Preping plastic interior parts for painting

[rhenry01]

I was watching the DIY channel (they have great auto shows on Saturday morning) and they were explaining how to prep interior plastic pieces for paint. The Expert said to use Denatured Alchol to clean the parts because it does not react with the plastic and really gets all the dressing (armor all) off the plastic. He said that if there are no repairs on the panel you DO NOT need to prime the piece. The expert also said that you don't have to sand the pieces before painting.

From the DIY web site....


To clean and paint interior plastic pieces of your car, you can use denatured alcohol to clean the plastic (it will not damage the plastic). Make sure you wear gloves and safety goggles. Just pour some alcohol on a rag and wipe the area clean. Go back over it with a dry rag.
To paint, you need good ventilation and the weather should be 70 degrees or above with low humidity. Primer should not be needed with the proper prep. If you sand the plastic, you can lose your texture. If you do repair, you would need to apply a primer -- make sure it is one that is made specifically for plastic and made to flex with the plastic material being painted to avoid cracking.


Sure makes our job easier!

[FI_Showboat]

hell i just wiped mine off and primed it anyway and sprayed mine only thing i didnt prime were my AC vents i mean i just did it and it looks aight something differnet to look at while im driving i wish i would have thought about the alcohol though DAMN oh well

[PicupmanS10]

Yes, you can use denatured alcohol to can plastic parts,. If you have been using Armour all of anything like that on you dash, door panels, or anything plastic, you will need to wash you part with some type of soap and water. You can also go to your local auotmotive paint supply shop and purchase a can of prepsol or some type of precleaner you use to get any grease and wax off you items you want to paint. you also need to male sur the paint you are planning to use is for plastics and will adhere to plastics. If they don't you will have to get some primer that is for plastics and prime you items first and then paint them. I have seen this show. It is call Tricked Out and comes on DIY Network on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings. Good luck to everyone who wants to change up the inside of your rides. Later Dawgs

[Slicker]

Old thread but I'll reply anyways.


I used a brake cleaner to clean my interior pieces. I then wetsanded them down with 60 grit, then 150 grit, then 220 grit. Used a filler primer to fill in the spots that didn't get sanded well, then used 220 on that, then a 400 grit before painting. If you don't get all the rough spots out after you final paint just use 600 to go over it all then paint again. I then cleared over it to make it shiny as hell.

[ocyberbum]

awesome.....you make it sound so easy... I might try it myself!!!!! Last time i tried i used air tools..and thats a bad idea if you don't know what you are doing!!

I wonder if this is in our How2Section......

[lowbody2]

i was talking to a paint rep in the area and he told me that you dont want to sand the plastic with anykind of sandpaper. he told me to wash it in hot water with some like dawn dishwashing soap. then use a plastic prep clean stuff. after doing that spray with a plastic adhesion promotor(sherwin willams or tape have one in a aersol can). i told him i wanted to do away with the grain look, and he told me to do that then primer with a good urethane primer. then you can sand it smooth with 4oo grit wet sand paper. if you go though the primer though you have to spray the ahension promotor on any bare plastic and reprime. you may have to sand and reprime several times before you get the smooth look you are after. on my old s10 i did the windshield pillar panels the old way; 80 grit paper to smooth, and then primed it 3 or 4 times and they came out nice. no problems. i did the radio trim piece in the tracker the new way and no problems. granted the trim piece wasnt textured. the reason i got into the conversation with the paint rep about this is cuz of the bumpers on the tracker were textured. i had a problem getting the paint to stay on the bumpers. he told me the problem was that plastic is porous(spelling) and when you sand the bare plastic you are melting the pores closed and over time they will open up and the paint will bubble. i forgot after you wash the part down with dawn, you can scuff the plastic with fine scuff pad, i think they were orange or white. not sure, but it was finer than the grey ones. also when you scuff use a product called scuffy stuff or something simular. i know this is probably dont make much sense as i am better at telling stuff in person than typing it out.so if you have any question feel free to call me at 757 547 9197 before 10pm .:the man: