Cleaning up scratched plastic?

[Randyjaco]

Damn, dropped my bike today and scratched up mirror plastic. Anybody got any recommendations on removing the road rash from the black plastic?  

[John Ranalletta]

Got a butane torch or even a smaller candle lighter?  Try passing the flame over lightly.  Good luck and sorry for the spill.

 

 

[lkraus]

I've used one of the various "back-to-black" magic potions.  The scuffs are still there, but the color is uniform and you have to look pretty close to see them.

[Randyjaco]

I doubt that those magic potions will work for those scratches. I need a means to abrade away the scratches and then cover them up with a magic potion. I am hoping that someone here has been successful removing those scratches 

[LAF]

Pop it off and take it to a body shop and ask.  They may be able to fill it while adding texture, and then spray it?  I have seen dash and seat guys make stuff disappear, using a filler, and the correct texture.

 

You are not the first.  I replaced the same one on my 15 RT.  Looked about the same.  I knew I would know and it would never suit me.  I ordered from over seas somewhere and it was like 40% cheaper.  I think mine was painted as it was a Blue RT

[realshelby]

There have been some claim that taking a piece of "greenie" as we called them, or the synthetic cleaning/scrub pads like 3M offers, to help with stuff like this. You would have to take a razor and clean up the loose stuff and smooth over the edges. Then lay a greenie over that area and tap with a small hammer. That embeds the grain of the greenie into the plastic. Nothing to lose trying!

[Randyjaco]

Being a DIY kind of guy, I really like that that idea 

[RTinNC]

I had some good luck with minor scuffs on my '97 R1100RT but the scuffs you have look worse.  If me I would sand it down and then try wrapping with black carbon fiber material of just black stuff.   But I think something like carbon fiber would look better.   Or you could try painting them as someone suggested.  But if only one is damaged probably as cheap to just order a new part. 

 

Looks like a new part is about $79 list and you may be able to do better than list. 

 

[RTinNC]

I am way to anal and would just buy the new part and chalk it up to "life tuition".  I am sure how ever it happened will probably not happen again.   I have paid that tuition a few times unfortunately. 

[Stiggy]

I'm surprised that the replacement piece is 'only' $76.00. 

That said, it would still be worth a couple of hours IMO to try and sand down the rough areas and then apply a silicone based (Back to Black) treatment and see how it goes before I'd take it all apart and replace stuff.

[Randyjaco]

Yeah Stiggy, I am with you. That's what I'm going to do. 

Thanks everyone for the replies.

 

I am also wondering about trying the wrap. Any of you DIY guys had any success with wrapping? Some of the wrap jobs on vehicles that I have seen were spectacular, but they were usually done by professionals

[RTinNC]

39 minutes ago, Randyjaco said:

Yeah Stiggy, I am with you. That's what I'm going to do. 

Thanks everyone for the replies.

 

I am also wondering about trying the wrap. Any of you DIY guys had any success with wrapping? Some of the wrap jobs on vehicles that I have seen were spectacular, but they were usually done by professionals

Yes …. I wrapped the rear panel on my RT top box and came out great.  The mirror is a small piece so should be relatively easy.  You can get the wrap product on Amazon.  It’s cheap and worth a shot. 
 

if you do opt to sand it down and then use a product to refinish it something like Back to Black may not a great option as it’s not permanent and will easily wash off. However, griots garage makes a black plastic rejuvenation product that really works well and works kind of like a dye. I’ve used their product on little scuff marks on my vehicles, and it truly refinishes the part. 
 

 

[realshelby]

Just remember that a "wrap" is just like painting something in that any defects under it will show through. So it would need to be sanded smooth to try that. 

[RTinNC]

Yes good point … does not need to be perfect but it dies require prep sanding.  But it’s certainly worth a try.  2 folks on this site had their 49 liter top boxes wrapped with positive results.  Heck you could get wrap that matches the white on the bike and it would look factory.  There are literally hundreds of wrap colors.  If you go to a FAST Signs store they can provide a plethora of color options. 

[Mellow]

Ya gonna Ride it or Show it?  Mine has some similar scratches but if I replaced the part, I'd just drop it again lol.

[Randyjaco]

As I said earlier, I have some pride in my bike and I really didn't like the road rash look, so I attempted a fix. The fix could have gone better, but it doesn't look too bad for now.

It was easier that I thought it would be. I only had to remove a dozen screws, a hidden plastic rivet, 2 pieces of Tupperware, a speaker assembly and a speaker cover 

As suggested, I sanded the plastic down and covered it with Black Magic plastic conditioner. 

What I learned was, unless you have black filler, don't use any. Plastic conditioner seldom has any tint and is clear. So my red body filler is quite evident, even though I used a Sharpie to color it black. At the beginning and the reason for the query was the black plastic itself. I wasn't sure the plastic wasn't laminated, foam filled, etc. I now know that the black plastic can be treated like any other paint surface.

Now I still have the option to do a wrap or paint 

[duckhawk64]

Looks passable to me. The sharpie will fade. I've painted dirtbike plastic with good results using quality rattle can paint. 

[RTinNC]

Get that plastic recondition stuff from Griots Garage .  I’ve used it on similar pieces and it has black dye that’s permanent….THEN use the Black Magic stuff . 

[strataj]

That does look good!  Nice work.  Terry idea of using a 3m pad (I believe scotch brite pad) to pound in texture would it give it more of the OEM look. 

[Randyjaco]

3 hours ago, RTinNC said:

Get that plastic recondition stuff from Griots Garage .  I’ve used it on similar pieces and it has black dye that’s permanent….THEN use the Black Magic stuff . 

Do you remember the name of that stuff? I couldn't find anything on their website.

[Hosstage]

Is it this stuff, listed above?

 

[RTinNC]

That’s the stuff I did a quick check and couldn’t find it on their website but I’m not home and using my phone is a pain

[RTinNC]

12 minutes ago, Randyjaco said:

Do you remember the name of that stuff? I couldn't find anything on their website.

Are you coming to FART in a couple weeks?

 

IF YOU ARE, I CAN BRING THE BOTTLE I HAVE THAT’S PROBABLY ONLY HALF USED AND YOU CAN TRY IT

[Hosstage]

Under a new name?

 

Griots Trim Restorer

 

[RTinNC]

1 hour ago, Hosstage said:

Under a new name?

 

Griots Trim Restorer

 

Not the same stuff.   I just watched the video and this stuff is white or clear.  So it would work like the thick ArmorAll tire gel but it is not black and does not dye the surface black. 

[RTinNC]

OK .. after some searching it appears that Griot's Garage does not make the stuff anymore BUT .... THIS looks like a very similar if not the same product. 

 

https://www.autogeek.net/forblacbumtr.html?sku=FBK-010&utm_campaign=18028950661&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=&utm_term=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5-zzo6WhgQMVGY3ICh3jWw0VEAQYASABEgLozvD_BwE

 

But like I mentioned above if you will be at FART in Sparta I am happy to bring my bottle of the stuff with me for you to try.  

[RTinNC]

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=forever+black+bumper+%26+trim&hvadid=664223067558&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1021048&hvnetw=s&hvqmt=e&hvrand=14680199771419502475&hvtargid=kwd-303038807937&hydadcr=7281_13363498&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_8xa49lwjen_e

[Mellow]

Not bad, you  could put a strip of reflective tape there.  If you wanted to wrap it the shape looks to be a pretty easy one... some carbon fibre wrap would look good.

[Randyjaco]

22 hours ago, RTinNC said:

Are you coming to FART in a couple weeks?

 

IF YOU ARE, I CAN BRING THE BOTTLE I HAVE THAT’S PROBABLY ONLY HALF USED AND YOU CAN TRY IT

No, but thanks for the offer. I will see what I can find locally

[RTinNC]

That Forever Black stuff looks like the same product and you can get it on Amazon ... ezzeeee peeeezeee 

[Randyjaco]

I just ordered some from Amazon. I will fill you in on the results