Paint people

[riverfever]

This has nothing to do with Jeeps so I didn't want to put it in OEM or Modified...this was the best I could come up with. I have black, plastic aftermarket fenders on my motorcycle. The stock tank is white and plastic. I want a black tank for it. An OEM tank is spendy at 200 bucks for just under 4 gallons. I'm not interested in a larger tank just a black one. Nothing on ebay. My question is...can I prep the tank with stages of sandpaper and some mineral spirits or something to get all the oils/dirt off it and then hit it with primer and then that Krylon plastic paint and have it look decent? The tank has a few scratches that will come out nicely when prepped. I know some have used that plastic paint on their flares with success. The tank now is not shiny but I thought maybe I could hit it with clear coat to brighten it up. Is this worth the effort or will it look like poo poo and scratch easily? A new stock sticker will go back on and cover up quite a bit of the tank.
Here's a pic if it helps:

 

[CanMan]

Sand blast it if you can, with baking soda. Trust me it works! I have a '64 El Camino, and the dash is made of plastic. It was chromed from the factory, but 42 years old, it was faded and flaking off. I sandblasted it with baking soda at a low pressure, as not to damage any of the letters or lines. I bought this special prep stuff, kinda like laquer thinner, and some tack cloths to wipe it down first. Then primered, painted, then cleared. Clearing it more than once, and wet sanding with some 1600 grit sand paper, then buff with special compound, NOT turtle wax or some other stuff, will give it a great shine. But it will get scratched, but not down to the under coats if you do a good job.

Being a plastic that holds gas, to get all the oil/dirt off, clean it all off with some Brake Cleaner, then wash it with soap and water. Go from there.

 

[Jeffro600]

The beauty of Krylon Fusion is very little to no prep....no sanding, primer, etc involved. Just clean the surface and spray.

My only concern would be how durable the stuff would be on a tank like that where its in constant contact with your legs/knees. I guess you could shoot it black then use some sort of 3M clear protectors if you didnt want to put a set of graphics on it.

Id just clean it very well with some sort of thinner or brake cleaner then spray the Krylon.

 

[hackedxj]

Painting plastic isn't a problem, Painting plastic that holds gas is. If you notice white plastic tanks will turn yellowish and the decals don't stick as well as the rest of the bike, neither will paint. I once painted all the plastic on a bike using high quality automotive paints and primers and cleaners for plastic and alot of prep work, it all looked good but the tank started to bubble a few months later.

 

[riverfever]

You know what...now that you mention it...the stock stickers a bunch of little holes in them and I remember hearing once that they were there for breathing purposes. I guess it looks like that wont be working. Thanks guys.