Painting clear plastic?

[P.W.]

Hey Folks,
In my never ending tinkering I would like to paint the clear side wind deflectors black (the pieces under the mirrors) to match our Phoenix orange "dark" edition RTL. I was thinking about lightly sand blasting the clear plastic wind deflectors, to give the black paint something to "bite" onto and then rattle can with several coats of paint and finish up with wet sanding them smooth......your thoughts?
My question is....Do I need to use a special paint for plastic or will any black rattle can paint work?



Thanks for your time and help!
P.W.

 

[MONK]

I'd try Plastidip. Shaun Smoak Plastidipped his chrome adjustable vents and they turned out well. The upside is that if you don't like the look, you can peel it off and either try it again or leave it stock. I've got a chrome/blue 2018. I didn't want chrome and have thought about Plastidipping all chrome black.

 

[P.W.]

My original plan was to have them tinted as dark as I could get them.
But, after talking to my tint guy today he said that window tint would bubble over time .....when applied to plastic.

P.W.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Painting plastic ..... imho sandblasting is way overkill ..... if you have some 440 or higher grit wet or dry sandpaper that is all you need to " scuff" the plastic for a bit better paint grip ...... andI would only paint the back side of the deflectors , this will give you the color and the protection of the hard finish of the actual plastic to prevent scratches ...... good luck .... Mike :thumbup:

 

[Gwolf]

Why paint them, when you can get just about any color or pattern you could possibly want in vinyl wrap and the process is reversible if it doesn't work out?

 

[imfleck]

Plastidip is the way to go. I did that to my chrome Can-Am emblems on the sides and it looks really good. I've been thinking about the same thing as you with those clear vents and may get around to them in the future. Ignore my signature picture because that was before I decided to spray 'em black.

 

[pegasus1300]

I painted mine a hammered bronze from Rust oleum that I got at Walmart. I cleaned them well with alcohol but did not sand or otherwise prep. The plastic did not craze with the alcohol and the paint has held up well for over a year and 12000+ miles. I would show you but I have now removed them because I put the 2013 hot air kit on in their place.