"Plastic Secrets"
Comeback Prevention Basics

Remember steel bodies? heavy, chrome-plated bumpers? plated steel (or at least aluminum) trim? simple lacquer or acrylic enamel paint? Allow me to remember a lost era and complain about plastics one last time. But plastics will never go away, so let’s learn a couple more secrets for making them behave...and stay painted.

 You’ve probably noticed that plastics, especially those odd, rubbery ones, don’t take paint that well. It’s no wonder. Paints and plastics don’t naturally go together, since they expand and contract at very different rates. The manufacturers, with their billions have been able to manufacture plastic bumpers that match body colors (well, almost). Other bumpers get special OEM paints, all applied under exacting conditions. Trouble is, those bumpers get scratched or bashed in occasionally, requiring our repair services. Repairing a deformed or gashed bumper or fairing is one thing. Getting the "tupperware" part to take paint is another. Practically speaking, it’s a study in comeback prevention.

 We’ll look at three products that offer some secrets of plastic refinishing. A stripper, a cleaner and what amounts to an all-purpose plastic primer. "Wait", you say. "There’s no such thing as an all-purpose plastic primer". It’s called Bulldog Bond•Flex•Tie Coat and it’s made by Klean-Strip.

Bulldog Flexible Bumper Stripper by Klean-Strip, is a paint remover designed for flexible parts. If you follow instructions, you’ll be able to strip any flexible bumper regardless of composition. Urethane parts survive the stripping unharmed, even if the OEM coating is a two-part epoxy. Two more pieces of good news: Bulldog Stripper comes in a handy spray can, and it stays put...even on vertical surfaces. So far, so good, but how do you force that bumper to take (and keep) paint? Let’s take the next step in preparation: again, leaning on Klean-Strip for the answer.

Bulldog Abrasive Bumper Cleaner by Klean-Strip, is just that, a cleaner that removes several of the prime suspects that prevent paint adhesion: water and solvent-based mold release agents, wax, grease, your fingerprints and "other contaminants" whatever they may be. Just cleaning the part does not guarantee paintability, so the cleaner also contains "micro abrasives". These abrasives impart an almost imperceptible tooth to the surface. You’ve probably used fine sandpaper or scuff pads for this before, but this stuff does it all in one step. In fact, with this stuff, you can skip the usual soap and water, and the solvent-based wax and grease remover too. O.K., now were moving toward the (pardon the expression) finish line.

Ready? Introducing Klean Strip Bulldog Bond•Flex•Tie Coat. We can probably get away with calling it BFT for short. We’ll skip all the chemical jargon and just say this product is an answer to prayer. It combines the functions of an adhesion promoter, flex agent and tie coat. BFT greatly enhances the adhesion, appearance and durability of all types of finishes...even when applied to oddball plastics. Now that’s saying something. At last we can forget trying to identify the material we’re working with by searching for some code number or symbol on the part, forget cutting off a scrap to see if it floats, sinks or whatever, forget setting a chunk of smelly plastic on fire to see if it’s smoke is purple or not...enough! No matter what plastic you’re working on: SMC, BMC, PUR, TPO, this stuff makes paint stick to all plastics.

Does it work on any other surface? Glad you asked. BFT also works perfectly on metal, fiberglass and rubber. In case your mind is racing ahead...yes, you can work from one end of the body to the other without changing materials or selectively masking bumpers, trim, or anything else. Think about what that time saving means to your bottom line.

Always remember to be thorough, even with a great product like this one. Read the instructions thoroughly before proceeding. Clean and abrade according to the instructions provided. Using a clean source of compressed air, blow off all prepared surfaces to remove contaminants and to evaporate any residual solvents. Tack to remove any grit that hung on, then apply BFT to the surface, any surface! You’ll shoot that finish coat with confidence.