The specifics for painting the plastic parts of a motorcycle

This is a question that keeps coming up with our non-professional users, and we thought it was really important to clear up some confusion. Frequently, the typical customer who wishes to repaint his motorcycle contacts our technical support to find out what paint to use for motorcycle plastics and what primer to use ?
There are certainly fairings on most motorcycles which are made of plastics (Polyethylene or Polypropylene), however when painting these parts, they should not really be considered as plastic supports.

The issue of paint flexibility is also a concern for most motorcycle owners, and we'll talk about that right after.

In some cases, and this is really rare in the field of 2 wheels these days, we find plastic parts : we will call them "bare" or "raw" plastics. In these cases, and only in these cases, one can encounter a major difficulty, which requires special preparation and treatment, without which there is a 90% chance of ending up with partial or complete detachment of all the layers from the primer to varnish.
And yes, indeed, applying a so-called "plastic primer" is not really effective without the preparation work that goes with it and that we are going to detail.

What motorcycle paint to use for plastic motorcycle fairings ?

Logically, if a part, whatever its nature, has a finish on its surface (generally an original varnish), then the part is not "plastic" strictly speaking, and therefore, any type of special primer is absolutely useless. You just have to lightly sand this varnish to ensure the adhesion of future coats.

How can you be sure, before painting a motorcycle fairing, that its 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 varnish. If you get scratches and no powder then it is PE/PP. In fact, plastic cannot be sanded (find later the 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. Only one small difference, it is possible to add a little flexibilizing additive in the varnish.

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 is not aware of these techniques, it means that he does not know how to paint plastic !
Plastics are indeed very problematic to paint and it is risky for painters to ensure perfect adhesion. Above all, when the parts twist, or receive shocks from stones, the different thicknesses of paint can then separate from the background and peel off like a plastic film !
The treatment is more important than the chemical primer used, which , by itself, by the way, can never prevent a detachment problem.

Sponge, solvent and flame

In the case of raw plastic parts only, we will therefore have to subject the plastic to a shock treatment, with a succession of aggressive actions, which only PE or PP* can withstand without flinching (this is not not the case with other plastics, be careful !) :
- Pass a flame on the surface in order to open the ports of the plastic and make it sweat, without abusing !
- Rub with the sponge bodywork (scotch brite type) soaked in solvent (thinner)
- Paint a very thin coat of transparent plastic primer and quickly follow with 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 ?