# Painting on plastic?



## Cat_Bones

So i purchased these flamingos for $3 and was planning on painting their heads completely black and painting bones on them. What paint would be the best for this considering they're made out of plastic and they'll be outside in the elements? 
Any advice would be appreciated


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## RoxyBlue

You might try the Krylon Fusion brand of paint for plastics. It comes in both spray and brush-on versions, and it's specifically designed for use on plastic.

If you use this product, here are tips on preparing the surface before painting - scroll down the page to the plastic prep part:

http://www.krylon.com/safety/surface-preparation/

If you prime the birds first with the Krylon primer for plastics, you could (as an alternative to more Krylon) use any exterior paint over it.


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## Cat_Bones

Perfect thanks Roxy swear I'm just gonna ask you from now on instead of posting lol


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## stick

You will want make sure that you use a paint that has on it for "plastic" otherwise you will be painting over and over again. I learn that the hard way trying to save money and it cost me double.


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## bert1913

you could also use exterior latex house paint (latex is a water based paint, so it wont harm plastic) sample size cans usally cost about $3


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## Cat_Bones

bert1913 said:


> you could also use exterior latex house paint (latex is a water based paint, so it wont harm plastic) sample size cans usally cost about $3


thanks bert i bought a small can of that and was wondering if it would work


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## Cole&Jacksdad

bert1913 said:


> you could also use exterior latex house paint (latex is a water based paint, so it wont harm plastic) sample size cans usally cost about $3


The latex paint might have a hard time sticking to the plastic. If it were me, I would use spray primer on it first then paint.


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## Evil Bob

When I built my MST3K bots, I used an adhesion promotor to get the paint to stick to the plastic. 
BULLDOG ADHESION PROMOTOR 15oz : Amazon.com : [email protected]@[email protected]@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/[email protected]@[email protected]@31fwlAVUn1L


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## Pumpkin5

:jol:In the body shop business we use adhesion promoter before we paint bumpers and plastic parts. Scuffing the plastic with a scuff pad can also work.


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## Haunted Spider

Agreed with pumpkin5 on the scuffing. When I painted my pvc fence I tried several methods to see what would and wouldn't work. If you just paint latex on pvc or plastic it comes right off. If you rough it up with some sand paper, it holds better but you do need a primer to get it to hold well. I found kilz latex primer works well enough for my needs after scuffing it up. Even the Krylon paint for plastic says to rough the surface prior to spraying. Since they are yard props, I wouldn't worry about the adhesion promotor and just use kilz. 

My 2 cents.


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## Pumpkin5

Haunted Spider said:


> Since they are yard props, I wouldn't worry about the adhesion promotor and just use kilz.
> My 2 cents.


:jol:Most definitely, the adhesion promotor is expensive , but then we guarantee our repairs for as long as you own the vehicle, so we have to use it, and bumpers can take a beating...but for ordinary people and props....scuffing should work fine. I will try the kilz myself next time I paint PVC, thanks for the tip HS!


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## Haunted Spider

You are welcome. Hope it works for you. It probably depends on the chemical make up of the plastic as to whether or not it sticks the way it should. So many plastics, so many choices...


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## billman

Will latex paint stick onto Krylon Fusion brand of paint for plastics?


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## Bascombe

I have used Super 77 spray adhesive as a primer to get paint to stick to plastic. In fact that's my go to when I have to paint it.

Anything water based isn't going to stick because of the huge amount of petroleum used in making plastics. 

The Super 77 will stick to it and the paint will in turn stick to the Super 77


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## Lizzyborden

I grew up in the autobody business and have to agree on scuffing then priming.


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## Troll Wizard

Okay, well Bascombe is correct about the water based paint will not stick to the plastic alone because of if being plastic. What I can tell you from managing a paint store is that you need to etch the surface before anything just from the fact that plastic is a sealed surface. Etching will take the sheen off the surface so you can paint it. Your professional paint store is the best place to go to for the products you need. Etching or scuffing whatever you want to call it, has to be done for paint to stick to the surface. Now because it's going to be outside, you might consider using an alkyd (oil) based product just because it would last longer over time. 

Now the Krylon plastic paints work pretty well, and I would follow the link that Roxy provided from Krylon about their paints for preping. Your paint professional sales person should be able to show you the correct products you need to succesfully paint you project or projects. You just need to remind them that you are wanting to paint plastic and you don't want to get something that will eat the plastic or melt it. And I'm not talking Lowe's or Home Depot, I'm talking about your independent paint store in you local area.


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## Fauxrider

The Gripper by Glidden is an excellent primer. It has stuck to anything I have tried it on. And yes I have used on PVC. http://www.glidden.com/products/gripper-primer-white.do


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## ElviraGultch

Good luck...


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