Plastic rehab

[KA1J]

I'd like to renew the black plastic on my instrument panel on both the XJ11 & on my XJ650 Maxim. On both of them the plastic has turned a mottled gray color from long UV exposure, not the gray from oxidized plastic that scrapes off under your thumb nail. This is the kind of gray that is into the plastic and does not change the surface texture. The inside of the cluster is the true black color I'd like to get back to.

I've asked others what to use and was told to try "Back to Black" by Mothers but it is only a whitish plastic polish looking like Lux liquid and it did nothing to darken this plastic. I was then told to try "Forever Black" and found it available from several online sources. I was about to buy it and then read at the bottom of the ad: "Don't worry about surrounding surfaces. Masking is not required. Forever Black will only adhere to porous vinyl and rubber."

Since the plastic on these instrument clusters is not vinyl or rubber, I don't want to waste my money.

I tried coloring a small out of sight part of the cluster with Magic Marker but when looking at it in the sun, it was not a true black & showed a purplish tint so I won't use Magic Marker.

Anyone rehab their cluster with something worthwhile?

Thanks

[natemoen]

Hmmm, I was going to say back to black cause I have used it on several things and had good results.

I guess you might have to go with paint.

[crazy steve]

Black spray paint.... seriously.

I know exactly what you're talking about; I've ran into this on other projects. The plastic has faded to a gray color, and no 'dressing' does a thing to fix it. The trick is to get the plastic clean (particularly if you've applied any 'stuff' to it), then put on one thin coat of gloss black, just enough to get the color, and no more. More than that and you'll change the 'texture' of the surface. It may end up slightly shinier than original, but that's as close as I've been able to get it.

If you have access to an airbrush or detail gun, you might get better results by thinning the paint about 50% more than normal then spraying it, but I haven't tried that.

[Schming]

Try...

...this paint if it's available to you.





Sorry about the blurred pics, but this paint worked well on my XJ 750 air box trim and has been on for 3 years and still looks good.
You can see it between the sidecover and carbs.

[natemoen]

Rustolium makes a plastic paint as well.

[Azoroth]

On my sisters bike, the pannels are all pretty sun faded. We used black shoe polish worked really good.

Auto parts stores (I work at Oreilly) have trim paint that are special made for plastics like that. Only problem is the overspray. Hence we used the shoe polish.

Back-to-black (and other products like it. I personally use the Meguires ultimate protectant) work really well on certain plastics. The more textured and porous plastics work well with this. The smooth shiny plastics are tougher to restore.

[cywelchjr]

Black spray paint.... seriously.

I know exactly what you're talking about; I've ran into this on other projects. The plastic has faded to a gray color, and no 'dressing' does a thing to fix it. The trick is to get the plastic clean (particularly if you've applied any 'stuff' to it), then put on one thin coat of gloss black, just enough to get the color, and no more. More than that and you'll change the 'texture' of the surface. It may end up slightly shinier than original, but that's as close as I've been able to get it.

If you have access to an airbrush or detail gun, you might get better results by thinning the paint about 50% more than normal then spraying it, but I haven't tried that.

Duplicolor has a set of paints called fusion that is made for plastics that works good for this that IIRC comes in a gloss black and adheres well to plastic if good and clean. I've not used it on the items in question, but I've used it on similar items and it's worked well, even on items that flex some and it's actually slightly flexible as well to prevent flaking and cracking.

PS, sorry, should have read down further before posting.

[KA1J]

So many helpful replies.

Perhaps I should try spray paint. My fear has been that once painted, some flaking/peeling will eventually happen and that when that time comes it will then be impossible to make it look as untouched.

It seems that there should be some ink/stain that is permanent that will work in-between the plastic molecules and impart a true black into the plastic. Granted, I've imagined that and the potential issues if the clear & colored indicator-light plastics were not adequately protected from the stain and showed "bleed through". Covering them with tape before spray painting would remove this issue. It's just the "down the road" results I am concerned with. I wonder how much painting it will withstand the test of time. Dyeing it black with non-water based dye seems innocuous but what dye and from where?

Probably like most of us here I'm not looking for a quick fix but am looking to maintain my bike for many years to come and something precious to pass on to the next worthy owner, someone who will go as far as I have to keep this bike intact and as new as much as possible. I hesitate to do a short cut that will someday be problematic to the next owner if not to myself.

[crazy steve]

My fear has been that once painted, some flaking/peeling will eventually happen and that when that time comes it will then be impossible to make it look as untouched.

It seems that there should be some ink/stain that is permanent that will work in-between the plastic molecules and impart a true black into the plastic..

That's why I recommend one thin coat of paint; if you apply more, that's when you start having problems. The real key is making sure you get the plastic clean so the paint isn't trying to bond though old wax, etc. I'll clean with acetone several times, washing with hot water in between.

The RC car people used to use dyes (and maybe still do, you'll have to check) on some plastic parts because the paint wouldn't stick to some types, but IIRC they had trouble with rapid fading. Might be worth looking into though...

[KA1J]

Steve, there's a hobby shop in town, one that sells kits & all kinds of RC equipment. I'll go in there tomorrow & see what I can scare up to dye plastic. Never thought about that avenue!