scratched plastics, repair tips?

[Matthew Power]

hey all,

I had a little run-in, while parking in Brooklyn last night, with a chinese food-delivery guy on a bicycle going the wrong way down a one-way street in the dark. He got knocked off his bike, but was unhurt. After detaching his rear spokes from my handlebars (!), he continued on his way and I let him go. I didn't look at the damage til today. Long story short, everything's fine except my front fender (I have an r1150r, black, but it has a k1200rs fender on the front) which is scratched all to hell but not broken. Looks like it went through a rose bush, probably from the bicycle's delivery basket.

So...

any tips for scratch repair on plastics? Can't see buying a whole new fender if it's not broken. How much would it cost to have it repainted, and anyone know of a place in the NYC area that would do that? I'm not even sure if plastic parts are painted or just come that color.

Any advice greatly appreciated.


Matt

[matthew power]

can anybody answer this? Or is everybody miffed because I de-beaked my beakster? (It actually came that way second hand.)

[rdsmith3]

The plastic parts are painted.

I have no idea how much it would cost to paint. Any good body shop should be able to get the color code and give you an estimate for painting it.

[bikerdudeQC]

also your dealer might be able to sell you a touch up pen. They did for my F650, assuming there's one for the RR but there is much less plastic so might not.

[boxermania]

This iu what I do with my bikes.......

Get some 220 wet/dry sand paper and with lots of water sand down the scratches. Obtain a can of primer (ready for paint) for plastic parts and prime the fender.

Up to this point the expense is minimal unfortunately it's going to get expensive when you get the paint......or take it to a painter. I usually buy a quart, since it is a few bucks more expensive than a pint.

I get the PPG base color, spray three light coats and come back with three clear coats. Remember to buy the additive for plastic parts or the paint will crack otherwise.

The paint stuff will cost ~ $60 but youll have enough to paint the bike..... I'll post pics of a typical repair.

[BlueBeak]

Since the bike is black and the fender is small, you could try a spray
bomb of car paint instead of the more expensive BMW paint.

However, prep work is 99% of a paint job, and boxermania is right on
with the 220 wet/dry. If the scratches aren't terribly deep, you can
use a combination of sanding and sandable primer to even up the surface.
Particularly with black, getting the surface perfectly smooth is critical, or
you will see the scratches after the paint dries.

If the scratches are deep, get a tube of spot putty and use that,
after the first sanding to remove high spots around the scratches.

Regardless of what paint you use, get your primer and paint from the
same company to avoid reactions between solvents.