I purchased two HD replacement lowers to replace the current glove boxes with 6.5" speaker housings. They come out of the box with a smooth black plastic finish. They are unfortunately not textured like the stock glove boxes.

I want to paint these gloss black to match my inner faring. I would appreciate any advice from those of you with experience painting this type of plastic.

What are your recommendations on:
-preparation
-type of paint (or a particularly good brand)
-How many coats?
-Sand between coats? What kind and size of sanding medium?
-Is some kind of clearcoat needed?

Can I do this without any fancy painting equipment? Or am I better off with a local paint shop doing the work?

Thank you for your advice.

 

You can do this with rattle can, I would buy some adhesion promoter of some sort. I would start with 120 grit then plastic primer, then 220, then 320, and down to probably 400 wet , then paint 3 even coats.
I have a good primer gun , and a good paint gun so I would use PPG paints, but the rattle cans from Harley are good ,though you will have to find a compatible plastic primer.

 

Where do you get that fine grit paper?

 

Any reputable auto parts store, and probably even Menards as well.

 

Home depot, Menards, etc... should have it.

 

Thanks guys. Since there is such little surface visible on these lower inserts, I think I will try my hand at painting them myself. If I screw it up, guess I can get out the sandpaper and try again.

If you have any specific recommendations on brand of spray paint, adhesion promoter, or whatever else an amateur would need, please let me know. Thanks

 

Joe...

I wouldn't get near those new parts with anything as coarse as 120 grit. This isn't woodworking. I'd say 400 to 600 at the most if you want to scuff up the surface before paint.

As for adhesion promoter, now don't take this part as gospel as I haven't painted any plastic parts in a long time, but I do not believe anything is necessary with ABS. That is why ABS is so common for painted plastic parts - it doesn't require any special preparation for paint adhesion.

And finally, for the primer/paint application... That really depends on the type of primer/paint you choose.

 

Thanks for that info. The surface on those inserts is really smooth, so I agree it would take a super fine grit or I am going to scratch it too deeply.

When sanding, is there any particular motion I should follow...circular, left to right, up and down? Stupid question I know, but I tend to ruin things and then have to buy replacements. So I thought I would ask.

 

i think that it will be best to use a red scotch brite pad and no sand paper that will just take the grain out of the texture

 

When sanding any surface it is best to go in multiple directions or a random pattern if practical.

ScotchBrite is an excellent choice as an alternative to sandpaper.