color change

[wr450fyamaha]

What would be the best way to turn a xr650l black? Would fusion spray paint be the key or is there any sort of plastic dye? i need my side panels and rear fender to be black but dont know how to do it.

[miguelitro]

yup fusion spray paint and some 600 grit sandpaper and it'll look bitchen. lots of coats with sanding in between.

get it done man lets see some pics.

[rgd420]

It will look great when your done ,, but it aint goign to last worth @!$#%$#@ esp if you like to ride, and ride hard -- it is going to look pretty ugly when the stuff scrapes or chips off and you have a multi colored bike -- the paint and sand paper is inexpensive so give it a whirl and let us know how you make out and long term durability--- or only do it once and stick you stuff on ebay and find an aftermarket company that make those black plastic's -- i have a backround in dying vinyl- leather - and plastic wouldnt recomend doing it if you think its going to last long -- and touching up her and there when it gets scraped is the way to go your going to have shiny and dull spots --- but let us know how you make out-- im sure itll look wicked when your done , im just greatly concerned out the durability

[rgd420]

sem and vht are two company's that make the plastic dye your looking for ,, im not familiar with the fusion stuff-- light sand everything and prep it also ,, dont not put on heavy coats ,, this stuff isnt like paint on a car the more you put on the less durable it is ,, remember it's {flexible }- it has a flex agent in it ,, you dont want to be loading this stuff on - its not like automotive paint-

[roadcam]

automotive paint shops have a flexible additive they add to common auto paint, so they can match up the plastic bumpers ... it's been around for years .. I would suspect it would be better than anything that can come out of a can .. ask a professional car painter for an opinion ..

[rgd420]

at a quart of paint with flex agent in it youll be at about 18-30 $ thats a 1/4 of what new plastics will be and that doesnt include your TIME to prep and spray -- and the durability factor

[wr450fyamaha]

hmmmmmmm this makes me think twice what to do....i dont wanna mess the plastic up and not be able to fix it.......... dammit

[TahomaTom]

I did my side panels and think it came out nice. I just didn't like the gay blue (94 XR650l).

Lots of sanding, Several coats of plastic paint (Fusion)and a thin layer of Polyeurothane (SP) for durability.

Dumped a few times so far and still looks good. Mostly slow tip overs. Will have to wait and see what happens when I really eat it.

I figured if I wanted all the plastic I would have to by a new Tank too. Making the painting optoin much cheaper.

[Troy_Bell]

First of all, I don't understand why you want your bike black. Why a RAT off-road bike? Anyway, if that's what you want, I wouldn't recommend paint. The plastic that is used on moto panels is either polypropylene or polyethylene because they can flex without cracking. Neither of which have good adhesion properties to begin with. This is the reason why repairing a crack with epoxy doesn't always work. Paint will adhere to some plastics well such as polystyrene (plastic model kits). It isn't a matter of finding paint that will adhere. Fusion will adhere to many plastics fine and be durable to a point. It is really a matter of scratching. Sooner or later you WILL get a scratch deep enough to see the plastic below. Your best bet is to try and find replacement plastic already molded in black.

[roadcam]

everybody to their own taste, its their bike, but I agree,... black dirt bikes look butt-ugly to me ... just teasing, don't shoot !!

[XR650LSMGSGP]

ask michealn or kubik... i think their bikes are black.