Paint the plastic trims?

Like many others, i don't like the black plastic trim panels on the sides of the tank and top of the side fairings...especially as they look like they've been made out of old plastic egg cartons!


So, rather than replace them with carbon, I wondered if I could/should get them painted in Thunder Grey, to match the rest of the bike??? Has anyone else tried it? (even if u think it's a crap idea)


I ask, as I know nothing about professional paint spraying and I didn't want to embarrass myself at my local sprayshop. (...I don't care about embarrassing myself in front of you lot : )

Saw somebody on facebook had done it (not sure if it's somebody off here )

looks good.

Don't try to do it yourself the paint will have be mixed with a plasticier so it does not crack get it done in professional paint shop

yep this is right and im sure that it either needs to be baked or dipped?

It would need to go in a low bake oven for about 40 mins

there u go the man knows!!

Thanks for the responses chaps...especially as it seems feasible . Love that pic you put up |||NC30|||, although mine would look a lot more subtle in Thundger Grey.


Have no worries, if/when I get it done, it'll be by a well trusted pro...not me in the garage with a similarly coloured tin of Holts!


So I think I might ride the bike down the sprayshop and get a quote and perhaps buy another set of the plastics on eBay (perfect items seem to be going for very little money), get them painted and see if they come out ok. Watch this space

Thats my pic off face book i photoshopped it as im getting mine done very similar to the pic except i be leaving the tank cover black and the fairing top covers white and the blue on the belly pan wont go all the way down so i can add some hp4 type sponsor stickers or a bmw motorad sticker across bottom of the belly pan,also rear hugger will get painted to be the same as front mud guard .

Also plasticiser will be needed in the paint and low bake oven or a nice dry space to let the paint set over 24 hours . Rs bike paints might have the correct paint in stock as i got all my paint from them for my motorsport bike

I knew I'd seen that bloody photo somewhere Buzz lol

So, I finally got around to doing what I promised and fitted so body coloured infils and tank side plastics.
First of all, to avoid the risk of anything going wrong and in-case I changed my mind, I bought a new set of all 4 trims from BMW Northampton, via eBay. I'm not sure if it was because no-one ever really needs a set of all 4, but I managed to pick them up very cheap, for just £30 plus a tenner delivery: link to eBay item
Then I took them to my local body repair shop (Bromsgrove Body Repairs) to be smoothed, baked and painted. They gave me the option of keeping the graining, but I thought that would look bloody awful IMO :disgust:
I'm really happy with the outcome and the new look and think it was well worth the effort to get something that looks a little different/special. I might add a graphic or 2 at a later date, but I think I'll live with it for a while to make up my mind...I still haven't been able to ride the friggin thing since I bought it in October!
So, until the sun comes out and I can get a decent photo, here are a few crappy pics from in my garage.

Looks brilliant. Changes the whole bike

If anyone is thinking of trying this, its not as hard as you think, you just have to use the right materials and elbow grease.
I did mine by scraping the webbing down on the plastics with a square razor blade keeping it at 90 then applying 2pack primer.
Rubbing down with 800 w/dry paper, cleaning, apply basecoat then 2 coats of 2pack laquer. It does not need to be baked just left to dry
(warmer the better of course) Being chemically cured (dried) doesnt rely on the heat so much. You will only need a plastisizer if its gonna flex too much, the whole of my fairings i did over a year ago without and have had no probs since.

If actually got a set of the tank sides already painted in motorsports blue if anyone is interested