Restoring Exterior Plastic Body Panels

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GA Westy
My westy has lot of shrinkage and stress cracks all over the black plastic body panel. I can't use a soft filler and paint over it as it would crack again.

We used panel bonding adhesive to fill the crack after it has been beveled slightly to allow more of the adhesive to fill the groove. The surface was sanded, solvent wiped and then we used polyurea to coat all the plastic body panels.

It worked great!
 

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512Westy

Member
Wow! great job. This looks really good in the pictures. Is it as good in real life? I need to do the same treatment. Can you share the actual products you used, as I'm not familiar with what polyurea is.
The finished product looks like it has more texture. Was this part of the polyurea coating or just a visual illusion of the different pictures?
 

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GA Westy
Wow! great job. This looks really good in the pictures. Is it as good in real life? I need to do the same treatment. Can you share the actual products you used, as I'm not familiar with what polyurea is.
The finished product looks like it has more texture. Was this part of the polyurea coating or just a visual illusion of the different pictures?
512 Westy, it actually looks better in real life. It is not as glossy.
The product is Lexis Graphyte. It is chemically similar to bed liner coating but more elastic. Traditional bed liner products have less elasticity and higher tension to handle the wear and tear. For a plastic body panel, you need something that can bridge the crack and not break with thermal expansion and contraction.

I don't have the product data on the site yet but I should have it in a couple of weeks.

My auto body shop, Auto Image in Woodstock, GA is already trained to install it and we used the westy both as a demo and training for their guys.

You will not be able to achieve the texture with Rattle Can bed liner products like the ones from Rust Oleum or Duplicolor. I'm not even sure if they will stick. This product bonds and cures in less than 10 seconds. It is sprayed similar to regular paint initially. Then you step back and hit it again for texture. The droplets partially cure on its way to the surface and that is what gives you the rough finish.

The attached picture shows the spray gun laying on the ground. It is a 2 component spray system.

I sprayed the rocker panels, plastic panels and my nudge bar. It looks really good blacked out instead of gray. I also sprayed the bumpers and the rear wheel well trim with SEM bumper coating to match. The polyurea does not work very well over those surfaces.
 

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grozier

Active member
Looks great! Would love to see a photo of the complete van without the masking if you get a chance.

Is that a custom A/C or solar panel up there on the roof?

Ted
 

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GA Westy
Looks great! Would love to see a photo of the complete van without the masking if you get a chance.

Is that a custom A/C or solar panel up there on the roof?

Ted
Very observant! No, unfortunately I have a missing AC cover so it was a fabricated replacement. I still don't know where to get one here. I may need to borrow someone's cover as a mold to make one out of fiberglass someday.

So if there are any westy owners near GA that won't mind letting me use your cover for a week, I'd appreciate it.
 

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GA Westy
Looks great! Would love to see a photo of the complete van without the masking if you get a chance.



Is that a custom A/C or solar panel up there on the roof?



Ted



Groizier,

Here's a picture with the plastic all gone. Sorry it took so long.


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babzway

New member
I have 2 brand new panels for the rear doors in Florida call mike at 727-364-7897,I'll take a hundred bucks for both
 

jujupang

Member
My exterior plastic panel was replaced by Airstream in Los Angeles, 4 years ago. It recently has become "unglued", I'm clueless about how to reattach it permanently without screwing it in. Any suggestions from anyone? Right now the panel is held on by duct tape. The Westy is currently in upstate NY.

Juju
 

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GA Westy
3m trim tape. Available in autozone. It has a red release liner. If you prefer adhesive, get polyurethane sealant for windshields.


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jujupang

Member
Discus,
Thank you, did you see my post about Westy Fest VII over the Labor Day weekend? It's the biggest group, between 12 and 17 Westies show up and it's on the east coast.
Juju
 

Fredb

Member
Read this thread with great interest and would love to fix the cracks in my side and rear

In your description you stated that you the product you used was 'Lexis Graphyte'.

Just checked out their site and doesn't look like they carry that product any more... or I can't seem to find it and so am wondering if you have any tips on what properties I'd be looking for as an alternative.

https://lexiscoatings.com/products

Water based vs. solvent based
Level of elongation - %
Solids - %

Other question for you is that I noted in the photo's you shrouded the entire vehicle. Guess I was surprised you needed to go to such lengths and so am curious whether there's something specific about the process (and associated risks) or whether it is a testament to how thorough you are.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.


-Fred
 

Kiltym

Active member
We are looking to repair our side panel as well.

Wondering if a rubberized paint like this would work OK: https://www.flexsealproducts.com/product/flex-seal/

I am going to use a good quality paintable caulk to fill the cracks as that will allow some flex as well as I am not expecting the paint above to fill the cracks. Seems a "hard" crack filler would just crack again from flex.

Any thoughts on this type of paint?

The only other rubberized paint I have found is the Plasti-Dip stuff. But it is designed to be removable, which is not really necessary and concerns me a bit with regards to longevity.
 

Pnwsquid

Active member
We are looking to repair our side panel as well.

Wondering if a rubberized paint like this would work OK: https://www.flexsealproducts.com/product/flex-seal/

I am going to use a good quality paintable caulk to fill the cracks as that will allow some flex as well as I am not expecting the paint above to fill the cracks. Seems a "hard" crack filler would just crack again from flex.

Any thoughts on this type of paint?

The only other rubberized paint I have found is the Plasti-Dip stuff. But it is designed to be removable, which is not really necessary and concerns me a bit with regards to longevity.
I seriously doubt it's going to work. The amount of expansion/contraction I've seen is significant. Even on a cooler day, my half inch cracks would tightly press together with direct sun exposure.

I think you need to use something that offers rigid and permanent structure like fiberglass repair. Discuss has it right IMO. Event a permanent sealant/adhesive like 3M 5200 allows for enough flex to disrupt the top layer of rubberized paint I would bet.
 

Kiltym

Active member
1/2" cracks? Wow, I don't have anything close to that severe on my panel. And have been in everything from 28F to 100F at this point.

The reason I was thinking caulk, and not something like epoxy/fiberglass, is that it can then continue to flex as needed. But certainly a 1/2" gap with caulk would not work, I agree. The most ours are < 1/4", which caulk should handle OK.

I would think filling the cracks with epoxy (and fiberglass), would either crack again, or allow the panel to crack somewhere else. But I perhaps I am not understanding why/how the panel cracks in the first place. I assume the majority is body flex in the van, not temperature. Perhaps it is a wrong assumption.

And my idea of the paint is that the paint would be able to flex a bit also, but I have no experience with the stuff I posted so am curious what opinions exist. I have looked for various "rubber" paints, and that was the closest I found so far.
 

Mike DZ

2016 View 24V (2015 3500)
Not familiar with the "plastic" used for Westy(s), but I have used Methyl methacrylate (MMA) adhesives for automotive plastics repair with some success. If you are not familiar with MMAs think epoxy mixed with superglue. These are heavily used throughout industry and have different varieties for different materials. Matching the MMA to the material is very important to a good bond, so some research would be required.
 

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GA Westy
You need a 2 component polyurethane bed liner material. The rattle can stuff won’t work at all. Try to find a Bullet Liner or Line-X dealer near you. They are the better ones. You can also try Rhino Linings.

The crack needs to be fixed. Fiberglass repair is good. The bedliner needs to be thick like what they do with pick up trucks. It can be a little thinner but at least 1/4” thick.


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Kiltym

Active member
discus,

Just curious, you posted using SEM Bumper Coater on bumpers and rear wheel trim. You seem fairly confident something like this would not work on the panels.....

Wondering why? Because of thickness of material, is that "key" to keeping it from cracking again? If the cracks are filled with something like caulk that can expand/contract, and the paint is flexible. it seems it would work (but I really have no idea!). But a few comments here imply it wont because of the contraction/expansion due to heat.

In your case, using the filler, filled the cracks, but it seems you are relying on the bedliner to eliminate the contraction/expansion going forward, otherwise the filler would just crack over time, I assume. Or is the adhesive you used "flexible" like a caulk?

Spending $400-$500 to have it sprayed with bed liner is bit out of my budget for plastic trim, although I am sure it works well.

Appreciate everyone's input.
 

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