Painting canopy

[Evski]

Hey guys, Ive picked up a white coloured canopy for my dual cab lux which is gunmetal grey. It seems to be made of really soft plastic not fibreglass. Just wondering how I can go about painting it? Is there any special paint that I should be using, or will I get away with a light sand, some primer and a few cans of paint from Repco... Anyone painted a canopy with good results before? I'm worried that because the canopy has a bit of 'flex' in it the paint could crack.
Cheers
Evan

[thehanko]

you will need to know what kind of plastic to work out what it will need.

ive seen plastics get painted before and then the whole coat pop off the top in a single skin pretty funny to see except it was an expensive air brush jobby.

[Evski]

Is there a specialist auto paint store near Sydney that will be able to help? The canopy has no brand name on it so it will be difficult to work out what material it is made from.

[mico]

Give it a good sand with 400-600 wet/dry and the rub it with a green scotchbrite pad, wash it with wax and grease remover then prime it with universal or plastic primer let it sit for the required time and paint away

[familybus]

i reckon id be close to on the money if i say paint it in the same paint they use on boats using the same method bud!

[Evski]

Good call on the boat paint, I'll have a look around tomorrow for a shop. Has anyone head of someone who has painted a canopy before with good results?

[familybus]

Good call on the boat paint, I'll have a look around tomorrow for a shop. Has anyone head of someone who has painted a canopy before with good results?

go to Bias Boating or the other mob at the home centre at Warwick Farm and theyll steer yah right mate!

good luck

[bazzle]

Prob made of ABS plastic. Most car paints will work OK. Is it smooth of patterned?

Bazzle

[anzac]

there are flexible primers available that will do the job.

I painted my brothers canopy with flexi prime, then just acrylic paint over the top and some clear. That was 5-6 years ago and it still looks good now.

Boat shops would specialise in fibreglass painting I would have thought.

We got our paint from the local rare spares. Sorry but because it was so long ago, I can't remember the brand.

[Evski]

It is a smooth finish to the canopy, and is quite glossy still if that makes a difference at all. Is flexible primer available from most auto part stores? Cheers guys.

[anzac]

even stupid cheap has flexible primer.

Because it's pretty glossy, make sure you give it a decent sand with 1200grit wet and dry or even a scotch brite pad. Then prime, paint and clear coat it.

Sand with 1200 between coats and wipe down with wax and grease remover before every coat of paint. Preparation is the key. Do all that and it will look sweet as.

[Evski]

Thanks alot for all your help. I'll give it a go and report back in a few weeks.
Cheers

[Mick.]

Don't use boat paint it's not a boat.

You need a plastic adhesion promoter. 99% of them will work on a canopy. You will only need a primer if it's been damaged. Primer would only be needed on the damaged sections and only a couple of light coats to seal of any fury edges.

If it's a flexible plastic then you will need a flex additive for the primer and the clear. You wont need it for the base coat or the adhesion promoter.

It would also be recommended that you used a plastic cleaner to clean the canopy before you rub it down and just before you plaint it. Most plastic cleaners also have anti static agents in them as well which is a big problem when painting plastics.

Follow these rules and it will be fine. Cut any corners and it will fail guaranteed

Cheers Mick.

[Evski]

Wow, thanks for the tips there Mick. Any ideas where I can get all those things from? Would an auto store be the go?

[Mick.]

Wow, thanks for the tips there Mick. Any ideas where I can get all those things from? Would an auto store be the go?

Go to Automotive Colour & Equipment they will have everything you need. I'm not sure in Sydney they are but they are one of the biggest importers of Automotive repair products in Aust so they will have everything you need there for a good price.

Cheers Mick.

[Black Bull]

Being ABS plastic It's probably an Aeroklas one from TJM, they come primed and are just painted with normal automotive acrylic or 2k paint.

Be careful if you have to repair it, our painter has had issues with some primer's reacting with the factory coating when doing repairs. also if you do repair, make sure the primer/paint cures for at least 24 hours before re-coat as the plastic retains the solvents to a small degree