much. The colours are limited but I got a red that matched up pretty close to the original panels.

Anonymous-0 · Apr 11, 2009

DoubleR · Apr 11, 2009

I painted the dash on a brand new chev. van in 1977. I used a aerosal can of Krylon paint made for plastic. It was green and I painted it brown and it still looked good 4 years later when I sold the van.

Stan(PA) · Apr 11, 2009

" I had a Chevy dashboard split from the cold"

Actually, most splits are caused by constant exposure to the sunlight (and heat). My experience anyway...

JDemaris · Apr 11, 2009

Several problems with that. I've already got my own private "junkyard" with over twenty 80s vintage Chevy trucks up in my field. All but one have crack dashboard covers that are falling apart and split in many places. The one good one I found is gold, and I want to stick it into a truck with a blue interior. This good one came from a southern truck, not a local New York truck.

The other issue is the idea of junkyards in general. Almost no such thing anymore around here, at least not for old vehicles. The only yard we have here now crush anything once it's 10 or 15 years old. This past summer when scrap was sky high, old trucks and cars got crushed all over.

JDemaris · Apr 11, 2009

Thanks for all the input. I'm glad to hear others have tried the Krylon. I was a little hesitant to try it.

glennster · Apr 11, 2009

well, if ya wanna get tricky, there is an adhesion promotor that we shoot on bumper covers so you can get the paint to stick. but, you can also for a dash or interior use a hot temp lacquer thinner, it is slow evaporation and will bite into the plastic, just give it a quick wipe on a rag, dont give it a bath, let the solvent flash off prolly a couple minutes and lay the color on it!!!

Painting plastic

JDemaris

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Anonymous-0

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WantACaseLASomeday

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trucker40

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J.C.in AZ.

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Michael Soldan

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Anonymous-0

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DoubleR

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Stan(PA)

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JDemaris

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JDemaris

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glennster

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