Colour coding bits of plastic trim such as mirrors, boot grab handles etc is a great way to make your car a little more subtle and smooth without breaking the bank. With a little time and preparation you can get a great result - even from rattle cans!

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The first rule is - BE PATIENT! There is certainly no point going through a lot of hard work only to balls it up near the end.

The second rule is - you do not talk about fight club.

OK - the second rule is actually: Always read the instructions on the cans of paint you are using. These give you the vital coating and drying times!

The third rule is - DO NOT remove things like mirrors from your car to colour code if you need to use the car! If you want to do this properly it will take a few days or so to build up layers of primer and paint.

Oh yeah.. and no solvent abuse kiddies!

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Right, so you've got the bits you want to colour code - You've taken a note of your paint code as listed somewhere in your car handbook or on the body of the car.

Let's go and buy stuff!

What you will need -

A selection of wet and dry paper - fine grits are best - around 800-1200 is ok

An alcohol based solvent to clean away all the back to black you've put on the trim over the years. (Halfords Surface Cleaner is fine)

Plastic primer or plastic FILLER primer.

The latter is espcially useful if colour coding a boot plynth or mirrors on a mk3 polo as per my example. This is due to the textured nature of the plastic that we want to get rid of. No need to worry about the COLOUR really

Top coat - mixed or bought according to your paint code of course!

Other bits and bobs -

Mask

Dustsheet

Masking tape

Sanding pads - you can get these from B&Q (and other places) They are soft flexible pads that are easy to sand with - good for contoured items!

It starts - my boot plynth on the car:

STEP 1 -

Prepare your work area and the item you will be spraying.

Mask up if need be!

Use the solvent to clean away all the silicates and dry the item.

Use wet and dry paper to start getting rid of the texturing on the item - use a heavyish grit at this stage. You don't need to get rid of every little dimple. This is what the filler primer is for!

Clean off the item and let it dry.

STEP 2 -

Think about mounting the item on something to make it easier to spray. I screwed my boot plynth on a bit of wood to help!

Take your primer and apply a relatively heavy coat. Don't worry too much about the finish at this stage. Check the drying times and apply one more coat. Get into all the little grooves and make sure you've covered it all.

LET THIS DRY - for roughly 24hours. I used the heater cupboard to help.

STEP 3 -

Using a light grit (1200 or so) start to sand away the top of the paint finish to produce a good finish. You may find that to get a smooth surface you get paint filling in the gaps in the textured plastic. This is fine, just don't sand off too much!

Once you're happy - rinse the item and let it dry. Don't spray over something covered in paint dust!

The item in the first stages of being primed.

STEP 4 -

Apply as many more coats of primer as you think the item needs. You can give a very light sand in between coats (once left to dry) but this is not ALWAYS necessary. I built up a lot of layers onto my boot plynth: 2 cans of primer to be precise. A bit excessive!

Make sure you give the paint time to dry and clean the item off properly after any sanding.

Once you're happy with the primed product - you're ready to top coat!

It should be looking a little like this now :)

STEP 5 -

Top coat: The paint is very different to primer and requires more care and attention when spraying. Take your time.

BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN COMING TO THE END OF A CAN - it tends to splatter out all over the place!

Apply a first relatively heavy layer to cover everything well. Let it dry as directed on the tin and do one more coat. Leave this again for 24hours or so and give it a nice light sand. Note any sections that are not covered too well and make sure you get the little bastards next time. Apply a couple more coats in a lighter fashion. Sand between if you feel the need, but as stated above I have not ALWAYS found it necessary. Give a very light sand and clean before the final coat.. and You're DONE!

Almost finished

Let the item dry for a couple of days and re-fit to your car. Sit back and admire your handywork!

The comparison -

The final finished item.

Please feel free to PM me or comment if i've not done something right of you have any hints or tips!

Josh.

Edited 15 February, 200719 yr by Mariojoshi

nice work m8 I'm gonna do my side strips i think

Woah! a reply!

Go for it - post a pic when you're done :)

Hi there

I'm planning on respraying the front grill of my MKII. For the top coat I just want a matt black - what do you recommend?

Where did you get your paint from to do this dude?

Got me a red colour coded boot plinth from a mk2 golf so gunna give this a crack. Should be slightly easier as its already colour coded.

If you look at the last pic you can see the paint is a bit hazey or orange peel. For this you can get specialist wet and dry 2000 grit. Its very fine. You can go over it with that and it will flatten of the paint a bit and then use something like a paint renovator to remove any light scratches or marks the wet and dry might have left.

It may take a few attempts to get right but could make a big difference depending on how good your painting was!

Good god - never thought any more replies would turn up, sorry guys!

Kam is indeed right, it was a bit orange peely and could do with abit of flatting back. I can't be f*cking arsed at the moment though so i'm not gonna bother!

I bought my paint from halfords as its easy- but most motor places should be able to sort you out.

Tonyyeb - make sure you rub the plastic down to get a good key, give it a few coats of plastic primer and then maybe a satin or matt black top coat - again, all this stuff is available at helfrauds I think.

Stuey - think I answered your question - but PM me if you want any help :)

Good god - never thought any more replies would turn up, sorry guys!

Kam is indeed right, it was a bit orange peely and could do with abit of flatting back. I can't be f*cking arsed at the moment though so i'm not gonna bother!

I bought my paint from halfords as its easy- but most motor places should be able to sort you out.

Tonyyeb - make sure you rub the plastic down to get a good key, give it a few coats of plastic primer and then maybe a satin or matt black top coat - again, all this stuff is available at helfrauds I think.

Stuey - think I answered your question - but PM me if you want any help :)

no need for any lacquer?

I've not found that the paint has peeled/chipped etc since I've done the mod. I've not used any laquer, no.

A good question would be - should I have?

Would this have given a different appearance to the rest of the paintwork!?

Seems all fine and dandy to me so far!

Hi, nice work mate - inspired me to do mine! when i painted it with the top layers i used a bit of wet and dry to get it smooth and the used T-Cut to get rid of the fine scratches and polished it up - looks good - thanks....

...

Great work fella! Happy to be of help :)

Mario, I would recomend laquer as the paint will flake in time, Just a couple of coats will do fine, Also about the finish, Instead of using Wetand dry, Use a fine rubbing compound this will also get rid of any dust or crap that got on the paint when it was sprayed. And give it a nice smooth finish, If you think that the paint has faded in parts from the compound use some polish to buff it back up. Jobs a gooden.

Also your drying times are crazy :p . Sounds like this took you half a week to do.

Edited 26 August, 200719 yr by Scott_GT

Aye, it did take a while.... wanted to do it properly

As for laquer.. you're probably right matey, but to be fair, it's been fine for about 6months now with no flaking.. even when being polished etc.

josh.

great information btw a great help! i'm looking to colour code my bumpers on my mk3 polo coupe, from the horrible 'off black' colour to red to match the car or do i just dye them back black? ... what do you guys think? thanks for the help in advance.

Cant see the images anymore on this thread, could they be updated?

Glad I read this as I'm planning to spray all my plastics, the strips on the sides & bumpers, plies the bottoms of f/r bumpers too, but still wrestling with the idea of just putting it in the local spray shop & having it done completely, for a little bit of extra cash...