Paint for plastic: how to choose

Acrylic paints for plastic

Painting plastic is a process that can be useful in many cases: from painting parts in a room to tuning your car. If you want to decorate your home, create a stylish interior in it, without too much material cost, the easiest way to give plastic objects and surfaces a second life is to paint them with beautiful and high-quality spray paint. What and how to paint plastic, the article will tell.

The content of the article

Features of staining plastic
- Preparation of paints and other materials for painting
Plastic dyeing technology
How to paint plastic with a brush

Features of staining plastic

In everyday life, plastic materials are called:

Plastic.
Polypropylene.
Polycarbonate
Polystyrene.

Plastic, like any material, deteriorates over time, so the question of how to paint plastic and give it an aesthetic appearance is always relevant.

Tip: The plastic to be painted should be washed and dried well before coating. Particular attention must be paid to the edges of objects that may become deformed or wiped from heavy use.

Before painting plastic, you need to get acquainted with some of the nuances of the work:

Surfaces must be cleaned of grease, oil and bitumen stains, other contaminants with a solvent.
Parts are treated with antistatic - a liquid that removes the static stress that accumulated during friction of the plastic. This is necessary to eliminate the possibility of attracting dust and small fibers on the surface during painting, which can harm the process.
When processing old items, to fix any defects, putty is first applied on plastic, which differs from the usual polyester, more elasticity.
All irregularities are rubbed with abrasive, moisture-resistant sandpaper. In this case, mashing is carried out using water. This will eliminate all cracks and cracks.
The part dries well and degreases again.
Surfaces are primed with approximately three thin layers to prevent sagging. Primer provides better adhesion. The material can be used in this two-component or single-component, with different colors.
After the primer layers have dried, the surface is matted to paint using an abrasive emery cloth, number 400-500.
Do it yourself with acrylic paint with the addition of plasticizer. Paint is applied from two to three layers with a spray gun. In addition, each coat should dry well before applying the next one.
After 20-30 minutes, a layer of varnish is applied, when using paint - metallic.
A wax polishing paste is put in, removing small defects that arose when painting plastic.

Preparation of paints and other materials for painting

The range of colors available allows you to choose any color, as in the photo, suitable for painting a plastic part.

Paint color selection

How to paint plastic:

For coloring soft plastic products it is better to use elastic enamels with a high content in the composition of plasticizers.
Universal acrylic enamels are used for hard plastic.
To improve adhesion, plastic surfaces are pre-primed.

Tip: Polystyrene, polycarbonate, polyethylene parts do not lie on the stain.

For painting surfaces can be used:

Paint for plastic in cans. It is easy to apply, without the need for special work skills, it is enough to clearly follow the step-by-step instructions that apply to the material. For aerosol paints, special tips are available that allow you to conveniently adjust the amount of spray composition and the uniformity of its distribution.
An ordinary brush when painting a surface from a can. This greatly complicates the process, due to the need for maximum isolation of the part from the presence of all kinds of dusty elements and villi in the air, which is quite difficult to do.

Brush painting is indispensable if you need to make a high-quality coating on fairly small details. In this case, the spray can not cope.

Tip: The best effect when applying paint is obtained by immersing the brush in the paintwork on a third of its length and working quickly, without waiting for the paint to dry out on the brush. During painting, the angle of inclination of the tool should be the same, and excess paintwork should be squeezed against the edge of the container with the paintwork.

Dipping a brush in a jar of paint

Liquid plastic paint can be applied to surfaces of any kind. The coating creates a dense polymer layer, which reliably protects the product from external influences and gives it the necessary decorative effect. These are, most often, single-component compositions made on the basis of organic solvents, which include fillers from polyurethane, alkyd or acrylic resins with the necessary plasticizers, pigments to give color, and complex additives.

To stain plastic, you will need:

A sufficient amount of plastic paint or acrylic spray enamel, its price is slightly higher.
Acrylic spray varnish, matte or glossy - for the final finishing of parts.
Protective mask or glasses, gloves.
Newspapers or plastic film.
Adhesive tape or masking tape.
Capacity with water, rags, detergent.
White spirit or other solvent.
Fine sandpaper.
Putty and primer, in the presence of deep scratches and chips on the product.

Plastic dyeing technology

Step-by-step spray coating of plastic:

The plastic surface is cleaned with a sponge or brush with soapy water from contamination. If there is dust and dirt on the product, the paint will go uneven and the surface will have to be repainted. Strong dirt, erosion and mold can be removed with bleach. After that, the part dries well.
The surfaces are degreased with a solvent or white spirit, then the applied composition is washed off and the product is thoroughly dried.
To impart porosity to the structure, the surface is sanded with fine sandpaper or a special grinding machine. This will allow the paint to lie perfectly evenly, which ensures the fastening of the paint with a porous material. The surface after grinding will become dull.

Tip: With the right sandpaper selected, the product does not acquire unwanted roughness. Emery paper should have a grain size of not more than 180. Be sure to remove dust after grinding.

Construction tape is glued to places that cannot be painted, and after completion of work the material is immediately removed.
The plastic is stained with aerosol paint. For this:

the spray in the can is shaken for at least 30 seconds;
spray paint is sprayed from a distance of about 30 centimeters from the surface;
paint should be laid on the surface with uniform smooth movements. After drying the first layer, after 20 minutes, the following layers of paint are applied. It is recommended to apply up to three coatings on plastic.

After drying the spray paint, varnish is applied in the same way.

The video in this article shows more about coating.

How to paint plastic with a brush

Painting plastic products with a brush is slightly different from the previously described method. The process has its own characteristics. One of them is considered to be a long drying period, which requires the complete isolation of painted surfaces from dust. At home, this is not so simple. Therefore, this method of painting with a brush is used only for painting objects that do not require special attention.

An example of painted plastic products

The technology of painting with a brush is quite simple and practically repeats the process of coating with spray paint:

Before painting, the product is washed. Dries.
The surfaces are degreased, wiped and dried.
The parts are ground and a primer is applied.
It is covered with paint.
Additionally, the painted surface can be protected by applying acrylic varnish on it, but only after the paint has dried.

Painting of plastic products allows you to extend their life and change the appearance of the room.