The right way to bring your plastic back to life.

[Budweiserebel07]

Alright I was going to wait till tonight to start this thread but I'm bored at work so here we go. This is for the people like me that like the color of your plastic but its in rough shape and you don't have the cash to drop on new plastic.

You will need a bucket of water, 180,220, 400, 600, and 1000 grit sandpaper. ( 2 sheets each) Also you will need a liquid rubbing compound (medium is best), liquid wax, and a 10 inch buffer.

So here is what ya do. No need for any paint or Plastic renew or any of that crap. Wet sand then buff it out.

Keep in mind plastic is the same color all the way thru so sanding isn't going to be a problem. Depending on how horrific your scratches are is what grit to start with. Mine looked like a badger gnawed it. so I started with 180. Then to 220, 400, 600, and finally 1000.

It is imperative to only wet sand using as much water as you can. Plastic burs easy and wet sanding will prevent that.

With the 180 grit just sand the really bad places and get the deep scratches, nothing more. After they have disappeared, Use 220 on the whole bike. Sand until the color is even all over and the scratches are gone.

That was the obvious part. lol

By this time some part of your bike has dried and it looks almost white and foggy. Like the picture below.This is normal.

Now using lots of water again use the 400 grit and sand till you can't feel resistance between the sandpaper and the plastic.Should feel like your hand is gliding across a wet glass table. Do this with the 400, 600 and 1000 all over.

Dry off the bike completely. You will notice its still foggy and faded looking. Time to buff. I recommend using a buffer or even a mothers ball for the rubbing compound and wax. Usually i would say to do it by hand but plastic isn't like paint, it will need some persuading to buff to shine.

Don't be shy with the rubbing compound. It will be self explanatory when to stop. This will bring the plastic back to a shine. After going over the bike heavily with the compound, wipe it all off. Then do the same process with the wax.
Once its buffed, take a dry rag and wipe it down and you will have clean shiny plastic. ENJOY !

pics of how i did the process below in order of how i wrote this.

[Budweiserebel07]

Started sanding

[Budweiserebel07]

I will have pics up of what it will look like after the 1000 grit, as well as the buffing and the finished product this evening after work.. :D

[MisterGraphic]

Nice write-up!

What brand of liquid compound are you using?
Looking forward to the next pictures!

[Budweiserebel07]

Thanks man !. Well I'm using 3M medium compound and wax. I know its ridiculously expensive. I used it simply because I had some leftover from a guitar I was buffing. Turtle wax, Mothers and Maguires will work well too. Ya I'm pretty anxious to get it done.

[Budweiserebel07]

Alright all here is the closer. A few changes have been made, which will need a little explanation. First of all I could not find my 10" buffer. SO I used my pnuematic drill and a mothers ball at about 16000 rpm. This isn't all that necessary .

Now the explanation. To buff something as hard as atv plastic you need 2 of 3 things. Either pressure and compound (hence the buffer) OR speed and compound (which is my little pneumatic friend with the mothers ball).

The first pic is as promised what the plastic looks like after using 1000 grit.

The second pic is after i buffed with the compound

The third is me playing with the mothers ball. lol

The fourth is my finished plastic with me on it NOT riding in anyway so please dont delete my photo lol.

ENJOY !

[Budweiserebel07]

Small buffed area.

[Budweiserebel07]

16000 RPM wooo

[Budweiserebel07]

Grand finale !

[CJM]

I painted mine with krylon fusion awhile back. The plastics utter trash tho and Im buying new. I have front cut fenders I dislike anyways.

But this, this is gonna be filed away into the "really good idea" bank in my head. Very good job man!

[jake"08"400]

This is really cool man when my plastics get a lil worse deffintley will keep this in mind. But one question after you wash it do you have to re wax your plastics are does it stay on and shiny?


O and the orange quad looks real good man Wish they had orange in the new 400 when I bought mine lol.

[sheweezy]

Sticky???

[kbnorth99]

Originally posted by sheweezy
Sticky???

X2!

[CJM]

Ill message pappy.

[honda400ex2003]

looks great! glad it came out nice for you.

steve

[2001400exrida]

are these plastics really orange or does it jst look that way in the photos?

did the red color fade after sanding and shining?

[Budweiserebel07]

The bike is how it looks in the photos and as Maier plastic named it Zest orange. And ya shes shiny

[Budweiserebel07]

Originally posted by jake"08"400
This is really cool man when my plastics get a lil worse deffintley will keep this in mind. But one question after you wash it do you have to re wax your plastics are does it stay on and shiny?


O and the orange quad looks real good man Wish they had orange in the new 400 when I bought mine lol.

Actually here is the beauty of it. After about 3 washes ( if you wash by hand) the plastic will get a little shinier. Simply because a rag or sponge is in some form abrasive. Like wet sanding with like 5000 grit. If you are really picky about your plastic I would say wax like once every 3 months by hand. No need to use a buffer because you would just be waxing to break the oxidation from being in sunlight and throwing mud all over it. :cool:

Thanks for all the comments and sticky requests guys !

[Budweiserebel07]

Here is my final pic of the bike after i took the buffer and wax to it and washed it. I'm actually surprised it came out this shiny. Oh and my angry eyes are on too,lol. Enjoy.

[chronicsmoke]

wow..

That turned out REALLY good!:eek2:

How long did it take you?

Sick bike BTW, for $900 you walked away a lucky man!

[Budweiserebel07]

Thanks man !! from the time i started sanding till getting it to look like that id say i had 4 1/2 hours in it. But I had some pretty horrific plastic. The buffing took the longest for sure.

When I first bought the bike I thought it was going to take way too much money to fix up to where I wanted. Turns out I only had like 250 bucks in the restoration. Including the aluminum handguards and pro taper grips, paint for the motor and frame, and bearings. The guy I bought it off of gave me the piston, hotcam, and gasket kit for free. My 400 ex decals should be in today along with my plastic fuel switch.

[chronicsmoke]

Originally posted by Budweiserebel07
Thanks man !! from the time i started sanding till getting it to look like that id say i had 4 1/2 hours in it. But I had some pretty horrific plastic. The buffing took the longest for sure.

When I first bought the bike I thought it was going to take way too much money to fix up to where I wanted. Turns out I only had like 250 bucks in the restoration. Including the aluminum handguards and pro taper grips, paint for the motor and frame, and bearings. The guy I bought it off of gave me the piston, hotcam, and gasket kit for free. My 400 ex decals should be in today along with my plastic fuel switch.

Keep it up! I noticed the hand guards, they really set it off.. now all you need is a front bumper lol!

[Budweiserebel07]

haha Oh YA !! hold on ive got one. The goober before me welded the top bracket shut and Ive got to torch it off :mad: but hers a pic of it with the bumper just sitting on the bracket. here it is..

[chronicsmoke]

Originally posted by Budweiserebel07
haha Oh YA !! hold on ive got one. The goober before me welded the top bracket shut and Ive got to torch it off :mad: but hers a pic of it with the bumper just sitting on the bracket. here it is..


Haha at least it's keeping you busy

I wish deals like that came up around me! :ermm:

[Budweiserebel07]

LOL Craigslist man. It rocks.

[sheweezy]

Man, you did an excellent job....been hesitant to try this, but if mine would turn out a fraction of the quality of those i would be satisfied

[Budweiserebel07]

thanks ! biggest cost for that project is time.

[thebig450es]

Thanks for the post, my black plastics need help, i'll give your process a try

[Budweiserebel07]

Sweet. for black, I would really be tedious with the wet sanding. Cause we both know black shows every scratch, lol. However it looks bad ***. The more elbow grease the better the shine ! Good Luck !

[grovesbm]

i've been thinkin about doing this for awhile ......i got black plastic that looks like a gerbil has been gnawing at it for awhile..........anyway, looks sweet man! thanks for posting!





sanding begins tonight!


:devil: :bandit:

[thebig450es]

need some more pics

[Budweiserebel07]

of "how to" or just my bike now that its done ?

[thebig450es]

Just how it sits lol, looks great from the pics you put up already

[Budweiserebel07]

lol no problem i have a few on my phone ill upload now.. bikes pretty dirty now.. I went on a poker run after it rained and i havent had a chance to do more than pressure wash it.. also got my decals i need to take pics of.. they are small black honda 400 ex decals on the tank.. not stock

[Budweiserebel07]

guess i only had one clean pic.. ill take more this evening for you all


My 416 and my brothers 600rr

orange is kinda our thing i guess lol

[Budweiserebel07]

and here it is after the poker run.. hahaha

[Budweiserebel07]

I got bored at work so I cleaned the bike up and dried it for you guys to see after i got the decals and how well its holding up after a hellaciously muddy poker run.

[Budweiserebel07]

next

[Budweiserebel07]

back

[Budweiserebel07]

and a little angle to finish

[Honda.rider5871]

Im looking to dothis to my older 400 that has had scratched up plastic since i bought it , i was going to buy new plastic buy thats $500 so i was gonna try this . 2 questions - 1. My plastics red will it fade at all ? 2. How excatly do you wet sand plastic?
thanks for any help

[Budweiserebel07]

No bro Red is fine. Black is only one Id be weary of but its still do able. Now when your wet sanding your plastic it WILL look faded on the parts that dry, dont stress tho, that is how its supposed to look until you buff it out. Now to wet sand, what you need to do is go get some 3M wet sanding sandpaper. EASY to find. Depending on how bad the scratches are, is what grit to start with. I started with 180 I think. Basically to wet sand just get a bucket of water and get your plastic wet and keep dipping the sand paper in the water to keep it wet. That is important. Make sure its soaking wet at all times. Sand in a circular motion as well. Sanding back and forth tends to create lines that are hard to get rid of. after that get rubbing compound a buffer and wax and go to town on it.

[Honda.rider5871]

Thanks for the help, ill post a couple before and after pics too when i get done if anybodys interested in what it looks like in red

[Budweiserebel07]

Alright ! Im anxious to see it. Elbow grease never hurt anybody !

[GAZ-V-21]

Any one have pics of a black one after this process? Im thinking about tring it on my ride.

[Honda.rider5871]

I have pictures of it done to red, but i ended up getting a good deal on oem plastic . but i can post some pics of what it looked like after i did this if anybodys interested

[BoneStockHonda]

Originally posted by GAZ-V-21
Any one have pics of a black one after this process? Im thinking about tring it on my ride.

X2 I bought my 450 with black rear plastics and they're pretty beat up. I'm afraid to try the black cause I know how well everything shows on black. Pics anyone?

[DirtyBirdRacing]

If no one has Pics of doing this with black, Why not try doing a little part on the bottom side of your plastics and see how they turn out? just an idea.

[dirtrider420]

hey budweiserebel i know this is not related to ur topic but how u like that tusk clutch and what oil u run with it

[grovesbm]

i tried on my old black rear plastics.........ill never try it again! im just gonna keep sprayin cable lube on them
:D :D to shine em up!

[DirtyBirdRacing]

Originally posted by grovesbm
i tried on my old black rear plastics.........ill never try it again! im just gonna keep sprayin cable lube on them
:D :D to shine em up!

Tire shine works great as well i used it right after i cleaned it. lookes pretty good in this pic lasted awhile to
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p185/lord-inuruku/Quad%20trip%202010/1b56c563.jpg

[Thumpin440ex]

I just did this to a ds 650 before getting it ready for sale.. I used 220, then 500, then a buffer on ruffly 1400 rpm, wool pad, water, it brought it back beautiful.. I never had seen this thread until just now.. LOL But great rite up.. :D


John

[CJM]

^ Curious Thumpin, what did you use for buffing compound?

[Thumpin440ex]

Originally posted by CJM
^ Curious Thumpin, what did you use for buffing compound?

No BSing, just water..


John

[DirtyBirdRacing]

Originally posted by Thumpin440ex
No BSing, just water..

Wouldnt that keep you plastics Dull if you dont buff it out?

[BoneStockHonda]

Originally posted by DirtyBirdRacing
If no one has Pics of doing this with black, Why not try doing a little part on the bottom side of your plastics and see how they turn out? just an idea.

I'm gonna try below the the seat where my boots rub cause it can't get much worse haha

[Thumpin440ex]

Originally posted by DirtyBirdRacing
Wouldnt that keep you plastics Dull if you dont buff it out?

A wool pad will buff things out depending on the material that is being brought out.. :)



John

[hcomras]

i dont know wtf happened but i followed your steps verbatim and they look worse now than ever....ill give her another shot tomorrow...

the 320 grit made swirls that showed up throught the 600, 1000 and 1500 grit wet sanding...and i used enough polisher to cover a truck...so....crap.

[duneslider]

My first thought would be you didn't go long enough with the 600 to get all the 320 scratches out.

[hcomras]

possibly....the black plastics look the worst...the yellow just looks dull...ill start over with 600 and go from there....

[duneslider]

Black is really hard to get to look great. With a wax buffed in it should look okay from a distance but not up close. I have yellow plastics too and have been wanting to shine them but its getting cold and wet sanding in 20 degree weather isn't sounding fun.

[Jake250ex]

sorry to bring this back up but I gave it a shot today on my 450 plastics and ruined them.

started with 400, went to 600 then 800 then 1000 then 1500 then 3000.... 4 hours just on the rear plastics.


went to buff it and certain parts came our shiny, like all the creases and edges of the plastic but the rest look foggy and I spent a couple hours buffing it too. I have access to a body shop too so I used a high speed buffer and tried every rubbing compound they have... Its smooth but thats about it. Looks super cloudy.
Also it burns the compound on the edges of the pad and basically ingrains it in the plastic.


What am I doing wrong? Please tell me I didnt trash my plastics. Wish I woulda just left em alone

[Thumpin440ex]

Use a wool pad turn the rpms down to 1400-1600. Use water only in a spray bottle and keep it damp. Do not press hard on it.


John

[PrideRider]

Originally posted by Budweiserebel07
Here is my final pic of the bike after i took the buffer and wax to it and washed it. I'm actually surprised it came out this shiny. Oh and my angry eyes are on too,lol. Enjoy.

very nice man im going to have to try this once i feel like cleaning mine....

[HondaRacing83]

bump because im gonna do this and dont want to forget

[Resq]

Just picked up an 08 with the plastics in need of a shine.

Worked thru 220,400, 600, 1000, and 2000 wetsand on the tank cover. Will say its smooth, and white for red plastic.

Next is the buffing.

[Otis.Leo]

Originally posted by Resq
Just picked up an 08 with the plastics in need of a shine.

Worked thru 220,400, 600, 1000, and 2000 wetsand on the tank cover. Will say its smooth, and white for red plastic.

Next is the buffing.

please post a pic when done.. i have reds and they are shiny yet but i have scratches and might do this..

[Resq]

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii258/Resqu/IMAG0007.jpg

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii258/Resqu/IMAG0008.jpg

Im going to replace the plastics over the winter (jan or feb). Tried the mothers foam ball and buffing compound for a half an hour on one small area, never did shine. My drill is only 1200 rpm. Since ive put time in sanding i may just end up with a clear plastic spray paint and buff it up for now.

[Resq]

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii258/Resqu/IMAG0009.jpg

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii258/Resqu/IMAG0010.jpg

Painted with clear plastic rattlecan paint.
I'll start another thread on how it hold up.