Painting Acerbis tank/ Yamaha plastics
 

Hi,
I have an Acerbis plastic tank (which is a few years old, dunno if they've changed plastics recently) which I'm fitting to my 2003 XT600E. The tank is white and the plastics are blue. I was thinking about painting both to the same colour. What sort of paint should I use which will give a good finish and not damage the plastic? Any ideas folks?
Cheers, Matt

Matt

I also have an XT600E and fitted the Acerbis 23L tank - mine has a manufacturers sticker on it saying "Do not paint" so I'm not sure whether it's a good idea.

The blue/white colour scheme grows on you after a while... I'm sure it's a major plus point for being seen by dim-witted car drivers.

Cheers
Bish

Yep, I'm not too bothered really. When the idea occured I got a bit caught up in the moment and was thinking about what cool custom paint jobs I could do! But the blue and white should look ok.
Matt

One thing you could do that does make it look a little nicer,is to replace the racing number plate area of the side pannels with the same colour as the tank.I used some "fablon" self-adhesive stuff from B&Q.Remove the standard black patch,clean well,cut and re-apply the fablon,and smooth out with a hiardryer or paint stripper gun to remove any bubbles/creases.Does wonders for the look of the bike!

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Just going for a short ride on my bike....

Mine doesn't have the racing plate bits on the side panels, but the idea of a bit of white trim on the ble bits is a grand idea, I'll have to experiment with that!
Matt

If you do decide to spray your plastics make sure you apply a few good coats of plastic primer spray, available from most motorists places with the rest of the spray paints. Take your time, don't try to get too much paint on at once.
Make sure your workshop is nice and warm or you won't have a chance of getting a good finish. Also keep the dust down by soaking the floor with water.
Very lightly rub down between coats when dry using 1200 wet and dry.
Get a few coats of lacquer on and leave it all to harden off properly indoors for at least 3 or 4 days.
Good luck!

Great advice Alflow...guess it goes without saying that preparing the plastic is also very important.

I'm on my second acerbis tank now and have never attempted to paint one.Best wishes.

BTW Thanks to a chap I meet yesterday in London who gave me the link to this forum.

I dont think the plastic would be suitable for painting. THe plastic is too plyable (good for crashes) and would cause paint to crack .
Its the same reason you never see MX bikes with painted plastics !!