guide to painting plastics?

[samg1988]

got my wingmirror covers from winston today! (cheers dude).

anyway one will need sanded back and resprayed because it has a deep scratch in it.

are there any guides for painting plastic online?

im good at the actual spraying technique., its the process and what grades of sandpaper i need to know. and also the no of layers etc.

cheers

 

[Renault_Boy01]

basically go into your local halfords and buy a 'multi-pack' of wet and dry sandpaper. Start using the smallest most coarse grade and work your way up to the finest until the finish is mirror smooth. I would use about 4 coats of plastic primer, 4-5 coats of colour and 4-5 coats of laquer. It may seem a lot of coats but as it is the wing mirror it is likely to get chipped.

also i'm not sure as i own a mark 2 clio but are the plastics smooth, on my 1.2 dynamique the plastic is bumpy with a unsmooth finish. if this is the case i would also use plastic filler to help get it glass smooth

 

[Final Maxim]

is the plastic damaged? sand it back with some P320 sandpaper, if you can still feel the scratch then use a bit of filler, sand that down with some P240ish, maybe some P180 but make sure you get the scratches out afterwards.

finish it with P320, aerosol primer it, wet flat that down with P800-P1200.

give the whole of the mirror a wetflat too, dry it, clean it, spray on your basecoat (colour) build it up til your happy. let it dry properly then add a few coats of laquer.

wont need plastic primer for wingmirrors really as 1 theyre too small and dont need it and 2 the wingmirrors are second hand so will already have paint/laquer on. pointless plastic primering a painted surface.

 

[Renault_Boy01]

yeah that makes more sense