Painting painted plastic?

[Nicky753]

I've got a rear bumper centre panel in dragon green which I want to paint in black magic pearl. Do I have to go through all the process of keying/priming/flatting etc or would the existing paint cover up well enough with rattle cans?

[Len]

"keying/priming/flatting"

dont be lazy and do it right!

[Nicky753]

Don't want to do it at all tbh but been looking for the right bumper and a drivers door for 2 years now.

[boneybradley]

You do really need to prepare the surface correctly.....
A simple clean and scour with some steel wool/wet and dry to key them first will be enough to make the paint stick but with modern paints being water based you may find it will react without primer (old cellulose paint was mutch better!)

[Nicky753]

Are rattle can primers pretty neutral or would I need plastic primer or anything special?

[Thom89]

Assuming that the panel that you want to paint is in good condition, and free from stone chips, and scratches, you can change the colour, simply by a thorough rub with Grey Scotchbrite (abrasive pads, available from halfords) and soapy water, all this will do, is "Key" the surface, without breaking through the original lacquer, rubbing with anything coarser, could break through the lacquer, and create paint reaction problems when you apply you new colour..
You only need to prime the panel, if it has damage...

Thom