It works.

[Bigdaa]

My KLR 650 is one of those bikes whose color molded plastic that doesn't fare well under sun weathering.

Awhile ago, I read that some folk suggested running a heat gun over the plastic to sort of remelt the surface, restoring, somewhat the natural shine of fresh plastic right out of the mold.

Well, while installing a new radiator cover and repairing some damage incurred after my last off road get off, I said
WTF and took a side panel into my little mini shop/war room for exposure to my heat gun. This is a standard Weller electronics grade heat source not meant for wide areas, but sufficient in heat capacity to melt any solder.

I worked in small areas, heating the plastic until it was shiny as new, moving on to the adjacent area that is already pre-warmed. The side panel took about 15 minutes of steady work. The part is more than thick enough to not allow an over abundance of heat to build up and deform it.

After I was finished, the panel looked as if it had the shape of ocean waves across it and a somewhat dull sheen.
I went to the car hole and grabbed my Mother's Carnuba and went to work on it. A couple applications of Mother's and some diligent elbow function had the panel looking pretty damn nice. It's the nicest looking part of the bike outside the brand new radiator cover.


Conclusion: I would have preferred one of the larger more heavy duty heat guns that I've used in the past.....the ones with power enough to start logs on fire with it's massive heat/air volume output, but what I had was sufficient. The larger guns will produce a wider patern when finished, making follow on waxing/polishing that much easier, but what's saving 10 minutes in the overall scheme of things?


I'll see if I can't get some contrasting pics posted here. This process is quite worth it. I'll even try my wife's hair dryer top see if it will spit out sufficient BTU to handle the material.


Right now, I'm

[Bigdaa]

This gives a general idea of what I started with:





And:

[Bigdaa]

This is what I ended up with:




All in all, labor hrs well spent.

[beefsalad]

Nice! if only that would work on scuffed plastics that are painted :/

[Bigdaa]

Originally Posted by beefsalad

Nice! if only that would work on scuffed plastics that are painted :/

Oh, that would take Dark Magic, beef.

[rickard919]

WOW! Niec job Bigdaa. What a difference!

[The Shadow]

I thought you liked to use the Peanut butter methood, Bigdaa

[Bigdaa]

Originally Posted by The Shadow

I thought you liked to use the Peanut butter methood, Bigdaa

Woof!

[Ottawa919]

Man, I wish I knew that in my MX days. The Suzuki yellow on my RM's wasn't too bad, but the green on my KX's certainly could have used that refresh. Nice work.

[marylandmike]

Really nice outcome. Great work work Bigdaa. I wonder if that works on women.

[sbeau1960]

Looks much better! I've also used color matched wax with good results, they make a red liquid wax with some cleaning agent in it that works really well on dull paint. That's not really paint though being a color molded plastic part, so may not work on it.

[Shmoo]

Pssh, those older KLR's are SUPPOSED to look faded.

[godzuki]

yea i saw some people do that on the early 2000 yamaha yz and wr's it didnt get all of it out but most of the white ish from the plastic getting twisted in crashes.

[Bigdaa]

Originally Posted by marylandmike

Really nice outcome. Great work work Bigdaa. I wonder if that works on women.

Not so far.....................................

[HondaJim]

That's an amazing refresh. Looks good.