Author Topic: Restoring faded plastic  (Read 2967 times)

Offline blerko

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Restoring faded plastic
« on: September 09, 2015, 12:28:37 PM »
My 2002 ST1300 had badly faded pannier lid plastic, and using things like tyre black and Turtle Trim Restorer gave small but unsatisfactory improvements. I found these instruction for painting the plastic at st-owners.com (http://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?138653-ST1300-Side-Pannier-Disassembly-Painting) and the results are like new. I really should have taken before and after photos; the lid plastic in particular was grey and powdery, and they had a few scuff marks.

After searching, I settled on using VHT Vinyl Dye Gloss Black (can't find the thread now, but I think I found this on advrider) and it looks great, but it is a little darker than the existing black. I had replaced the windscreen inner cowl, so I used the old cowl for testing the dye first. It looked good and the dye passed the fingernail scratch test after a couple of days, so I was satisfied it could do the job. I also used the cowl to test sanding some damage in the plastic and found 240 grit sandpaper I had on hand suited the plastic's grain without adding scratches or making it too flat (note that the vinyl dye won't cover or fill any scratches). I'm waiting for the warmer weather to arrive down south so I can do a complete paint respray in the next few months, so the front half of the black plastic and rear guard will have to wait until then if the VHT proves the test of time.

Being my first time working on these, I completed the left pannier first so I had the right one to reference if I got lost in the lock re-assembly. Disassembling them was a breeze, but take note on the linked instructions when you disassemble the locking mechanism... there is a spring and ball bearing on the outer handle (photo from st-owners: http://www.st-owners.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=153457&d=1402714345), so make sure you don't pull them apart on grass, &c. where you might lose them. The original article had the handles sprayed on a flat surface, but I put a zip tie through a hole and pegged it up to get complete coverage. One can should be enough, but I was probably a bit cautious buying two because I wasn't sure how much I had used on the test piece first. As it turned out, one can covered both pannier plastics with two light coats and one final heavier coat so I used the remainder and some of a second can for the same coverage of the engine guard covers and my old grey NT650 top box.

Anyway, I didn't think to take before photos, but I have included a photo alongside my old NT650 which hopefully indicates the fading on the ST's lid. I'll try to remember to update this thread regarding my long term observations.

Before:


...and afters:






Here's the comparison between the existing black and the VHT gloss:
 
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Offline Shiney

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Re: Restoring faded plastic
« Reply #1 on: September 09, 2015, 01:10:10 PM »
Awesome work mate, thanks for sharing :hatwave
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Offline STeveo

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Re: Restoring faded plastic
« Reply #2 on: September 10, 2015, 07:29:33 PM »
That looks tops.
 

Offline Bill Held

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Re: Restoring faded plastic
« Reply #3 on: September 25, 2015, 10:49:52 PM »
Fantastic article and with details, many thanks.

The dye you mention is available from Autobarn Stores

https://www.autobarn.com.au/vht-vinyl-dye-gloss-jet-black-sp941

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