Topic: Painting side covers -- best practice(s)

[carnivorous chicken]

Will be repainting 350F side covers and I've looked but haven't found info here on best practice. Can't remove the paint with a stripper. Could sand -- but to bare plastic? Or just to smooth? The side covers I have a FMR, but will be repainting CBO. They're down to silver undercoat in some places.

For repainting, I saw somewhere here someone recommended an adhesive before applying paint, to make sure it won't crack with any flexing. But 350F covers mount differently, sli[ping over the tabs at the top and with a half-twist of the mounting pin at the bottom -- so not really any flex?

[ekpent]

 I would sand to your hearts content with some of the black 400 wet/dry sand paper and water to prep them for primer and paint.

[Kenzo1979]

Yes, use adhesion promoter before primer and paint.  It’s a must for plastic IMO.  Stuff I’ve used is called bulldog, comes in a rattle can.  Posted a pic of it on another thread at some point.

[Mark K]

I sanded my '73 750 side covers down to the bare plastic, as they needed crack repairs in a few places. After repair, primed several coats, then several coats of paint, followed by clear coat (all rattle can). I did not know about using adhesion promoter, but I do now. Thanks Kenzo!

[Don R]

  Sand to smooth, then adhesion promoter then sandable primer, then primer sealer, then color paint.

[Ujeni]

  Sand to smooth, then adhesion promoter then sandable primer, then primer sealer, then color paint.

That's exactly right. No need to sand all the way to plastic, just to smooth. Painting on top of existing paint is perfectly fine assuming you have good adhesion. If you sand to the plastic in any spot, use the plastic adhesion promoter before primer.