Black plastic color restoration?

1991 Zephyr rear fender

Whats the best way to restore the plastic back to black?

Looks like sun fading... I haven't tried anything on it yet like armor all or tire black etc...
I am considering spraying it with rattle can rustolium Plastic paint...
Any suggestions ?

Its not a full restoration , i just want it to look good.

How about the stuff they advertise for automotive trim or
to clean up glazed over headlights? I have not had to deal with
the issue much on my pre "81 bikes much. The plastic air box
and inner rear fender I have cleaned up with carb cleaner etc....
It removed most of it but did not take it back to an 'as new'
appearance.

.
.

I use this spray, and it works great on my air box, etc. I spray it on a rag and apply it. Motorcycle shops and online sites sell it. Ed

I have used this on plastic. It works great. I used it on the rear plastic inner fender and plastic gauge cluster and have had no problems.

www.krylon.com/products/fusion-for-plastic/

I would try it on something else, other than bike part and see if you like it. It wont chip or peel.

Back To Black will make it look half way decent. Agree with the guys suggesting spray paint though if you want it to look really clean.

4TheKZ1000 wrote: I have used this on plastic. It works great. I used it on the rear plastic inner fender and plastic gauge cluster and have had no problems.

www.krylon.com/products/fusion-for-plastic/

I would try it on something else, other than bike part and see if you like it. It wont chip or peel.

Yes.
I used that in the lowers on my SV650
It came out great.. Its been a few years now
Holding up

I found an old can of tire shine and gave it a go..
Came out nice..
Will see if it lasts...




Gave the old ZedRX a cleaning too...

Z650Spirit over at the KZ650.Info site painted his airbox w Rustoleum Specialty Plastic Primer & Paint. He said the airbox was scratched up pretty bad, so he sanded it w 1000-grit. A much lower grit may leave scratches.

Only problem with the tire shine type of products is the finish attract dirt and fade with time.

When wet or not wet they also sling juice all over and on other parts.

The look is temporary.

Not familiar with the Firestone product.

I must say it looks great, good job.

martin_csr wrote: Z650Spirit over at the KZ650.Info site painted his airbox w Rustoleum Specialty Plastic Primer & Paint. He said the airbox was scratched up pretty bad, so he sanded it w 1000-grit. A much lower grit may leave scratches.

You can go as low as 320grit with solid colors and 400g with metallics without leaving any visible scratches.
The reason I'm saying this is because plastics are a pain to paint and you need as much mechanical adhesion as you can get.
Plastics are synthetics so as they age they begin to loose the oils that keep them pliable and soft. It's these oils that keep the paint from staying put over time so the more "tooth" you have,the more the paint has something to hold on to.

Fusion paints aren't bad products and they will give you 5-10 years of life if taken care of.
If it were mine I would key it up with 320g and spray it with M.E.K. To loosen the surface tension and then shoot it with a 2part urethane or 2k automotive clear.

Cheers,

mykznme wrote:

martin_csr wrote: Z650Spirit over at the KZ650.Info site painted his airbox w Rustoleum Specialty Plastic Primer & Paint. He said the airbox was scratched up pretty bad, so he sanded it w 1000-grit. A much lower grit may leave scratches.

You can go as low as 320grit with solid colors and 400g with metallics without leaving any visible scratches.
The reason I'm saying this is because plastics are a pain to paint and you need as much mechanical adhesion as you can get.
Plastics are synthetics so as they age they begin to loose the oils that keep them pliable and soft. It's these oils that keep the paint from staying put over time so the more "tooth" you have,the more the paint has something to hold on to.

Fusion paints aren't bad products and they will give you 5-10 years of life if taken care of.
If it were mine I would key it up with 320g and spray it with M.E.K. To loosen the surface tension and then shoot it with a 2part urethane or 2k automotive clear.

Cheers,

You are absolutely right about the grit. I painted my airbox. i sanded with 120 to get as much tooth as possible. Then I wiped the whole thing down with acetone, and then Immediately sprayed Rustoleum plastic primer, 2 coats. Then sanded with 320, then Rusto semi gloss. looks great. but time will tell how it holds up.

John T wrote: SV650
ZedRX

You have good taste in bikes, sir.

mykznme wrote: You can go as low as 320grit with solid colors and 400g with metallics without leaving any visible scratches.
The reason I'm saying this is because plastics are a pain to paint and you need as much mechanical adhesion as you can get.

Thanks. The airbox isn't mine and the grit stuff was his method.
1000 grit seemed rather fine to me, but it came out looking so good,
I wasn't about to contradict the way he did it. hee.