The specifics for painting the plastic parts of a motorcycle

This is a question that comes up again and again from our non-professional users, and we thought it was really important to clear up some confusion. Frequently, the typical customer who wants to redo his motorcycle paintwork asks our technical support team  what paint to use on motorcycle plastics and what primer to use ?
It's true that most motorcycles have fairings made of plastic (polyethylene or polypropylene), but when it comes to painting these parts, they shouldn't really be considered plastic.

The issue of paint flexibility is also of concern to most motorcycle owners, and we'll discuss this point shortly.

In some cases, and this is very rare in today's 2-wheeled world, plastic parts can be found: we'll call them “bare” or “raw” plastics. In these cases, and only in these cases, can we encounter a major difficulty, requiring special preparation and treatment, without which there's a 90% chance of ending up with partial or complete delamination of all layers from primer to clearcoat.
And yes, in fact, applying a so-called “plastic primer” isn't really effective without the preparation work that goes with it and which we're going to detail.

What motorcycle paint to use for plastic motorcycle fairings ?

Quite logically, if a part of any kind has a surface finish (usually an original clearcoat), then the part is not “plastic” per se, and therefore any kind of special primer is absolutely unnecessary. The clearcoat simply needs to be lightly sanded to ensure adhesion of future coats.

Before painting a motorcycle fairing, how can you be sure whether the surface is raw or painted plastic?
A very simple trick is to test and lightly sand an area: if you get a white powder, it's clearcoat. If you get scratches and no powder, it's PE/PP. Plastic cannot be sanded (see below for techniques for painting bare plastic).

So, to conclude, painting the plastic fairings of a motorcycle is exactly the same as painting the tank or the metal parts of a motorcycle. The only difference is that you can add a little flex agent in the clearcoat.

Please click on this link to order your paint with the color code of your motorcycle.

The secret technique to make a painting on plastic unremovable

If your body painter isn't familiar with these techniques, it's because he doesn't know how to paint plastic!
Plastics are highly problematic to paint, and it's risky for painters to guarantee perfect adhesion. Above all, when parts are twisted or subjected to stone impact, the various layers of paint can become detached from the base and peel off like a plastic film!
The treatment is more important than the chemical primer used, which by itself, incidentally, can never prevent delamination.

Sponge, solvent and flame

In the case of raw plastic parts only, the plastic will have to undergo shock treatment, with a succession of aggressive actions, which only PE or PP* can withstand without flinching (this is not the case for other plastics, mind you !) :

- Pass a flame over the surface to open the plastic's ports and make it sweat - but don't overdo it!
- Rub with the bodywork sponge (scotch brite type) soaked in solvent (thinner)
- Apply a very thin coat of transparent plastic primer ,followed quickly by a very thin “flash” coat of paint.

How to find the reference and color code for your motorcycle paint ?
How to paint the frame of your motorcycle ?
What paint to paint your motorcycle ?
How much paint to paint your motorcycle ?

How to paint your motorcycle ?