Fading Plastic

[rick71]

Has anyone had the plastic fade? I have to keep my X500 outside. Much of the time it is uncovered. I keep  it on the side stand. The side "up" is fading. Some of it is now a "deep pink", rather than red.

[Hoolander2]

Yes, indeed.  That's one of the most common phenomena about vehicle finishes.  And known for years.  Especially dark colors.  You're gonna have to use some good polish or cleaner wax.  It will probably take a good bit of rubbing and more than one or two applications.  You can do the applications one right after the other.  Wash with a neutral car wash agent first so that when you start rubbing you don't grind the accumulated dust and grit into the finish.  DON'T use common household detergent!  That, as we've discovered will ruin your windshield if you get it on there. 

Use clean soft rags/towels such as microfiber towels which you can get at any auto store or dept. store. 

Here's a link to a Meguire's product.  There are many others too. 

http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/product_detail.do?q=4570

I'll bet once you get it looking sweet again you'll want to keep a cover on it. 

[Cortez]

What he said.. but be very careful with the black, unpainted plastics.

They'll turn virtually white in a few years if unprotected.
The good thing is, they're rather inexpensive to replace.

There are some products that'll protect those parts too, but who knows
what's available in your market.

[rick71]

Use clean soft rags/towels such as microfiber towels which you can get at any auto store or dept. store. 

It is my understanding that plastic has, in essence, clear coat n it. How does polish get through that? BTW, I have a Red scoot. The Orange, Blue and black scoots looks to me like they wouldn't have the clear coat issue.

[Hoolander2]

I can't say for sure, and I may be totally wrong about all this so take all I say with a grain of salt till you get more opinions.     I believe that the "clear" coat is not really pure clear but has pigment in it too.  Anybody else know?

[rick71]

What he said.. but be very careful with the black, unpainted plastics.

I don't think the non-black plastic is painted.

[Hoolander2]

So you're sayin it might be made with the pigment in it and then clear coated.  That could be.  I wish Zombie would drop by and answer this for you.  Anybody know where he hangs out?  I take back my earlier advice then, untill further notice! 

[Vivo]

First, the paints on our scooters are not your class "A" paints they use on cars. Also, if you examine very closely the coatings are very very thin. I knew this for a fact before I bought my scooter that's why I immediately bought a bike cover and park my scoot under a covered parking. Preventive maintenance is what I call it.  My friends are even asking what wax I'm using because my scooter still looks brand new. There's nothing more you can do if your scoot paint has faded. The paint has a base color and clear top coat. The base color is the one that faded because it is not UV protected or has only 1 layer/coat.  It is under your top coat which is the clear part. If the clear coat is the one that got blurred, you can try any wax to restore the clear coat and bring out the color of the base coat. In the old days, they use single stage painting process. They don't use clear coats before. Now, all have base coats ( all colors) and topped with clear coat that is responsible for the shine.  If you notice also, our scooters' paints scratches easily and chips off easily compared to car's paints. Repainting with a good automotive paint is the best to do. I'm looking forward to this after about 2 years.  So, to end, if your paint color has turned pink from red then its your base coat that got affected but if it's still red but dull, it's your clear coat and you can still bring the luster back by polishing/waxing.

[rick71]

Repainting with a good automotive paint is the best to do.

Do you think repainting would be cheaper than buying new plastic? I had to replace almost all of my plastic the second month I had my scoot. IIRC, it ran around $800 installed.

[Vivo]

Repainting with high quality polyurethane car paint may be expensive but your scooter will last for decades without any problems, not unless you run into an accident. Polyurethane paint last virtually forever. No need to wax even, just wash with water and wipe dry. Waxing will even make it more shinier. It's cheaper in the long run. Look at those custom bikes and cars at shows and try to examine the paints they use. These paints are also hard and can resist light scratches. I'm just not sure how much will it cost in your country.

[Urbestfriend]

The estimate to paint my panels (body shop) was over $250.00 if I primed
and prepped them.  But here's the scoop.  These are plastic panels.  sooner
or later,  vibration and just removing and reinstalling them fatigues the molded
tabs for the screws.  You can end up JB welding each tab back on and this
takes 24 hrs. to cure.   I bought two rolls of Reflective Tape  (Google Images
UK Police Motorcycles).   I covered most of the front cowl and rear covers.
(Find Tape.com) for about $80.00.

Now if it accidentally falls over,  the tape is thick and gets scratched instead of the
paint.  You can always peel it off and retape or repaint.    When the deer hit me
at 5 am in the dark.  The tape paid off with the bike in the middle of the road.

[Vivo]

One thing that I want people to see on my scoot is the paint. The shiny paint! I don't want to cover these with any sticker. I'll just make sure that I take care of the paint and not scratch it. I can live with a little scratch here and there, but no way with the stickers.  Different strokes for different folks!

[JustWantToRide]

For future reference - white sun fades less than any other color.  Red fades the fastest.  My trucks always have to sit outside so I'll only buy white trucks.  Red is my favourite color for bikes - my current bike is white because they didn't have a red...

[Cortez]

For future reference - white sun fades less than any other color.  Red fades the fastest.  My trucks always have to sit outside so I'll only buy white trucks.  Red is my favourite color for bikes - my current bike is white because they didn't have a red...

I've got a red bike, and it hasn't faded at all in the last 2 years, which is something I can't say for the unpainted black plastics.. 

[Vivo]

I've got a red bike, and it hasn't faded at all in the last 2 years, which is something I can't say for the unpainted black plastics.. 

For unpainted black plastic, a good car dashboard protectant will protect them from fading or turning dull.  Ordinary paints will fade fast no matter the color. Polyurethane paints will not fade. Also, different brands have different pigment formulations. A cheap red paint will fade faster than a more expensive and well known brand paint of the same color.