Repainting plastic rod holder gunnel and plastic piece on center console

[BCDNelson]

I'v been reading the forums for probably about a year. I just registered and searched through a lot of posts to find my answer but to no avail. If I am duplicating a previous post please let me know where to find it and I apologize for doing so.

We have a 89 Wellcraft Sport Center Console 19.5'. We purchased it because it was in the best condition out of all the boats we looked at. About a year ago I took out the ugly plastic gunnels (rod holders) and the bottom plastic piece on the center console and tried getting the clear coat which was flaking off with a scratch pad. Mind you this was all before researching what and how to do's. I sprayed painted over them with a black plastic auto paint from Discount that we had laying around in the garage and figured it may do the trick. It didn't. It began chipping after a couple months. Boat motor problems began and it got set aside. Now she's fixed with a newer motor so I am back to all of the little aesthetic details that drive me insane. I want to repaint the gunnels (originally yellow, spray painted black) and the other plastic piece which is essentially the same as the rod holders. How do it do it? I want them white like the boat rather than my original idea of black. Can I just sand them with an actual sander this time, prime them and paint them?

Side question: the pieces are cracked in areas where they get screwed into the boat. Can the cracks be fixed with glue or some other product?

Thank you in advance for any responses or recommendations of other posts to read. ;-)

 

[Bob's Garage]

Re: Repainting plastic rod holder gunnel and plastic piece on center console

Terminology seems to be wrong, please furnish pictures to reduce confusion. If the rod holders are broken or damaged, replace them. False economy to try to repair them. Paint wont hold on most marine plastics, as far as I know.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Repainting plastic rod holder gunnel and plastic piece on center console

Get as much of the old paint off as possible, try a small spot with some laquer thinner, if it doesn't eat the palstic use that and get it all off.

There is stuff called adhesion promoter, you can get it anywhere and it works really really well, they even have plastic primer, I just painted the plastic body work on my XR650L this way and it worked really really well.

Once you get it cleaned off use the adhesion promoter first before you put anything else on it, then primer, then paint.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Repainting plastic rod holder gunnel and plastic piece on center console

Krylon makes a paint specifically for plastics called Fusion. I used it to paint the rod holders on my surf buggy 6-7 years ago and it's holding up very well.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Repainting plastic rod holder gunnel and plastic piece on center console

Get as much of the old paint off as possible, try a small spot with some laquer thinner, if it doesn't eat the palstic use that and get it all off.

There is stuff called adhesion promoter, you can get it anywhere and it works really really well, they even have plastic primer, I just painted the plastic body work on my XR650L this way and it worked really really well.

Once you get it cleaned off use the adhesion promoter first before you put anything else on it, then primer, then paint.

Great stuff. It is what is used in autobody shops for plastic parts (Grill, fender flares, mirror housings, hub caps etc). I had used it when I repainted my K2500 (http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=245640&page=2&highlight=k2500) and used a BC/CC auto paint.

The "best paint" for over the adhesion promoter is regular auto paint but not the rattle can junk.

If I were in your shoes........... I would try to bring a piece of that plastic to a good auto paint store or a body shop and seek advice. I do know that some plastics will not accept ANY paint too.

I have heard that Fusion is good but I have no experience with it.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Repainting plastic rod holder gunnel and plastic piece on center console

your boat is coming up on 24 years old.

if it sat in the sun for a while, I assume that the plastic is starting to break down due to UV embrittlement. Plastic/rubber/paint/vinyl and Florida sun do not mix.

post a pic if you could. if the plastic is breaking down, paint will make it look ok for a short period of time, however think of it as painting a sand castle. eventually the sand dries out and crumbles. so does plastic

I have painted and restored many cars, and recommend the adhesion promotor. I have also seen the same paint come off after a few years. I also have used Krylon Fusion to paint patio furniture and shutters on the house. it works as long as there is no UV damage to the plastic. I would give it about a 6 out of 10

most rod holders are PVC. PVC is not inheirently UV stable, and after a while, become brittle and break. the same reason why PVC lawn furniture quickly went away.

I would replace the rub rail plastic http://www.iboats.com/Boat-Parts-Accessories/dm/keywords.rub rail

and the rod holders http://www.iboats.com/Boat-Parts-Accessories/dm/keywords.rod holders

 

[The_Kid]

Re: Repainting plastic rod holder gunnel and plastic piece on center console

I used Fusion to paint the plastic air intake grill on my 2002 truck about 6 years ago. This was the one up by the windshield so it gets a lot of sun. It was originally black but had turned grey after four years. I scrubbed it the best I could with some 3M Scotch-Brite pads and applied two coats of Fusion textured black paint. My truck is always parked outside in the elements and the grill is still black and the paint hasn't chipped or flaked off in the 6 years since I painted it.