Wilsons Sandbox

Jim, I haven't painted the stock body panels but I have painted, and repainted my Acerbis disc protector with good results. I used this process on the advice of a friend who works in the paint booth of the defense plant I work at. First, clean thouroughly and then wipe the area to be painted down with acetone. This I'm told etches the top shiny layer of the plastic just enough to let the primer take hold. After the acetone has evaporated wipe it down again with standard paint thinner/mineral spirits and let it sit for longer enough for the minneral spirits to evaporate. This will eliminate any acetone reside which is not compatible with your spray paint, the mineral spirits is. Then spray with a good quality primer, I like DeRusto because the stuff will stick to Teflon if you need it to. Here is the critical part of the process. You must spray all surfaces, inside and out. If you just paint the front it will be more likely to peel off after it is scraped on an edge, but if it is painted inside and out, or at least around the edge of the inside surface, it will hold up well and not peel off. After you've primed it the you can paint with whatever colors you choose. This process has worked well for me on my disk protector which is very flexible and by all rights shouldn't hold paint at all. I've also used the same process on some miscellaneous aftermarket Jeep parts for my 1979 CJ7. Hope this helps. Good luck. K.C. 2 A14s in Monkton Vermont

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., "jimsherlock" wrote: > Has anyone here been successful in painting their KLR plastic and it holding? If it would work in the high heat and high humidity of central Texas, I'd like to give it a try. If you have accomplished this feat, please share with me all the steps you took to make it work. > > Thanks, > > Jim > Cedar Creek, Texas > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

> Says it eventually ends up flaking off. Has anyone in the group > painted, or tried to paint, their KLR plastic? If so, please share > what worked, what didn't, techniques, etc.

Craig, there's this information that should be useful to you: http://anguish.org/~greyson/motorcycle/paint.shtml I don't know the methods used, but I've had plastic truck parts painted in the past, and the paint held up just fine... Mark Glitter is coined to meet the moment's rage; Genuine lives on from age to age. - Goethe's "Faust" KLR650 Motorcycle Pages: http://klr6500.tripod.com/ HomePage: http://home.adelphia.net/~msaint/index.html My Adelphia Email can be "iffy." If you don't get a response, please try: KLR6500@...

Probably not in the "prettiest" column, but it's sturdy, doesn't care if it gets washed and keeps scratches/dings hidden for life. I'm talking about the stuff (Durabak) I put on mine. Polyurethane stuff that looks like truck bed liner because it is. Pictures at: http://home.earthlink.net/~millerized/KLR.htm and I think http://www.durabak.com/durabak.htm Good luck. This stuff doesn't come off. Skin, paint, plastic, rubber. Scratch the surface of what you're painting and it's set for life. millerized

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., "Craig Gilley" wrote: > We've been fixing up an '88 for my wife - it's pretty good > mechanically so now we're looking at cosmetics. I told her we could > just use auto shop rattle can paint. She scraped off the old decals, > then went to a parts store with one of the plastic parts in hand to > ask about paint recommendations. They told her to talk to a body > shop. She did that - turns out the owner of that particular shop was > also a rider and said he has tried all kinds of things to paint > plastic mc parts, but hasn't found anything that really sticks well. > Says it eventually ends up flaking off. Has anyone in the group > painted, or tried to paint, their KLR plastic? If so, please share > what worked, what didn't, techniques, etc. > > tia > Craig