Painted plastic - how has it held up?

[nate007]

I'm gettin gready to redo mine, as well as do all of Vinnie's pannels. I'll try to keep the camera handy for some progress shots. (IF my shop gets cleaned up first!!))

 

[CANAM 4 Stroker]

Do you require the use of professional spray gun equipment to get these results ? Surely this wasn't done via a spray can was it ??

 

[SledFreak]

If I still got it next year, I may get one of you guys to do mine. They look great.

 

[rehm70]

Will b sprayin mine Firecat Orange.......prolly have similar to '07 stock Apex graphics without the checkers....post pics when I get it done...

 

[Daranello]

that nytro looks sick i love the chrome number plate (see the trees in the backround) lol

Holly #*$&@, I thought that was a gay murral of trees.....

I can't beleive how cool that looks

 

[nate007]

I do use a spray gun. The only thing I've used a rattle can on are the vent panels. I think if you had an auto body supply shop put regular auto paint in a spary can, you may achieve decent results, but you'll have alot more finish work to do nce its done. (buffing, etc..)
Definately worth the money to get a good paint gun. I used to paint for a living, so I have one that I paid quite a bit for back in the day, but you can get a great quality gun for a couple hunderd bucks, and sell it on e-bay once you're done with it.

 

[giddy up go]

I used the Kryrlon Fushion paint from the local Canadian Tire. I only painted the three air vents at the front of the Rtx. The yellow matches up almost perfect with the yellow on my sled. All that being said I lightly sanded the plastic parts wiped them with mineral spirits and then painted, simple, I can do it anyone can. This was last year and it's still looks like day 1 that I did it.

 

[NOS-PRO]

I need to find an all blue seat cover for the Nytro, and that one will be finished.

The brand we use is Sikkens paint. They have a plastic bond agent that is real porous so the primer eats into the plastic, and the paint adheres to the primer. The body shop that did all my sled painting specializes in corvette plastic and fiberglass.

 

[rehm70]

those sleds look great

 

[yamadoo]

There is a good long post on this from last year. I do not know how to highlight it but search under scooter1 as author and you will see the prettiest blue and white Apex.

If I remember right scooter did an additional immersion step he doesn't tell us about.LOL

Yamadoo

 

[nate007]

Its really not that difficult, and given the abusive conditions of a sleds life, you can still make a very good looking and durable paint job without a ton of "tricks" The plastic doesn't flex anywhere near enought to have peeling problems from anything but the crappiest paint, so dive in!
The only "trick" I do is to take some time and thoroughly rough the panel with 80 grit paper on a DA, taking time to get all the hard to reach areas. I then prime the parrts using an epoxy primer. Using a primer with a hardner gives both a chemical bond, as well as a mechanical bond with the 80 grit. The hardening primers have a greater resistance to peeling and cracking, and dont shrink when subjected to extreme temperature changes. (rolling a frozen sled into a heated garage)
I'll be doing a step-by-step thread on these paint jobs as soon as I get my shop cleaned out, hopefully tomorrow.

 

[NOS-PRO]

Nate is correct, unless you really are snowcrossing or doing a lot of boondocking thru trees where the branches can scratch the paint, you shouldn't have a problem making your sled look good. These panels don't flex all that much, so get to painting! Let's see them!

 

[nate007]

Just make sure you thoroughly sand the hard to reach areas. Dont just use a scotchbrite pad, either. Get in there with a Dremmel if you have to. The first areas to fail will be the lower countersunk screw holes on the lower panels of the Apex, as well as the edges of the lower panels where they wrap around the running boards near your feet. I also had some issue near the back of the tunnel, where the rear bumper cover had chipped, maybe from kicking ice and snow off, or not having the panel fasteners start backing out, allowing it to rattle around a little.
I beat the crap out of mine, running through high grass and weeds, cat-tails, off trail timber riding, and hardly had a scratch from trail debris, so spend the money on good quality paint and clear!! It will pay for itself on a longer lasting job. Just don't expect it to be a show quality sled for years to come, unless you don't ride like I do.

 

[SRXSex]

STILL ON & STRONG

I seen Bountehunters's sled on th Manitoba ride, I cant belive the coulor and the dash board, it was beautifull..