Best way to paint these?

[Hogster]

Hi all

This is how I could envisage my smart looking in the not too distant future ....



The alloys are on their way shortly ( ) but I'm wondering what's the best way of painting the two items you see there - the front splitter and the side skirts .... They're both textured plastic if I remember correctly ...

Would it be possible to wrap them with vinyl? I don't imagine you'd get a nice glossy finish if you used any kind of spray? Although I imagine vinyl has to stick to a glossy surface to be nice and smooth ....?

Many thanks for any tips

Cheers!


David

[coolfart]

Re: Best way to paint these?

I'm sure you could get them wrapped, and it will probably look smooth & shiney....only problem would be getting it to go round those very tight curves without a lot of effort (Deffo a job for experts IMO)

Most decent bodyshops should be able to get a decent finish with paint (just tell 'em you want it looking smooth!)....decent prep work will get a good finish....you might be able to do some of the prep yourself to save costs?

Paint will always look better than a wrap if it is applied properly!

Cost will probably be similar anyway.

Get some quotes & make up your own mind!!!

Looks great like that BTW

[Hogster]

Re: Best way to paint these?

Thanks for your reply coolfart!

If I did want to get them sprayed, what sort of spray shop should I look for? I found this one quite near to me, but I can imagine the costs would be prohibitive!

http://www.waldeckbodyshop.co.uk

What would you say it would cost to get those 3 panels sprayed professionally?

Many thanks


David

[10:45PM]

Re: Best way to paint these?

Shop around just like any other service. (Show them the panels you want doing)

I'm sure you can get smooth versions of those panels ? , if not get the surface flattened

What you get back will decide whether the shop is worth using again.

[Hogster]

Re: Best way to paint these?

What you get back will decide whether the shop is worth using again.

That's ingenius! Expensive way to find out the best shop though

I think I might wait a while .... I've spent too much recently as it is :redface:

Thanks for your reply though


David

[jim]

Re: Best way to paint these?

hi, look for a good independent bodyshop, most main dealers wont take them on anyway and they would charge you a small fortune. They will need to be rubbed down get rid of texture , then plastic primer, then 2 pack primer , its got plenty of build to it. you find with plastics they furr up when primed , so 2 pack primer got plenty of build to flat down for a smooth finnsh. they should charge about £70 to £80 to paint your splitter. wouldnt do it yourself unless you have done paintwork before , you will just coarse yourself problems. :goodlk:

[10:45PM]

Re: Best way to paint these?

Expensive way to find out the best shop though

was meant tongue in cheek a little.

It's one of those services you can't really judge until job is done is what I'm saying.
Painting is such a pro profession, they are either superb or ****

Find a good one (by previous experience:p or a recommendation) and stick with them.

[sm412t]

Re: Best way to paint these?

front splitter and 2 sideskirts cost £120 got it done on my mates car looks so much better IMO

If you get it done by thebodyshop and its not to your liking ie finish is not 100% get them to redo it plus see it in primer before they spray it to make sure its smooth

[2minits]

Re: Best way to paint these?

they wouldn't need to rub the texture off before they start, you apply an adhsion promoter to the bits before you start, then stick enough primer on to cover the texture, then rub it down so it's nice and smooth then stick the top coat on! it's how i did the front one on jills car



and the sill trims on the roady



if a body shop says they are going to cost a fortune to do...walk away...same if they say it can't be done.....it should be cheap (it's a simple red so no basecoats needed) and easy (they should have all the stuff in stock!)

[jim]

Re: Best way to paint these?

did you not want it the same colour then on the 4/2.

[2minits]

Re: Best way to paint these?

it was, but thats the only pic i've got and it's not a very good one! Besides it wasn't to show the colour...just the results of the process i described

[jim]

Re: Best way to paint these?

only winding you up .....

[Hogster]

Re: Best way to paint these?

Thanks for all the replies! I must say I do like the idea of doing it myself to save a bit of money ... and I like a challenge! Is the adhesion promoter an easy-to-obtain item? I guess finding a matching spray for Phat Red won't be so easy though Would you also need to put a lacquer on top to give some protection?

Many thanks


David

[2minits]

Re: Best way to paint these?

i think halfords do most of the stuff needed...plastic adhesion promoter may be the hard one....a specialist car paint shop will do it, most towns have one....they're normally well hidden however!!!


halfords (or the paint shop for that matter) will do the phat red, no problem, high builder primer can be bought from either...... you can laquer the finished bits if you feel the need, it will protect it abit but it will chip whichever way you go!

[davros7760]

Re: Best way to paint these?

Halfords do an Adhesion promotor aerosol which allowed me to get a good finish on textured plastic wing mirrors from a Roadie