Painting ABS plastic seat pan???

[LMS]

I bought an ABS 'paint ready' seat pan and I have no idea what, 'paint ready' means. I would assume that I would just scuff the pan and shoot it with the base color? This is not the pan I have, but it's the same material...
https://www.mikesxs.net/bug-eye-cafe-racer-seat-pan-abs-plastic.html

With some plastics, you shoot it with adhesion promotors, flexible primer, etc.
Anyone painted one of these?
thx.

[m in sc]

i would suggest vinyl dye spray or bumper paint.. but why bother? 

[pidjones]

99% of motorcycle fairings are ABS these days, I believe. I usually start with rattle-can etching primer, then lacquer or water-born color, then 2k clear.

[LMS]

Why bother, because I'm painting the tank and seat pan the same color. Believe me, they make the abs look great in pictures, but there are tiny imperfections all through out.
Found a 'few' how-too after posting this, but it seems like all painters have their own technique. I'll start by testing the underside with scuffing, etc. to see how it fares.
Thanks.

[m in sc]

reason i asked is, can you see the pan when its on the bike?

[IR8D8R]

ABS should be rigid plastic. Prep and primer would be more important on ABS I think. If you don't get it degreased thoroughly it will peel. "Paint surface cleaner" like 'Finish1' after 600 grit and scotch brite.
Car painters used to use a "flex-add" additive for Firebird noses, Fieros, and Saturn body panels, but that Enduroflex was some kind of FRP, urethane, and rubber sandwich. Paint would crack if it didn't have the additive. Insurance body shops always left it out and your paint cracked and peeled.

I tried some of the Krylon spray paint made specifically for plastic on Lexan. It didn't stick. I complained to Krylon and they sent me a big box of the same stuff that didn't work. Like 20 cans of spray paint. I appreciated the effort but...

IR8D8R

[LMS]

reason i asked is, can you see the pan when its on the bike?

Yep, it kind of looks like the one I posted. The sides under where the cushion attaches can be seen along with the hump on the back.

[LMS]

ABS should be rigid plastic. Prep and primer would be more important on ABS I think. If you don't get it degreased thoroughly it will peel. "Paint surface cleaner" like 'Finish1' after 600 grit and scotch brite.
Car painters used to use a "flex-add" additive for Firebird noses, Fieros, and Saturn body panels, but that Enduroflex was some kind of FRP, urethane, and rubber sandwich. Paint would crack if it didn't have the additive. Insurance body shops always left it out and your paint cracked and peeled.

I tried some of the Krylon spray paint made specifically for plastic on Lexan. It didn't stick. I complained to Krylon and they sent me a big box of the same stuff that didn't work. Like 20 cans of spray paint. I appreciated the effort but...

IR8D8R

Yep, it's pretty rigid. Thanks for the tips. I was reading to clean, clean, and clean some more, then clean again because when they inject these, I guess mold/dirt, grease can be a huge issue.
Sooooo, scuff with gray pads along with scuff paste. Clean again, follow with anti-static wipes, then adhesion promotor, prime, paint. What a pain.

[m in sc]

ahh, i missed the link the 1st time. my bad.

[pidjones]

Just be careful with solvents. ABS is dissolved in acetone to make ABS cement. I use soap and water, rinse well, dry, then 91% isopropyl alcohol to clean. Lacquers (like many rattle-can primers) attach well because they have solvents like acetone in them. Need 2k clear to hold up, though.

[rodneya]

Clean, scuff slightly and then spray a coat of adhesion promoter before priming.

[LMS]

Thanks all. I have a pretty good plan now, fingers crossed this works out.

[LMS]

Three years later, took cover off bike last weekend and the painted seat pan crazed. Pretty sure it's due to extreme heat and cold in my garage and the abs shrinking and expanding along with the paint. But really, this should not happen as most bikes these days have tons of abs on them. So maybe it was my prep/paint, who knows. The tank and fender are fine. Now, try and strip 2k clear, 2 base colors, primer and filler and you get a seat that looks like it went through the ringer. You can't just use aircraft stripper, or it will eat the abs. Applied three light coats of primer. Just smeared glazing putty, will have to sand that, prime, smear more. Then use high build primer, block, etc. What a frickn pain.

[JKV45]

Three years later, took cover off bike last weekend and the painted seat pan crazed. Pretty sure it's due to extreme heat and cold in my garage and the abs shrinking and expanding along with the paint. But really, this should not happen as most bikes these days have tons of abs on them. So maybe it was my prep/paint, who knows. The tank and fender are fine. Now, try and strip 2k clear, 2 base colors, primer and filler and you get a seat that looks like it went through the ringer. You can't just use aircraft stripper, or it will eat the abs. Applied three light coats of primer. Just smeared glazing putty, will have to sand that, prime, smear more. Then use high build primer, block, etc. What a frickn pain.

Most likely there was just too much material on it.  With most surface coatings - less is more. 

The thinnest build you can get and still get a smooth finish is usually the most durable.

[LMS]

I hear ya. And that was one of the original issues. The seat pan was supposedly, ready to paint. My ass it was. There were so many imperfections in the abs, no way primer was going to fill it. And now it's worse than before. Oh well. The seat can be taken off pretty easily. I think I'll just store it inside during the hot days, and all during winter when the garage gets down to single digits.