Painting Plastics

[96saturnsl]

True; but ive painted alot of cars too and ur dark color idea is right in some ways. if u sand the primer just till its smooth with a dark color u will see the sand scratches...but if u sand it till u can barely see the sand scratches ur good. i see what u mean man. but to save urself the hassel and more work id just wet sand with a lower grit thus less sand scratches and less primer thats needed. then u dont have to buy the really expensive primer either. u can get away with the cheap stuff and still have a finall peice that u wont see the marks in. just a tip for those who dont wanna sand more than u have to. id recomend using lower gritt off the bat. 80 grit is a little too corse if u ask me...nuttin wrong with what ur saying just trying to help. if u have problems with the scratches at the end tho take some 400-500 grit sand paper and LIGHTLY sand the scratched area down then make some paint and if u put the paint on dry ( may use a little more ) it will look perfectly fine. so dont apply too much pressure. and when i say put the paint on dry i mean spray it but hold the can/gun back about 7-9 inches and it wont look shiny when u spray it on. but it will get rid of the scratches. ik im only 18 but i do know what im talkin about with autobody and painting. just some hints man no offense.

Thats a sick little truck too man.

[EpicenterDesigns]

96saturn,

I am not taking offense to what you are saying. I agree with you.

I think you are thinking I am wet sanding with 80 grit. I am NOT. I use that to knock down any high runs in the filler primer.

I always finish sand with 400 before base, if not smoother.

Now the reason I use the filler primers like I do...time.

I build door panels, sub boxes, dashes. etc. with fiberglass. After the body work is roughed in with 36 grit, I Rage it with 80 grit and then filler prime it.

Spend less time messing with pinholes and shit = money.

Then I use the 80 grit on big runs and then jump to 220 and then 400.

I don't really do vehicles much. To much time and repetative.

[Texas Tech]

I havent done this process to paint a dash but i would think directly wetsanding my dash would just like ruin the vinyl it is wrapped in and make it look crappy...

So painting the dash is very very similar to painting plastic parts...almost the exact same. Did I miss any steps in my step by step process on how to paint the dash, other than the adhesion promoter before the fillerprimer

[EpicenterDesigns]

I havent done this process to paint a dash but i would think directly wetsanding my dash would just like ruin the vinyl it is wrapped in and make it look crappy...

So painting the dash is very very similar to painting plastic parts...almost the exact same. Did I miss any steps in my step by step process on how to paint the dash, other than the adhesion promoter before the fillerprimer

If the vinyl dash is hard enough to paint, then it is almost a plastic anyways. Wetsanding it won't hurt it. It isn't like your holding it under water. Your just keeping the surface wet.

But you DON"T HAVE TO WETSAND it to get it smooth. Sometimes I just sand them. Applications vary.

The dash is done in the same process as other plastic parts. Correct.

You have the steps correct.

[EpicenterDesigns]

And I see this got Stickied.

Thanks.

[Texas Tech]

thanks for answering all my questions, i appreciate the kindness. As of now, i do not have any vagueness about how to paint plastics, thanks agains. hopefully ill start tearing out some parts in my car and go at it

[96saturnsl]

You hit the nail on the head man lol. i thought u were wet sanding with 80 i was like are u insane? that wont work well try it lol. yea 80 grit on primer is good just to knock down the high spots and runs...but i wouldnt apply too much pressure or use that grit too long on it..then ull have to worry bout scratches...but seeing that ur not ur all good man. thanks for clearing that up i just wanted to be sure

[JustinT]

Does this technique include the pieces of the plastic on the outside of a truck such as the bumper and door handles?

[JustinT]

what would you suggest for the chrome strip and bowtie for this chevy?

http://www.baileysautosales-parts.com/nss-...ril06%20005.jpg

[B Slaps]

they do sell plastic paint if you dont want the smooth look but yea thats a hell of alot of wet sanding i remember making a fiberglass dash with a indash in my 83 chevy fullsize. be prepared to sand forever it seems. but if it was easy everyone would do it. pics of dashes on here and wiper cover? looks sick as f*ck.