I have the grille off of my Fordzda Branger to make it easier to polish the headlight lenses. I figured I would use this as an opportunity to paint the grille since it is a bit oxidized and faded in spots. It is just bare, black ABS plastic.
I thought about painting it with bedliner from a rattle can, but that stuff isn't cheap. I don't want to paint it only to have it flake off. Are there types of paint that will stick better? Should I rub it down with MEK first to "prime" it?
Picture of the chalkyness
And without the grille, I have decided my truck looks like the Terminator when his skin burns off....
Krylon Fusion.
I thought that was a gimmick. I figured it would be better than Rust Oleum spray but only marginally. I guess it's worth a shot, but I was hoping to slam dunk it and not be stripping it all off next year
The Krylon people demonstrate the plastic rattle can stuff for wally world by painting those $5 outdoor plastic chairs with it.
Wax and grease remover then scuff it with a mild scrubby or some 100/150 grit paper. Paint that is flaky should be removed. Amorphous polymers like ABS (and PC, SAN, ASA, polystyrene) take paint really well
Good to know. I just know my previous experience with PVC and paint. I can't get anything to stick to PVC without MEK and even then it is a bit questionable. I have been known to coat PVC with marine 2-part epoxy first just because I know the epoxy will stick to the PVC and paint will adhere to the epoxy.
Right now it is just bare ABS, so I'll scuff and clean it with a good solvent. Thanks.
Another vote for krylon fusion.
Will truck bedliner spray stick?
It might, depending on the brand and the plastic. I have a car top box and the only thing I could get to stick was rattle can undercoating, but only one brand of the two I tried.
This is what I use on all the plastic on the stuff I paint: https://buyat.ppg.com/refinishproductcatalog/ServeFile.ashx?FileID=b5e88bda-1bc7-4e22-9237-f871be409420
Seems to lay out nice and provide excellent adhesion. It calls for a specific plastic cleaner.
After a few years of freeway driving I had a couple rock chips in the front but none got down past the epoxy primer. Those chips were from massive, make you cringe type rock hits.
Jcamper
Last year I re-blacked all the plastic on my wife's Honda Element. Power Wash. Mix linseed oil with paint thinner, 50/50. Apply with rag or sponge. Very happy with the results, it looks like new. There's probably some YouTube and other forum DIY's about it.
Curtis said:Will truck bedliner spray stick?
Sure, but how you gonna dig the dead bugs out?
914Driver said:Curtis said:Will truck bedliner spray stick?
Sure, but how you gonna dig the dead bugs out?
That did occur to me. The Rustoleum truck bedliner spray I have isn't really heavily textured like real bedliner if you put it on wet enough. If you lay it like spray paint (8-12" away) it gets pretty wet and smooth. If you hold it more like 18" away and "crop dust" it, it gets more texture.
I think what I'll do is paint a section on the bottom that you don't see first. Let it dry and see how it sticks and what the texture is. If it works, I'll do the whole thing. If not, maybe some satin or flat black instead.
Even though I don't off-road much, I was thinking the bedliner would give it a more off-road look
cleaned with a 3M green pad and Simple Green. Scuffed with coarse steel wool to get all the oxidation off and give it some tooth. Wiped down with denatured alcohol. Sprayed the bottom with the bedliner and after an hour or so it was nearly impossible to scrape off with my fingernail.
So for better or worse, I sprayed the whole thing with two coats. I figure if it chips or I find it too hard to get the bugs out of it, I can get a junkyard grille and try again with something else.
You'll need to log in to post.
