Painting a Vino 125...

[wowee1]

I took off the turn signal covers to paint a different color, as I think they look goofy. I sanded lightly with 600 wet paper, and prepped the surfaces with denatured alcohol. Sprayed with Krylon Black. The paint seems to melt the plastic. I had a heck of a time getting the finish smooth. I bought some Krylon Fusion thinking that would help, it crazed the plastic worse than the regular Krylon. Anyone have this problem? If not, what paint did you use that didn't craze the plastic? I did my Harley Spoiler the same way a month ago, with excellent results, but admittedly the sanding didn't even break the clear coat on that, the paint from Harley is much thicker so the paint never got to the plastic.

[puddleduck]

I never painted the turnsignals, but I did use the Krylon Fusion on my headlight cover and it worked really well.
I also sanded it down a little to take the shine off even though it says you don't have to. I know it's a different type of plastic then the turn signals but it worked for me. Sorry you are have troubles with yours.

[scootertrash]

By "turn signal covers"- are you referring to the body colored plugs in the rear of the body or the black turnsignal housings?

[wowee1]

By "turn signal covers"- are you referring to the body colored plugs in the rear of the body or the black turnsignal housings?

Yes. The body colored plugs are what I painted. Looks to be the same type of plastic as the rest of the panel. I'm wondering if I should have just prepped the parts instead of lightly sanding them, the paint was really thin and it looked like the only places the plastic crazed was where I sanded through the paint, like the edges and such. Like I said in my previous post, I did the same thing with a Harley spoiler for my Sportster, but the paint on that was really thick, and I didn't even break through the clearcoat when I sanded, just dulled the piece to get a good bond...

BTW, thanks for the quick replies! ::handleba

[wowee1]

Bump!

No other replies???

I would like to paint the panels someday but after this problem, I wouldn't attempt it. I KNOW some of you have painted your scoots, just looking for some tips....What did you use for paint, and how did you prep the panels?
How does the new paint job hold up?


Thanks in advance.

[wowee1]

OK. NO replies. Anyway, stripped off the Krylon and repainted with Duplicolor. Much better paint. I would recommend this paint for anyone doing rattlecan painting on their scoot.

[navydave]

Cool nice to know. Was thinking of getting some pinstriping done. But will wait and see cause I dont know what I want yet

[casino kid]

im thinking of buying one this week, but i dont really like the selection in colours.. so i would love to hear more about how to paint scoots, i originally wanted to get a vespa grand tourismo but they are too pricy at this juncture in my life anyways..i'd love to see some pics, i want to paint mine a vintage red or orange, maybe a diomand white

[MotoringSpeed]

Find a body shop and get a quote. If they quote your more than 500 give them the finger and leave. I bet you could get it professionally painted for 300 or under if you remove the panels yourself. :)

[casino kid]

is there a tutorial on how to remove the panels for painting?

besides i want to have the satisfaction of doing it myself..

[zenish]

ive seen a lime green scooter around here that looks nice.

[MotoringSpeed]

I dunno about the Yamahas. On my scooter it seems to be pretty straight forward.

[sooznd]

is there a tutorial on how to remove the panels for painting?

besides i want to have the satisfaction of doing it myself..check the how to on the blue banner- look up installation for the Asian blinkers--pdf file with photos.

the installation requires removal of the panels

[ScooterLibby]

Body Shop manager here... the solvent in the "rattle can" spray-can Krylon crapola is bad for the plastic and coatings your bike is made of. That's why it "fuzzed" the plastic up so badly. It might not have done it if you had not sanded it at all and/or applied very, very thin dry coats. Wetting it in and sanding the factory paint is a combination asking for all sorts of nifty chemical reactions.

Take MotoringSpeed's advice and take off your plastic panel(s) you want to have painted and get it done professionally. Expect to pay at least $500 for a quality job (not a Maaco crud-special) if you're doing all the panels. Paint done right will last and last and look just as slick and shiny as factory (if not more so). A "backyard special" will be a "10 footer" (it will look decent from 10 feet away).

On the other hand, if all you want to do is "blackout" those rear fender "plugs", do this: Clean the plugs thoroughly with alcohol... LIGHTLY sand them with a grey or white AUTOMOTIVE PAINT PREP grade Scotch-brite pad with water. Clean them again. Then apply your favorite rattle-can spray paint in THIN, DRY coats, and allow a few minutes flash time between coats.