Need advice on these plastic pieces

RosharonRooster

RosharonRooster

Promoted Users
I want to sand and paint these smooth. I'd assume just DA them down and multiple coats of epoxy?? Any advice for removing the corvette lettering...
 

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I would imagine that is TPO. Never have painted one so not sure but it looks like it. If so you need ad-pro. Cut off a sliver from the backside edge, place it in a glass of water. If it floats you need ad-pro, if it sinks you don't.

As for the rest if you want it smooth, IDK, I think I would take an air sander with a 36/40 grit roloc disc on it and carefully take almost all the lettering off. Leaving a small amount, then start DA'ing with 80 grit then 180. Hand sand where the DA won't work. Then ad-pro and a lot of epoxy.
 
so be sure to flip it over and make sure that the raised lettering is actually solid and not bulged up from the underside. you dont want to sand it off and cut through. if your good to go there then i would very carefully work the lettering down with a orbital and some 80 grit or maybe get the bulk of it off with a roloc like chris said but then switch to an orbital when you get them 3/4 of the way down. the plastic is going to melt with a roloc and a little with an orbital so it will make a mess. just keep moving it around trying not the generate too much heat. it is most likely polypropylene or a mix of that and nylon. on the underside you will see a code showing what its made of. something like >pp< or >pa<. pa is nylon. pp is polypro etc. once its somewhat smooth then you will need adpro on it then build the surface up with epoxy. a quick flame treatment on the plastic before adpro makes the adhesion even better. avoid using 2k on this. it may take 5-6-7 coats of epoxy. do a few, sand smooth, spray a few more and so on. i used to do stuff like this every day when i was painting sportbikes. not a big deal but alot of work.
 
Jim C said:
so be sure to flip it over and make sure that the raised lettering is actually solid and not bulged up from the underside. you dont want to sand it off and cut through. if your good to go there then i would very carefully work the lettering down with a orbital and some 80 grit or maybe get the bulk of it off with a roloc like chris said but then switch to an orbital when you get them 3/4 of the way down. the plastic is going to melt with a roloc and a little with an orbital so it will make a mess. just keep moving it around trying not the generate too much heat. it is most likely polypropylene or a mix of that and nylon. on the underside you will see a code showing what its made of. something like >pp< or >pa<. pa is nylon. pp is polypro etc. once its somewhat smooth then you will need adpro on it then build the surface up with epoxy. a quick flame treatment on the plastic before adpro makes the adhesion even better. avoid using 2k on this. it may take 5-6-7 coats of epoxy. do a few, sand smooth, spray a few more and so on. i used to do stuff like this every day when i was painting sportbikes. not a big deal but alot of work.
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Thanks jim....looks like it's raised and not solid.....
 

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Anyone wondering, this is my project 60. It's a 2018 5.3 with a 6.2 intake , I want to mold it smooth and have someone pinstripe something custom, or have something machined. Just throwing ideas but the corvette logo has to go...
 

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ok well i would go on the back side, take a plastic welder and fill the vette logo first with the same type of plastic it is made out of. then you can grind/sand the face smooth like you wanted. its prob best to do that rather than using some type of panel bond or filler which will most likely ghost or fall apart with repeated heat cycles. always best to repair or fill a material with the same type of material. were you able to find a stamp on the underside of any of the pieces that show plastic type?
 
Jim C said:
ok well i would go on the back side, take a plastic welder and fill the vette logo first with the same type of plastic it is made out of. then you can grind/sand the face smooth like you wanted. its prob best to do that rather than using some type of panel bond or filler which will most likely ghost or fall apart with repeated heat cycles. always best to repair or fill a material with the same type of material. were you able to find a stamp on the underside of any of the pieces that show plastic type?
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This is all thats stamped on the back side Jim. Thank you
 

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yes there you go! pa6 is nylon and the gf probably designates that its glass fiber reinforced. not sure what the rest of that code is but the pa6 is the important part. its nylon so you can just fill that first with a plastic welder and nylon rod or if you have any nylon laying around just use that.
 
All good suggestions for modification of the plastic.
My thought is to replicate the covers from aluminum, polish or brush and clear.
Lot of time to do.
 
metalman said:
All good suggestions for modification of the plastic.
My thought is to replicate the covers from aluminum, polish or brush and clear.
Lot of time to do.
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I had a similar thought, but my idea was to machine a custom overlay to cover it.
 
You can buy aftermarket covers without the logo. These for example. Pricey but not my money… :D
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Don
 
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You can get billet valve covers and relocate the coils... then paint the intake and it looks pretty decent. But those valve covers are pricey as hell.

I honestly never though to back fill something with a plastic welder like mentioned. That's a a great idea that I need to store in the memory bank.
 
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