ok. does anyone know how to paint the black cap on the top of a stock bumper as well as the bottom grey piece??? A local paint shop said that it cant be done, yet u see trucks with it done. thanks in advance

 

sand sand sand sand sand. then try primer and/or a product called Bulldog (i found it in spray cans at Orielys Auto Parts). Bulldog is specifically made for making paint stick to plastic. after than paint and clear.

 

For the top black piece, you can either spend the time/money sanding it or you can just go to the dealership and buy an already smooth suburban/tahoe piece. Unfortunately the bottom valance will have to be sanded.

 

After you sand the pieces down make sure to soak or at least wash the plastic with "TSP" available at any hardware store. It is tri-sodium phosphate which helps to clean and remove any underlying oils from plastic, longer you soak and better you clean plastic the better paint will adhere to it and actually stay on it. Also whoever paints the pieces make sure they add the plastic additive to the paint which makes the paint flexible so when the plastic bends it wont crack off. As long as all these steps are taken you should have excellent results

 

I recently painted my top one, bowtie, and mirror caps. First I used a flex agent and adhesion promoter, then 2 coats of a thick sealer primer, sanded it, two more coats of primer, sanded it, three coats of paint, and three coats of clear. I didn't want to sand the plastic because it can release oils in the plastic that can cause fish eyes. Check out the results.

 

It is true that sanding will release oils found in all plastics, however not sanding it down is even worse. If you just paint over the plastic which has natural oils in it and oils that come from other sources(ie: car dealers armor all type products) then you are asking for trouble down the road. Any paint is only as good as its base, and if you paint on top of something that is filled with oil it is bound to release them later down the road. It may not make paint flake off but it will not be nearly as durable to road debris, rocks, bugs, etc. and it will flake then. Im not sure if you meant that you added a flex agent to all paint, clear, and primers that were used, but that must be done as well so that your paint will flex with the plastic. Ask any pro painter or look up "tsp" online its a must do cleaner for long term paint adhesion.

 

Save yourself the hassle and buy it from the dealer......89 bucks is what mine cost me.

 

buy a decent palm sander, dewalt makes a decent one (surprisingly) $49 bucks, and a crap load of sanding pads, 4.5"x4.5" 10 bucks and sand it to death, start off with a 150 grit, then a 220, 320, 400 grit hand sand. It takes maybe an hour of your time and you have to sand the bottom piece anyway, might as well. Then you can sand any of your plastic components easily. Whenever you can break even or spend less money to do it yourself and get usefull tools out of it and some know how, you might as well. more tools makes any guy happy.

 

Of course before I did anything, the parts were wiped down with a quality wax and grease remover and "prep-sol", it may not have been "tsp", but I've used it before with good results. Also, I wasn't clear in my previous post, but flex agents were mixed into all primer/sealer, paint, and clear. As for long term durability, I did this same procedure on the front bumper and taillights of a friends 95 Ram in 97. It lasted at least until he sold it in 2000. Will it last this long on mine? Who knows, after a month it still looks great.

Like many things in life, there is more than one way to skin a cat.

 

Most likely it will hold up on your truck and I hope it does. I just wanted to make it clear ablout the flex agent, that it has to be added to any and every coat laid down. In my experience you are more likely to have problems with it if it is not sanded down first, is all I was saying. Generally I have seen more problems painting older vehicles pieces that have been slathered with armor all for years. If your truck is new you should have much better results. Hope your method works cause I know there is more than one way to skin a cat, but there aren't to many different ways to paint correctly.