I just recently traded my old 01 440ex for 05 black 450r. It's in good condition and runs great but the plastic is scratched up....Has anyone ever tried pc racing plastic renew and had good, Long lasting results? Any other ways to get rid of the scratches and make it shine?

having black plastic is tough if you are obssed with the scratches that are visible. Plastic renewal works somewhat but nothing IMO returns it to looking new. I powerwash mine to get all the dirt out of the scratches than use armor all on leave it at that. GL,

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having black plastic is tough if you are obssed with the scratches that are visible. Plastic renewal works somewhat but nothing IMO returns it to looking new. I powerwash mine to get all the dirt out of the scratches than use armor all on leave it at that. GL,


there are lots of deep scratches and lots of little ones, I've been putting on armor all and that gives it the color and shine back but does nothing for the scratches. So would plastic renew be a waste of 20 bucks?

You are wasting your money with plastic renew in my opinion my brother just got an 06 that is black and we ran a heat gun over it and it turned out amazing. Just be careful and don't melt it the trick is just keep moving it. Also pledge works better than armor all in my opinion. I got a red one and it still looks new, but it don't show the scratches nothing like the black.

i have heard nothing but BAD things about using plastic renew, especially in the long run. and yes pledge works great, it doesn't leave the sticky residue that armor all does.

for a shine I've always had good luck with wd-40. It also makes the next cleaning easier.

The best way We hav found is to waterblast clean the scratches, then use the heat gun to deaden the edges of the scratches. then buy a roll of scuff proof clear tape and apply it to the guards and sidecovers and trim off the excess at the edges. This will leave an easy to wash and keep clean surface and will not scratch and show the cracks. Easy then just to spray with armour all or pledge and always leave an easy shine and easy to clean after each ride. The tank will need a sticker with holes in it to breath as the tank is porous and a normal sticker will just fall off!

you will waist A LOT MORE than 20 bucks. you will have buy a new set of plastic in just about 2 months.

best way ive found is to buy new plastic or a graphics kit covers up most

you could buy a graphics kit and new rear fenders

did the heat gun make it shiny and take away some of the scratches?

yes the heat gun makes it shinny you can watch the color come back as you are doing it it is neat, but be careful and make sure the quad and scratches are clean.

I just used Turtel Wax's Wet N Black tire spray on my bike and it looks 10x better. I sprayed it on the tank and now the gray sanded look is gone. I ended up using it on the whole bike and it looks pretty good. Plus its cheap. It may collect dirt and dust like crazy, I don't know yet.

what did u use to clean the plastic?

Watch out with the tire shine, It collects dirt like crazy and will ruin a set of pants.

I just used good old dawn and a wash cloth to clean it real well rinsed it and then went to work and yes stay away from the tire shine stuff it collects dust like crazy and it will leave spots if you let the dust and stuff stay on there for a while

yea anything oily collects dust, I'll give the heat gun a shot tomorrow and see if it works

Thanks for the heads up, I just was trying something new although it does look good in the clean garage (for now).

i used turtle wax car wax it brings color back but doesnt remove scratches but i havent tried it on black plastic only red and white

the heat gun took away the fading It takes a while but it works, I just did my front and rear fenders today but now my heat guns broke...

good to hear you didn't melt it lol... be very careful on the piece that runs right under you tank to the rears it is thin and will warp put a wet wash cloth on the back of it to keep it straight and in good shape i learnt on my last set of plastic the hard way....get a new heat gun finish her up and throw some pledge on it and let me know what you think

yea I don't think I'm gonna do the gas tank cuz I don't think it needs it and it might make it look bad, but once I get a new heat gun I'm doin the heel guards

I did our gas tanks but not like i did the fenders lol....i was kinda nervous

my gas tank is shinier than the rest of the plastic with no fading on it so I don't think it needs to be heated

I'm gonna use pledge instead of armor all from now on

Heat gun huh? I gotta try that.

yea just put the heat gun on high and keep it pretty close to the plastic and move it around so the plastic doesn't melt

the heat gun is a magical deal on them blacks especially and ya the pledge is deffintly good i couldn't beleive it when i tried it for the first time...

yea the heat gun trick is cool, i jacked my hood up the first time i tried it live and learn but it is a great way to fix the black plastics.

The best way to preserve yur plastic is money and prevention.
Go to your local sign shop and get big pieces of clear vinyl. $$$ Cut out to match your fenders and apply with the self adhesive.
Do this the day after you buy your brand new bike! Or go ahead with your heat gun and pledge and tire gunk. Although I would not reccomend putting the vinyl pieces over any type of chemicals.
It is the same vinyl stickers they use for wraping busses and other vehicles.
Then those vinyls should last a lifetime but if your a real squeezer you can just peel off the vinyl and replace it.

Problem with the vinyl is if you roll it and scratch it deep it will scratch and tear the vinyl. God knows my bike has spent some time on its top.

May be an older thread, but I'm going to give this a shot.

I'm probably gonna pull the rear stickers off since one of the is ripped up anyway.

I'll do a good before/after as well.

I think mines beyond hope. Its never going to look like it once did. Its cool though. I bought it to ride it.

Eventually you wont be able to do anything with the plastics, beyond polish and wax. When this time comes, you get white plastics

I've heard that armor all will make plastic fade is this true? I've used it once tho...cause im fixing to get new black plastic! how easy can u see scratches on black? My brother has a black 450r and i love the look of it and on mine im puting lime green pinstripes around the edge of the plastic and adding monster energy graphics!

dont waste money on that renew crap, the second gas drips on it , it blisters like a albino at the beach.

I hate my plastics! you can see every scratch!

I've decided to just live with my black plastics until they need replacement due to physical damage. Sadly I cracked the front left side plastic (what the fender mounts too) which makes the fender floppy so I might replace everything this spring. Anyone know a good (cheap) place to get a complete set of white plastics? Its an 05 kicker.

Try some fine grit sand paper to get it smooth. Then wipe clean with some thinner let dry then use a propane torch to bring the shine back.

silkolene pro prep!!!!!!It does the best out of all the cleaners/polishers...Ive got them all and it works best....

The Plastic renew stufff sucks ass!!! If you really want that stuff don't waste your money on it, go buy yourself some hard Wood Floor varnish, practically the exact same thing.

heres my $.02 for what its worth... PC plastic renew sucks balls because the clear coat doesn't last for crap so that idea is out (tried on my EX, thank god i didnt sand any more than the hood and i still had to re-apply til it sold lol). i use a product from Maxima oils called SC-1, it comes in a large aerosol can (size of klotz chain lube) costs like $8 and it acts as a wax and actally beads water unlike armor-all which just washes off in the rain. makes washing it a breeze also

The plastics can be sanded through 3000 grit and machine polished but its a lot of work. I would only recommend it if you have the polishing equipment and some polishing experience. It doesn't take much to leave burn marks.

I sanded the black plastics on my build and polished them to a glass like finish. But they did not have any deep scratches to begin with. I have my old set that I plan on trying to restore and will take before, durring and after pics when I find the time to work on them.

ya let us see it norcal and some tips on doing that. that'd be cool to see!

[quote name='Nor*Cal' date='Jan 28 2009, 12:32 AM' post='631716']
The plastics can be sanded through 3000 grit and machine polished but its a lot of work. I would only recommend it if you have the polishing equipment and some polishing experience. It doesn't take much to leave burn marks.

what exactly does the "polishing equipment" include? just wondering. can you take it somewhere to get it done??

i heard using mop & glow or some other floor cleaners like that will work wonders.... any truth to that??

I have used the mop & glo in the past. It looked good the first couple of times I used it. After that, some of it flaked off and did not look good. Once all of the mop & glo was off, I switched to Pledge. Pledge works great. It doesn't seem to attract dust and it does a good job of hiding the fine scratches from my boots.

i know its not black but i had a red 400ex that was all scratched up and i wet sanded it. continuously going with finer and finer grit and it turned out amazing.

Hey I just Tried some Back To Black Polish, from Miquier? I think i spelled that right, anyway i seen it in the autoparts store and it worked like a champ!!!! It worked even better the second time i did it after a weekend riding!

Trim Shine from the auto parts store. Works great on everything except brakes after you wash it...

heat gun or propane torch is what i used.. it really works amazing. just stay away from decals