7359. How to paint plastic

Letter 7359

How to paint plastic

If anyone can tell me how to paint onto plastic, please reply a.s.a.p. Thank you.

Jenni F [last name deleted for privacy]
- Bury, Manchester

What kind of plastic do you have? I am trying to find a way to paint plastic molded chairs and I have gotten a variety of responses form local artists that might help you. Some hobby shops carry paint for painting plastic models (airplanes, cars, etc.), but it depends on the type of plastic that you are trying to paint.

If you could give more details, I might be able to help.

Myra S [last name deleted for privacy]
- Loveland, Ohio U.S.A.

Jenni, as Myra said, you really should know WHICH plastic you are talking about.

There are many 'plastics' just as there are many 'metals'. Some don't take kindly to painting, ie. Teflon but also Polypropylene and Polyethylene (PE), and PE has a waxy feel, anyhow (super for fridge ice cube holders etc. etc) So what have you got? PP or PE will both slowly burn and will both drip. PE will always smell of candle wax. Cut off a sliver and put a match to it to try this out. If you have PVC, Acrylic (ie. plexiglass) or ABS or variations of these, these thermoplastics can be cemented so then consider a paint that will 'attack' the plastic, ie. a lacquer and not a latex. The test for these is simple. PVC doesn't burn, it just gets soft and stinks. Acrylics burn slowly and smell sweet. ABS burns quite well and gives off black fumes and it pongs.

Myra's deck chairs are made, I'm pretty sure, of an impact modified PVC although perhaps manufacturers might use a UV stabilized ABS. ABS is weaker than PVC (not as rigid) but is much better on impact. Anyhow, dammit, when the chairs were bought, the packing would SURELY show what material they were made from. Fortunately no one is making items from a super plastic called Cellulose Nitrate (hence the film name of celluloid) as that REALLY burns. Dangerous. But super for ping pong balls which, although modified with Naptha, cannot be excelled by any other known plastic.

Lastly, please preclean before painting. To get a better job of adhesion, sand down very slightly, too.

Cheers!

Freeman Newton
- White Rock, B.C. Canada

A 2K urethane works on most plastics with the exception of polyolefins (polypropylene or polyethylene) these require a special epoxy that needs a 250 ェ bake to activate after application.

Ron Zeeman
continuous coating - Brampton, ON, CAN

+++

Jenny, "fusion" from Krylon paint for plastic comes in a can and I bought some for my plastic chairs.

Catherine V [last name deleted for privacy]
- Eureka, Ca, USA

Hi,

I was just wondering if anybody out there knew how to paint plastic, because I'm redoing an old snowmobile and I would like to know how to go about finishing the hood of it. Any help would be rather helpful.

Thank u!

Wayne M [last name deleted for privacy]
hobbyist - Heatherton, Nova Scotia, Canada

+++++

I stunt motorcycles. Meaning I break plastic on a daily basis... first off, like Mr Freeman said, know what you are painting. and hope it is ABS... abs is most common for sportbikes/snowmobiles. Polywhatever is used on dirtbikes/atvs... obviously, this is not written in stone. I wouldn't recommend painting a poly part, just replace it; it is a lot cheaper than abs. If you're not sure, abs is quite rigid, poly is malleable to the extent that you could almost bend it in half without breaking it, depending on thickness of course. What's going to happen if you paint something thats hella flimsy? Kurt lammon writes the best book I've seen about plastic repair/painting... if you want to save some cash and experiment a little... here's a tutorial http://www.sportrider.com/tech/146_0204_body/ this is one of the cheapest places to get plastic welding supplies, short of finding the crap on ebay ---> >

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cmpages/plasticrepair.php you'll have better luck if your plastic doesn't have pigment in it. sand it smooth, soap and water, weld your cracks, krylon primer, Krylon Fusion , and then throw it on the pavement at 40 mph again... repeat...

David Nelson
- Beale AFB, California, USA

+++++

I was wondering how to paint plastic and any help at all on this subject would be greatly appreciated!!

Thank you!

Joseph Francis Knight
- Leyland, Lancashire, England

+++++

...Funny...I was just tackling that very job and ran into the same problem. I called a friend of mine and he said you have to sand any plastic surface before you attempt to paint it. Then apply a plastic primer, then your paint. (specifically made for plastic).
Good luck. I am taking his advice, and will let you know the results.

Ruth Coleman
- Aliquippa, PA

+++++

I am planning on painting a stripe on a Sears cartop carrier. I have been told that there is a hardener to use that is for plastic car bumpers. Anyone know anything about this?

Tony Hallum
- Hobbs, NM

May 20, 2006

How should I paint motorcycle plastics? Sand, Primer, and paint??

Patrick Hill
Nascar Images - Mesa, AZ

June 4, 2006

I want to paint these plastic cubes that I use to teach in a math class. The material is somewhat shiny and smooth. I've tried acrylic and it peeled off. Any suggestions?

Kristin Wiese
Teaching - Palatine, IL, USA

July 17, 2006

Krylon Fusion Plastic Paint claims there's no priming, chipping, it adheres and dries in an hour. Maybe this will work....

Robyn Peterson
- Nashville, TN

April 13, 2007

I want to paint and decorate a plastic see thru sheet, like a vinyl shower curtain! Does anyone know what I can use so that the paint doesn't crack or chip?

Thanks!

Eliza Lee
hobbyist - Vancouver, BC, Canada

June 5, 2007

I just bought a 98 ez-go golf cart. It has some scratches on it and one actually dug a little into the plastic body. I want to repaint it but not sure of how to fill in the scratch that dug in the body or how I should go about painting it and what type of paint to use.

Mike Winegar
Consumer - Indianapolis, IN, USA

July 3, 2007

Hi,
I would like to attempt painting small objects on a plastic film. I would need to use a variety of vibrant colors. Can anyone out there help with some answers? Like maybe an artist who paints on clear plastic film...Is there a particular brand of paint that I need to use, hopefully one that carries a wide variety of colors?
Thanks!

Rachel Harris
hobbyist - New York, NY, USA

July 10, 2007

I am having a problem getting a durable finish on ABS body panels off a motorcycle. I am thinking of trying the Krylon Fusion and if it is durable topcoating with a clearcoat for better protection against chemicals that might come into contact with the finish. I see suggestions to primer and then use Krylon Fusion. Isn't the whole idea behind the Krylon Fusion that it bonds with the plastic better than conventional paints (and presumably primers)? If you primer then the Fusion paint technically never touches the plastic so what would the point be? Couldn't you use just about any flexible paint if you bothered to use a good primer that bonded well to the plastic? In a nutshell - Why would you use Fusion after primering?

Stanley Jablonski
hobbyist - San Antonia, TX , USA

July 11, 2007

For those of you out there trying to paint shower curtains, vinyl tablecloths and the like, Plaid has a paint line for plastic. It has like 37 different colors. I can find a small assortment at my local craft store.....but you can buy the whole line primer sealer and all at their web site. I recently made a custom picnic set table cloth, dishes and all. It has with stood even the dishwasher! Hope this helps.

LISA FONNESBECK
- Las Vegas, NV

December 14, 2007

I have decided that a large water tank in small garden is an essential but it is sticks out too much, thought i would paint a scene on it so it blends in more with the garden setting, it is plastic corrugated and cream colour any ideas what sort of paint i would need,we have reasonably extreme temps here down to minus 7c and high as 40c.Appreciate any advice thanks

Linda Mawbey
hobbyist - Goulburn N.S.W. Australia

December 27, 2007

hello there...
I was wondering if anyone could help me as I want to paint something onto a plastic bass drum skin and I have no idea what kind of paint won't ruin it. If not paint i thought maybe cellophane with adhesive glue.... thank you x

Melanie Heslop
hobbyist - London

August 11, 2008

I see the last post to this issue was in December last year, hope someone is still around with possible solutions!

[Ed. note: Per google, 1025 people visited this specific page in the last month, spending an average of 5 min. 40 sec. on it -- they're here if you can motivate them to help you] :-)

I am trying to paint marine life rings (the kind you toss to a drowning person). They are white, slightly textured and what I thought were a plastic of some kind. I am hoping to use them as address markers along the highway. I considered using Kilz [link is to product info at Amazon] or BIN Primer [link is to product info at Amazon] as I've had good luck with that on many unusual surfaces, but this was about the time the spray plastic primers came on the market. I could swear Krylon was the first and had a plain white primer. Unfortunately I used the whole can and tossed it, since I painted four rings. I have no way of knowing the brand!

Well, the paint crazed (alligatored) as soon as it hit the primer, but not in all places, just spotty. Now, after a year later it *still* isn't dry! It's tacky and sticks to anything it sets on for more than just a few minutes. The paint is peeling down to the original surface and can actually be peeled off in strips---like it never stuck in the first place and just formed a flexible film.

I contacted Krylon and they claim they never made a primer, only their Fusion (colored) product. I'm almost certain it was Krylon! The only company I can find that makes a "primer only" now is Rustoleum! I'm pretty certain it couldn't have been that company or I wouldn't have been concerned about the compatibility issue.

So, I'm stuck! Help! I've already detail painted the one painted ring (Dumb, I know! I thought the "tackiness" was going to eventually dry, and the top-coat detailing "is" dry) which means I've lost the work that went into it, but I have three more to do.

Does anyone else remember the "Plastic Primer" when it first hit the market a year or so ago? I remember it's claim was it could be used to prime any plastic, then you could topcoat with any paint! Was there another company making it? Any idea what might have gone wrong and any suggestions for how to proceed now? Like I said, I still have 3 rings already primed---I'm afraid to topcoat them, I *hate* stripping paint, and I'm not even sure I could on plastic!

Really, REALLY appreciate some input!!

Thanks,

Linda L
- Hoodsport, WA

August 13, 2008

Hi, Linda. It could have also been Bulldog Tie Coat [link is to product info at Amazon]. Obviously it's hard to guess what you might have used, and anyone's recollection of the market situation is going to be colored.

But I think your recollection has perhaps exaggerated their claim to work on any and every possible plastic. But at this point you have paint that won't dry, and unfortunately that's not really unusual nor readily curable.I think you should strip and repaint one ring with the primers you have more confidence in, and wait until it dries before you make further decisions. Good luck.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
finishing.com
Brick, New Jersey

August 13, 2008

Thanks Ted!
I checked out the Bulldog Tie Coat and I seriously doubt that was what I used! It looks like that is probably an automotive primer and costs way more than I would have spent. I would have bought it at somewhere like Lowe's, Home Depot or WalMart.

After receiving the response from Krylon, I Googled "Krylon Plastic Primer" and found several references to it. I suspect it was on the market for a short time (gee, I wonder why???) and they replaced it with their Fusion line.

I have replied to their response and asked them to "look deeper" into their discontinued stock. Not sure they will, I usually find answers like the one they gave me are just boilerplate---but *sometimes* they will follow-up! I told them I need to know what the base is and what it is compatible with.

In the meantime, I guess all I can do is strip this one off and start over. For the other 3 I will try a small area with a different paint to see what happens. I didn't really want this to be an expensive project, since the first life ring is for an address marker on a busy highway and stands a good chance of being stolen! I only paid $4 apiece for them several years ago, but I'd like to use the remaining ones on my dock. I had hoped the Rustoleum paint would be good to use as I have had good luck with it in the past.

Funny, I almost used a cheap, $1.99 rattle can I had here! Wonder if it might have worked better ;-)!

I'll let you know if I hear back from Krylon---and thanks again for getting back to me!

Linda

Linda L
- Hoodsport, Washington

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