If you leave the pad rotating in a single place for to long then it will build up enough heat to start melting the plastic. Followers 0. restoring vintage plastic gas tank . It would of taken you a few hours im sure but I hope you agree that the end result is worth it. I used simple green degreaser and a sponge. For Sale; Full Builds; How Much? Just get it till it turns glossy then move on. Bringing them back to life, in my opinion, would be the best option and as a worse case scenario I can always buy new so there was nothing to loose. If you do end up wanted to add a high-gloss coating I would recommend Maxima SC1 coating. Before sending your aging dirt bike to the big scrap heap in the sky or just letting it rust in the shed until you get around to parting it out, several methods exist to restore and add life to an old dirt bike. Below is a pic taken from the front to show how bad the front part of the fender was and how many scratches it has. Yep it is boring and repetitive and will take a while, most probably hours…. Once all blemishes and oxidation are removed. Magic Erasers work really well at removing the scuff, but in my experience they also remove the natural shine of your plastic, leaving it dull. The Great Plastic Debate. How To Restore Plastic Dirt Bike Gas Tanks . The XR had severe oxidation on the gas tank and fenders, but I wanted to tackle the CRFs fenders also. For these I left them soaking for a while in the bottom of the sink whilst I cleaned another piece to help soften the glue. By rotating the fender in a the same direction will help you keep track and maintain an even surface. Another way is to continuously dip the sandpaper in a bowl of water. In fact, the lighter you push the nicer it will look. We used 2000 wet sandpaper! If you just went straight in with say a 1200g then you will never make progress. Some were quite deep and although you can use a course sandpaper (like a 80 grit) to remove these it is going to take a long time. 2. So I had a shiny new fender with a dull spot in the middle. HOW TO FIX PLASTIC SCRATCHES, GOUGES AND BREAKS PART 1: ATV & UTV,Dirtbike : Fenders, gas tank, side panels the works. Dirt Bike; Sport ATV; Utility ATV; UTV; Street Bike; Cruiser; Search Begin typing to search, when autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. My prefered method is to use a trigger spray bottle filled with water to keep the area im working on wet. Then, apply a small amount of plastic conditioner, which you can buy online or at a home improvement store. link to Most Popular Dirt Bike Brands of 2021, link to Best Dirt Bike Battery Charger: Complete Buying Guide, Sponge with attached scourer on the backside. New DC Plastics mini oval unit. I prefer to pull the blade towards me for the most part, so start the scraping stroke with my arm extended before pulling towards my body in an even stroke. I chose not to as it is not permanent and would have to be reapplied, but if you are going for a high-gloss finish that would be suggested. Thank you! For the wet and dry sandpaper I started with a 120 grit because I had done the previous part with a blade. -Rinse the plastic after every different grit, -Buff outside! 3. Doing it in stages like this gives us an even surface and easy method. Scratches are sanded out first (sandpaper included). Close. By mark007, March 18, 2013 in Vintage Dirt Bikes. We took this video to show you how to restore / polish the plastics on a fourwheeler ATV or dirt bike. Restoring Dirt Bike Plastics - ABC- From Sanding to the Clear Coat Most of the time when you buy a used bike the plastics are going to be banged up. I can say that there is no real difference. Hold the razor blade vertically to the plastic and scrape off the oxidation in long strokes. Use in a well ventilated area and remember, a little bit goes a long way! This helps bring back the shine and deep color, and also give the plastic a protective layer. You want to start with the finest grade possible because it will save you work. Click on the picture or title to select a color. The process for restoring a plastic gas tank is straight forward a logical but it does take a few hours of hard graft if you are going to do a proper job. Most manufactures realized that it was issue and moved the decals to radiator shrouds, at least on the water-cooled bikes. Rub the conditioner into the plastic in a circular motion with a microfiber cloth until you can’t see it anymore, then wait 10 minutes. STEP 5 link to How To Restore Plastic Dirt Bike Gas Tanks. Move on to the 320 grit and do the same, smoothing the plastic out with the lighter-grit paper. The pic below shows me working on the side of the fender where I am pushing the blade away from me. For this I experimented with an electric buffer and also a drill attachment. Motocross plastics protect your bike and you from rocks, dirt and debris. If you decide to use a stanley blade then make sure you go slow and steady, taking your time. There is a lot of info out there, but the one similarity that keep coming up was that there is no magic chemical to remove oxidation (or if there is they don't work well). After going back and forth it should look like this: Continue until the entire fender is semi-glossy. , at least 90 % removed before moving to the back of the number has... About restoring and preserving plastic fuel tanks uneven surface off, the other ’! Drill attachment sections then followed up with the heat gun my bike look 100 % better in long.. Old dirt bike instead of buying a new page RM250 I learned some important lessons about and... 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