XT350thumper Posted September 16, 2006 Share Posted September 16, 2006 Hi Finally getting down to doing some bits on the XT350 to tidy it up and get ready for an MOT. Got a question regarding plastics. Mine has the original plastics on it but they are in a bad way. Because the bike is a California inport and seems to have spent a good deal of time sat out in the sun the plastics had suffered badly. What I want to know is this. How do I bring them back? Can I revive them? They seem to have a 1mm thick coat of powdery degraded plastic. Just like what you get on those white plastic tables you leave out in the garden all year round. You can scratch it off fairly easily with a finger nail but when you do this it still don't look so clever. I was wondring if there was something that I could use to wipe this stuff off rather than scratching it off. Ideally I'd like something that would take off the top layer and leave a fairly decent finish. I've thought of using either paint thinners or petrol? Any hot tips lads? I'd replace them if I thought I stood a cat in hells chance of getting replacements. Cheers John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XT350thumper Posted September 20, 2006 Author Share Posted September 20, 2006 Hi I ended up scraping it off with a stanley knife blade. had to scrape quite a lot off before I got to decent plastic and it looks quite a bit better. Cheers John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 Sorry John....only just seen your post now! Try finishing it off with Armor-All....I've had good results with that. Or silicone dashboard spray is another option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stikkerman Posted September 30, 2006 Share Posted September 30, 2006 Eyup John, i know ya problem well, i see it a lot in my line of business. Its called "blooming". The stanley knife things ok but is time consuming and the results can be a bit rough !? Depending on the depth of the bloom, try using coarse or medium wire wool to start, working down to the fine grade to polish it off. If you take your time the results should be excellent and it will save you the stress of trying to find replacements cos your right, they're like rockin horse poo. Once you've done the wire wool thing, you can finish it off with a couple of coats of bumper restorer spray or suchlike. If you're of tree huggin ilk, you can use olive oil, it has the same effect and can last longer than the bumper spray. This method wont make them look like new, but if ya take ya time and do it right i think you'll agree it comes a close second !? Good luck. Let me know how it goes. Martin. P.S. Be VERY CAREFUL when using chemicals on plastics. Some will rot plastic. If you bear in mind that most plastic starts life as oil, and take it from there. Thats why the olive oil thing works ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts