Painting plastic

Howdy folks,
I'm working on painting all of my plastic moldings on my bumpers black. I am going to use Krylon fushion. So far I have taken them off and have cleaned them well, with rubbing alchohal. My question is, is do I need to rough the plastic with sand paper, or will it stick just fine, since the plastic seems to be more porus than metal or somthing that's painted already. Thanks folks.

Find a good primer that adheres to plastic. I believe Krylon makes some that will etch the plast some more for better adhesion.

I am getting ready to do the same thing to the sapre bumper I bought.

My understanding:

Clean really well, Rubbing alcohol or something that will get all the gunk and oil off.

Adhesion promoter spray then plastic paint. At least that is what I am going to do. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

If it's a small part you can run it under warm water it also helps in adhesion, if its hot outside you can let it set in the sun.

I dont know much about Krylon but as a custom painter the way i paint plastic starts with red or grey scotch brite pad and comet in warm water that scuffs the plastic and cleans at the same time after that i use a plastic cleaner witch for the most part is alcohol it cleans and will soften plastic some what. Then i use a 1 part plastic primer then a 2 part sealer or primer depending on the need, then base color and then clear. A 1 part material has to be seprated from a 2 part material at least in the auto paint industry. Hope that helps maybe too much info for the rattle can question.Im sure Krylon has the system worked out for plastic dont see it lasting real long though. Good luck!!!

Lacquer thinner and then 3 thin coats Krylon Fusion. It's been that way for 3 winters and still going strong, no flakes or chips.

Got to be very carfull the lacquer doesn't fade or melt the plastic. A rule of thumb is never use any solvents unless approved for that specific plastic.


Use bull dog adhesion promoter. It is by far the best for all plastics. Scuff, clean very well, then use adhesion promoter, then paint.

with the fuzion plastic paint you should not need a primer i did my door handle and mirrors to give it that new glossy black look turned out well, oh did my tail lights also just taped off the red lens.

I ended up just spraying it, looks great, we'll see how it holds.

the point of the fusion paint is to not need a primer...just clean and shoot.

the krylon works FAR better then the valspar version too!!

SHughes said:

the point of the fusion paint is to not need a primer...just clean and shoot.

the krylon works FAR better then the valspar version too!!

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Yeah, Krylon doesn't need primer, I did the bumper, the chrome wheel covers and the grill.

Krylon Fusion has a dye in it that adheres to plastic.