belly pan painting
10-11-2005, 10:30 PM
#3
Racer
Join Date: Feb 2005
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Yeah, I have not painted a belly pan, but have painted quite a bit of plastic. Suggest against it as it does NOT like to stick. If you are going to paint it, go to a HOBBY shop and buy paint specifically for plastic and probably spray paint for painting LEXAN would stick best. (I used to paint up electric track AC race cars with Lexan bodies and Lexan suited paint will actually stick - where basically nothing else will for very long.
You also will need to make sure it is REALLY cleaned up and scuff up the plastic a bit with medium grit sandpaper to give the paint something to bite into. Otherwise, it is like spraying paint on oil - it floats off.
I understand why you want to paint it (clean it up), but prep and the correct paint important. If you want it to be invisible (usually the goal), use FLAT black, NOT gloss black. Finally, best to keep the color of the paint the same as the plastic - or it will start to look bad really fast - particularly where it is attached.
If you use the correct paint and prep it, it will stay on like glue.
Last, I would test the spray first - because if it does not stick it would be nearly impossible to redo right (bottom layer paint popping off). Find a similar plastic and pre it the way you are going to do to the belly pan, spray it and after it is REALLY hard (get it hot too with a hair dryer), bent the plastic a bunch and see if the paint pops off. It might crack if you bend it a lot, but if it bubbles or pops off you know it is NOT going to work. The spray paint you use has to be flexible and ordinary Home Depot spray won't work.
I don't know if the black rubber bumper spray they sell in Auto Zone, NAPA etc would work or not - might be worth a try - but I would definitely test it first.
Hope this doesn't scare you off. Hiding your inner wheelwells, belly pan etc in flat black does clean up the appearance quite a bit.
Good luck (and let us all know how it goes when you are done - expand the knowledge base...)
Mark
DFWX
You also will need to make sure it is REALLY cleaned up and scuff up the plastic a bit with medium grit sandpaper to give the paint something to bite into. Otherwise, it is like spraying paint on oil - it floats off.
I understand why you want to paint it (clean it up), but prep and the correct paint important. If you want it to be invisible (usually the goal), use FLAT black, NOT gloss black. Finally, best to keep the color of the paint the same as the plastic - or it will start to look bad really fast - particularly where it is attached.
If you use the correct paint and prep it, it will stay on like glue.
Last, I would test the spray first - because if it does not stick it would be nearly impossible to redo right (bottom layer paint popping off). Find a similar plastic and pre it the way you are going to do to the belly pan, spray it and after it is REALLY hard (get it hot too with a hair dryer), bent the plastic a bunch and see if the paint pops off. It might crack if you bend it a lot, but if it bubbles or pops off you know it is NOT going to work. The spray paint you use has to be flexible and ordinary Home Depot spray won't work.
I don't know if the black rubber bumper spray they sell in Auto Zone, NAPA etc would work or not - might be worth a try - but I would definitely test it first.
Hope this doesn't scare you off. Hiding your inner wheelwells, belly pan etc in flat black does clean up the appearance quite a bit.
Good luck (and let us all know how it goes when you are done - expand the knowledge base...)
Mark
DFWX
10-12-2005, 09:38 AM
#5
Rennlist Member
FWIW, I've repaired mine and others quite a few times with fiberglass and then sprayed them with SEM trim paint. No special prep, no primer and the stuff stays on. 
The painted area of mine is now over a year old and 10K miles and it still looks good and the paint is staying on.
But, I still recommend one of the aluminum pans from one of the big three. The quality is first rate and it looks a lot better than my patched up unit. Just be sure to save your old NASA duct parts, the new pans don't come with them.
Jim Mayzurk
93 GTS 5-Spd
The painted area of mine is now over a year old and 10K miles and it still looks good and the paint is staying on.But, I still recommend one of the aluminum pans from one of the big three. The quality is first rate and it looks a lot better than my patched up unit. Just be sure to save your old NASA duct parts, the new pans don't come with them.
Jim Mayzurk
93 GTS 5-Spd