How to paint plastic with your own hands

How to paint plastic

Before you paint the plastic yourself, you need to choosewhat paint to paint plastic based on its structure. After all, this material is quite different.

After choosing a paint, it is important to apply the coating correctly, because it should look and be durable. And this can be done in several ways. Also on video and photos you can see the most difficult moments of this work.

The content of the article

General specifics of staining of ABS and PVC plastics
- Coloring plastic at home
- What paint to use?
Spray paint process
- The process of painting with liquid paint

General specifics of staining of ABS and PVC plastics

How to paint the plastic, will depend on its characteristics. But in any case, quality surface preparation should be done.

The paint does not adhere well to the surface of PVC. Therefore, the preparation is quite serious. Coloring plastic, as well as coloring any other surfaces, has its own characteristics.

Caution: Painting is best done with a spray gun. In this case, the coating can be applied most evenly.

For convenience, we will analyze the whole process in steps:

At the beginning of work, make sure that there are no contaminants on the surface. The surface to be treated must be dry and clean.
Before painting, plastic must be coated with a special primer for plastic with high adhesion properties.. It can be purchased at paints, construction and car dealerships. Apply the primer by spraying (using a spray device) or wiping. After processing, the product should dry completely.
In order for the staining procedure to be comfortable and the adhesion between plastic and paint to be as strong as possible, a number of conditions must be observed:

The ambient temperature should be more than 18 degrees, and humidity indicators should not exceed 80%;
The temperature of the surface to be painted, paint and equipment should be approximately the same.

Plastic coloring takes place in one layer, the thickness of which is 60-120 microns. If the layer is thinner, the wear resistance of such a coating will be very low. And the layer thickness above 120 microns will significantly increase the time of complete drying, which may impair the appearance of the painted product.
Recommended drying temperature of plastic surfaces 18-60 degrees, a more specific temperature range, as well as the drying time itself, directly depends on the thickness of the coating layer. For example, a layer of 80-120 microns at room temperature and a standard humidity of 40-50% will dry in 8-10 hours, and at a temperature of 50 degrees and a relative humidity of 65%, the drying period will be reduced to 3 hours. The surface of polyamides and polypropylenes at an air temperature of 100 degrees will dry in 20 minutes.
The polymerization (final drying) of the painted surface is completed only for 5-7 days. However, with a layer thickness of more than 120 μm, low ambient temperature and high humidity, the polymerization time may increase significantly. Prior to the end of polymerization, colored plastic should not be exposed to prolonged exposure to low temperatures and high humidity.

Coloring plastic at home

Do-it-yourself coating will be much cheaper than the price of specialists. Consider how to paint plastic at home.

In order to qualitatively paint the plastic surface yourself, we need:

Chloroplasts have what color

Plastic spray enamel or plastic enamel;
Acrylic spray varnish for the final surface treatment (it is matte and glossy);
Protective equipment for hands, eyes and respiratory organs (gloves, mask, goggles);
Plastic film (to cover surrounding objects);
Masking tape;
Plastic cleaning products (water, rags, brush, detergent);
A solvent (e.g. white spirit);
Abrasive sanding paper up to 180 microns.

What paint to use?

What kind of paint can I paint plastic now we will consider in more detail. The choice of paint must be approached with particular scrupulousness, because the type of paint and the features of its interaction with the surface have a direct effect on the final result.

What paint to paint plastic

So:

For products made of soft plastic, it is necessary to use enamels with a high content of elasticity and plasticity. And for products made of hard plastic, universal acrylic paint-enamel is also suitable.
In our case, acrylic paint on plastic, which can be purchased in any construction and paint and varnish stores, is best suited.

Attention: Also, when buying, it should be borne in mind that there are two forms of release of such paint: aerosol (in cans) and liquid (in buckets).

It will be most convenient for us to use aerosol paint-enamel, because It has good adhesion, is easy to use and dries quickly. If you need the most uniform distribution of enamel on the surface, you can purchase a specialized tip for aerosol cans, which allows you to manually adjust the degree of spraying of paint.

Attention: plastic products marked PS (polystyrene), PC (polycarbonate) and PE (polyethylene) are not painted!

We will finally fix the paint with acrylic spray varnish.
If you will work with a new surface or use liquid paint, then you will also need a primer for plastic, for example, Oteks from TM Tikkuril.
If you are going to paint old plastic, then polishing the surface will suffice.

Spray paint process

The conditionally complete process of coloring a plastic product can be divided into 6 steps:

Product cleaning	At this stage, it is necessary to completely clean the plastic from dirt, dust, fungus, oil and other things. If this is not done, then the paint will go badly, and the surface after painting will be non-smooth. We get rid of dirt and dust with soapy water, and from any fungus and mold with any bleach. After thorough cleaning of the surface, the product must be dried.
Surface degreasing	Degreasing is an important step in the pretreatment of products for painting, since no paintwork material adheres to a greasy surface. To remove old paint and degrease the surface of the painted product, it must be thoroughly treated with a solvent. After processing, the working surface must be thoroughly washed and dried.
Surface grinding	Grinding is needed in order to increase the roughness of the surface to be painted and to facilitate its adhesion to the paint. For this purpose, you can use sanding paper with indicators of abrasivity up to 180 microns. Coarse sandpaper will make the surface very rough, which will directly affect the quality of the result. The entire top layer of plastic is subject to polishing; it is desirable to achieve a matte surface. After grinding, the surface must be thoroughly cleaned with a damp cloth or brush, dried and degreased again.
Dressing	If you want to paint not the entire surface, but only part of it, then use masking tape. To do this, seal off all areas that should not be painted with tape. Immediately after painting the product, masking tape must be removed.If you miss this moment and the paint has time to dry, then removing the adhesive tape will be problematic.
Dyeing	Features of surface painting with spray paint: Before painting, shake the can for 1-2 minutes; During the staining, the spray should be placed strictly vertically; The spray can and the painted surface should be at the same level; After each press, remove your finger from the nozzle, otherwise, the paint may begin to flow; Apply the paint in a wide circular motion from left to right; Each subsequent coat of paint must be applied after the previous one has completely dried. The number of layers is directly related to the quality of the paint and the degree of preparation of the surface for painting; when using any aerosol paints and varnishes do not forget about eye and breathing protection.
Application of varnish, fixing the result	After the painted product has completely dried, usually this occurs after 25-30 minutes, spray it with a spray. The processing principle is the same as when applying paint. Dry the finished product.

The process of painting with liquid paint

An alternative way of painting is to use liquid paint and a brush. Brush painting has both pros and cons.

The main disadvantage of this staining method is the long drying time during which dust / dirt cannot be allowed to deposit on the treated surface. Since it is impossible to do this at home, a similar staining method is used only in cases where an ideal coating is not needed.

In many ways, this process repeats the above method:

Product cleaning.
Degreasing the surface.
Grinding. At this stage, processing the product with a primer is added, which will significantly increase the adhesive properties of the plastic surface and improve its adhesion to the paint. After priming, the plastic must be dried for several minutes.
Staining.

Brush painting has a number of its own, which must be taken into account if you want to get a good result:

Enamel paint should be applied in a thin layer, continuously pressing the brush to the surface;
When painting, do not immerse the brush completely in it;
Throughout the staining should carefully monitor the angle of application of the paint, it should not change;
First apply enamel in wide strips, and then blend it. This will fill in all the surface roughness and achieve the most uniform coating.

Application of varnish, fixing the result. Note that in this case, the varnish must also be applied after the surface of the product has completely dried, in the case of liquid paint, this period is quite long. Do not forget that the spray varnish dries much faster than usual. Drying time of ordinary varnish is approximately 2-2.5 hours.

How to paint plastic, you now know and the instruction will not allow you to make mistakes.