Faded/blotchy black plastic

[sheiserman]

Putting a new-to-me '97 back together. The inner left fairing had some trouble at some point in its life. I'd guess some dot 4 was dribbled on it and it ran down the side of the lockable door and around the balancer, on down to the vent. I wanted to fix it before I went any further.

Eastwood Plastic Resurfacer. $30. Also used a can of SEM Sand Free adhesion promoter for ABS, PVC, and similar plastics. $15. The resurfacer is a matte black. I did no other prep work besides washing and drying it off. I didn't sand the discolored spots. I followed the directions and put 4 light coats on each inner fairing, each of the doors, and each vent to try to keep it all uniform. Even did the knob for the headlight adj.

It has an 8 hour cure time. I let it sit 12 before I started installing parts. It leaves the texture of the piece intact, and dust wipes right off w/o scratching. Everything was completely uniform. I'm no pro, but I was impressed with this stuff. I had enough left over to do the saddle bag lid doors too. I apparently rushed those and didn't get one of the doors quite dry or something. They both looked better than before though. It just takes the blotchy uneven look out of the plastic. I took each inner fairing out in the sun, and it even looks good in real light.

I didn't think to take before pics, but did take an after just because. I can try to get my handler to get them here.

[sheiserman]

Sorry, best I could do.

If you click on the first one, you can make out the outline of the bad spot off to the left of the balancer. I didn't touch the balancer with the "paint" and you can make out the blotchy look the whole inner fairing had on it before being covered.

[cushman eagle]

You did a good job repairing the damage

[triton28]

Hello Sheiserman;
that looks a lot better than faded plastic! I would like to ask a couple of questions if you don't mind; I went to the Eastwood sight and it seems that both products you mentioned are aerosol spray cans, is that the case?
Did you spray/apply 4 coats of the SEM adhesion promoter and the plastic resurfacer; or 1 coat of the adhesion promoter and 4 coats of the resurfacer?
As I mentioned the results look much better but with respect to the brake fluid scarring, had you tried any remediation to the affected brake fluid drip/run areas or were they covered with the Eastwood products after washing/rinsing without any attempt at remediation?
It looks as though this system may not mask the damage left by the brake fluid with a simple wash/dry and apply, or would some method of blending the fluid damage be needed to match it to the undamaged surrounding areas?
Have you tried it on coarse or sanded areas to see if the coarse/sanded texture shows up after application?
Thanks,
Dave
ps; I heard it has been real cold in Iowa this winter, so cold I heard a water tower froze. Is that real or just a rumour?

[Mr Jensee]

I have used S100 engine black for blackening the plastics. It wont harm it and lasts a long time. Cost about $7 at my local Harley Davidson shop.

[sheiserman]

Hello Sheiserman;
that looks a lot better than faded plastic! I would like to ask a couple of questions if you don't mind; I went to the Eastwood sight and it seems that both products you mentioned are aerosol spray cans, is that the case?
Did you spray/apply 4 coats of the SEM adhesion promoter and the plastic resurfacer; or 1 coat of the adhesion promoter and 4 coats of the resurfacer?
As I mentioned the results look much better but with respect to the brake fluid scarring, had you tried any remediation to the affected brake fluid drip/run areas or were they covered with the Eastwood products after washing/rinsing without any attempt at remediation?
It looks as though this system may not mask the damage left by the brake fluid with a simple wash/dry and apply, or would some method of blending the fluid damage be needed to match it to the undamaged surrounding areas?
Have you tried it on coarse or sanded areas to see if the coarse/sanded texture shows up after application?
Thanks,
Dave
ps; I heard it has been real cold in Iowa this winter, so cold I heard a water tower froze. Is that real or just a rumour?

Yep, one of the small towns over by Waterloo had its tower freeze up for a short time. It was 20 or so below at the time, but it obviously doesn't get much use. I will also add that the town of Granger has two water towers. One says hot, the other says cold. That question gets asked quite a bit.

Yes, both the promoter and resurfacer are the 12 oz. spray can. There are several options for a "pre-treat", but this one specifically called out ABS, so that's what I got. The directions for the SEM promoter said to put on a medium wet coat and immediately apply the resurfacer. Once the 1st coat of resurfacer "flashed", then follow directions for the resurfacer which call for 2-4 light coats, 5 to 10 minutes apart. I guessed at the definitions of medium wet and flashed, but followed directions best I could. I didn't try testing anything w/o the promoter to see what the difference would have been without it.

As far as remediation goes, I did nothing other than wash and dry. I didn't pay any attention at the time, but now I wonder if the dot 4 flattens the texture of the plastic and that may be why the bad spot can be made out. I wouldn't know. I was thinking it was just a simple discoloration/fading problem. I didn't want to sand anything because it didn't say to, and I was afraid those scratches would show up.

Here's some stuff off the label that may be of interest to you... it passed 3000 hours of ASTM D4587 QUV testing which is equal to 7 years in the sun. It etches and reflows the surface, embedding black resins into the substrate and maintaining original texture. This is important as I don't need an over-eager doctor checking my substrate......

I don't know if an automotive paint job would do it, and I didn't want to ask because I wouldn't want to spend the money anyway.

[sheiserman]

I have used S100 engine black for blackening the plastics. It wont harm it and lasts a long time. Cost about $7 at my local Harley Davidson shop.

Yeah, but what did it cost in both time and money to wash that "harley" feeling off when you got back home?

I jest. There's a hog lot up the road from me, and at $7, it's worth looking at. It didn't show up when I googled faded black plastic. I've never heard of it before. I'll try it before ordering another can of Eastwood.

[sheiserman]

You did a good job repairing the damage

Thank you, sir. It does look a ton better.

[triton28]

Thanks Sheiserman,
Dave

[Mr Jensee]

I first heard of S100 when I went to the Harley shop back when I had the ZRX1100. Since the bike was all black and the engine was too I tried it. It gave the bike a newness I hadn't seen in a couple of years. Reading the label it said it was safe for all plastics. I have been using it on the Voyager ever since. It really brought the Charlie Voyager back to life. I am sure you can order it online or even through Amazon.com. https://www.amazon.com/S100-Motorcycle- ... brightener

[Van Voyager]

I used the S100 Engine Brightener on the black motor of my 84 VT500FT Ascot. I was amazed how it brought the crusty grey back to semi gloss black. I've only used it once a few years ago and it's still holding up. Frankly I'm a little worried about what regular use would do to the paint but the first application provided some eye popping results (and it hasn't really needed regular use).

I didn't realize that it can be used on plastic. I'll have to give that a try.