paint for plastic  By  fido64 (Read 875 times)

These guys make very nice paint for your average non-professional. I learned about them because my dad kept bringing me parts to paint for his ducatis. He wanted to bring me his own paint instead of using mine. i was very surprised by the quality.

www.colorrite.com/

I have only used their spray can paint, but they sell it to where you can put it in your own spray gun. they use a 2 stage system (base coat / and a clear coat) which makes a big difference (the ultimate difference if you're painting anything with metallics or pearls) and with the right prep work and clean painting conditions, you can achieve professional results. (buy a tack rag and some wax and grease remover)

If you want the real stuff, spies hecker makes the best paint there is, imho. standox is good too, same company. if you have any carquests in your area they should be able get you some Sherwin Williams which is pretty good also. ideally you would want a 2 stage (base/clear) with a 2k clear (2k= 2 component , meaning you mix the clear with a hardener, kinda like bondo, making it a lot stronger, scratch and chip resistant, better UV protection, less fading, higher gloss for years to come, etc.) you cant get 2k clears in a spray can, obviously, with the hardener in it, it would dry up in the can. color rite does sell a 2k clear but I cannot vouch for it as I have never used it, but I will say that I never believed the was such a thing as a good 1k clear till I used their stuff... most "rattle can" clears either dull out or milk up after 6 months. some of the parts ive painted with their stuff is 6 years old and looks like it was painted last week.

if youre gonna go with a single stage, i.e. not a color/clear system but the color coat dries "shiney", do stay away from metallic or pearls. single stages should need a hardener anyways so youre not saving that cost, and the metallics don't mix well with the part of the paint that makes it "shiney" your paint job will be dull/flat/no shine at all in less than a year...

either way, real paint will cost you real money, and if it isn't prepped right or applied right it wont matter what you put on it. Ive been in the paint/auto body business for 16 years now (more than half my life) and for ease of use, quality, and price, color rite wins for a DIYer. let me know if I can help more, im on here so much asking other people questions, I love when someone asks about my area of expertise...

Good Luck!