Painting plastic saws - A little help?

[dswensen]

Here is my dye job on my earthquake saw...with better pics. Plenty of gas has been spilt on this (and all my other saws) saw. No negative effects. If you want to dye your wildthing, you can only go black because of the purple areas.

Hmmm. That dye job looks great. But as I already have several coats of red paint on the Thingy, I think dyeing becomes problematic. Might have to try a clear urethane "sealer" coat

 

[joesmith]

Hmmm. That dye job looks great. But as I already have several coats of red paint on the Thingy, I think dyeing becomes problematic. Might have to try a clear urethane "sealer" coat

The most important thing when rattle canning is to allow proper dry times in the proper temp. A clear will help, but needs to set probably twice as long as the can says. This time of the year, painting sucks!

I once perfectly painted a motorcycle I had with rattle cans and then a clear...I did not let is setup long enough. The first fill up I spilled on my perfect tank and got hazy smears down the side of the tank

You can remove the paint very easily with adhesive remover if you want to try dyeing..it will wipe right off.

For anyone interested:

To prep for dye, wash it with dish soap to get the oil off, then with a good degreaser, then a proper rinse. If you wash in hot water, it will open the plastic pores and help remove the grease.

If it is really greasy, as mine was, then soak it in alot of dishsoap and hot water for a couple of hours, then rinse and follow the above. So basically 3 washes.

You can tell when the grease is gone, because the water will not bead off of the plastic, but it will "sheet" on it.

3 packets of RIT powder dye, color of your choice, and a homer bucket...in most cases black or dark blue is about all you will get with saws.

The temp for the water should be around 200 degrees F...not too hot or the plastic will warp. To speed up the dyeing process, cover the bucket and wrap the sides and bottom with old towels to keep the heat in.

Use a bent coat hanger to slightly pull the parts out of the bucket until the desired color is had.

When done, be careful and rinse all your parts in cold water. This stuff stains, but a bleach based cleaner takes care of that really fast. Carpet does not like bleach though!

 

[expy]

For the aftermarket ABS plastic fairing that I put on my bike, I went to Autozone and bought the Dupli Color Perfect match rattle can. They also have the clear coat that works with it in a rattle can. I have had it on for a couple of years and it has held up well to bug juice and such (not sure about gas). Follow the directions and especially watch your humidity levels. Preparation is always key.

Then there is my Dad's bike where we just used crayons!:msp_w00t: