OT- Project with interior paint & suppliers by YearOne

[csnailnrun]

Non Model T... Hopefully this paint question is allowed?

Has anyone used the plastic & vinyl paint supplies offer by year one? I've completed several pieces of plastic to be painted black from original white. I am concerned the paint is poor quality and subject to scratching easily. I'm working on my '72 Road Runner. Here is what I've done...

I gave all my plastic pieces a warm scrub bath with dish washing soap. I let dry overnight and followed the cleaning with the SEM Soap product with another scrum and wash. I let dry overnight again. I used the SEM Plastic & Leather Prep with a lint fee cloth and wiped all plastic pieces clean. I let those dry for an hour or so. I used the SEM Sand Free product to spray on immediately prior to my first coat of SEM Black Coat Paint. I allowed the paint to flash dry as recommended and applied a thorough coat (one light coat of the back and thorough on top surface) as needed to obtain a beautiful finish! I let those pieces dry over night. I woke up the next morning to see my product. The pieces look like OEM black themselves.

PROBLEM! I took my finger nail to a surface piece that'd be covered by the back seat and the black paint began scratching off (scratch pressure was only that of my hand weight). Understandably, I'm very disappointed with that outcome. Maybe that is the designed outcome by SEM??? Is there a recommended product that'll offer a HARD top coat finish that will prevent this poor scratching outcome? Where this will really matter is the front kick panels where the feet will be.

Thanks for sticking with me on this long post and I appreciate any feedback.

[Walter Higgins]

One side of the equation is a painted plastic finish will not be as durable as a plastic part molded in color. It is only going to have the durability of a painted finish. The other side of the equation is that SEM is an excellent company. You should call the 800 number on the can and have this discussion with their product application people if you feel the result is subpar.

How long has it been on there now? Overnight is really not long to let something like that dry, especially during this cooler time of the year. It sounds like you had a lot of material put on in one whack and that may be a factor in the equation, but again, I think you'll get to get the best guidance directly from SEM. Good luck!

[csnailnrun]

My expectations may be too high but folks have spoke highly of the product. To me, it's not too much to expect for a light contact with a fingernail to scratch off the paint. The paint has now been applied for four days now and still subject to the paint removal by light scratching.

[CudaMan]

Try SEM vinyl dye, available from real automotive paint stores. Be sure to also get and use the matching SEM prep spray, it cleans and gives the plastic some "tooth" so that the dye adheres firmly. That is what I used to change the interior color of my 1971 Plymouth GTX from green to black. It has held up extremely well for 20 years so far.

[Scott_Conger]

Nice looking car, Mark

[csnailnrun]

I spoke with technician Dave at SEM. FANTASTIC HELPER FYI!
Anyhow, the "Sand Free" adhesion promoter is NOT the correct adhesion former
Now I'll strip the plastic pieces back down using "Denatured Alcohol". Dave recommended SEM XXX Adhesion Promoter. I knew my expectations weren't unreal... just need the right adhesion product.
After seeing the OEM like finish on the wrong adhesion promoter, I can't wait to see the corrected outcome.