I have an ATC 185 that I am fixing up and had a couple of questions on repairing and re-painting the plastics on this bike.

The rear fenders both have the usual cracks on the lower side where they bolt to the frame. What is the best method for repairing these cracks? I've heard of Plastic Welders but have never used them. I always worked on metal and have not had any dealings with the plastics.

Second. One of the previous owners spray bombed the fenders and the tank. The tank is no problem to do as it's metal. But is there anything special or different that I need to be aware of about painting the plastics? Is there a different primer and paint that I need to use on the plastic parts? Or can I just prep, primer and spray the same as you would metal.

Any tips, tricks or advice as always is very much appreciated. Thanks!!!

What i use instead of a plastic welder is a soldering iron. I keep busted up fenders so that if i get a set that is cracked i can break off a peice of the bad fenders to use as filler while i am repairing the crack. Another easy trick i have done that looks neat is drilling hole on each side of the crack and using zip ties to make it look like you stiched it back together. I have seen people use the same color zip ties as the plastic but i think it looks coll with contrasting color. The zip ties generally hold up better than plastic weling also. As for paint on plastic kylon makes paint called plasticoat otr plastikote not sure about the spelling but i did the tank on one of my 110s (aftermarket tank) after it had faded and i have spilled gas on it and it has hung in there.

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07 LTR450: Beadlocks, Motoworks SR4 Full Exhuast The Rest Is A Secret
06 Full MX Raptor 700R: Stolen
85 ATC250R: P&P, CR Carb & Ignition, ESR ATC 5 Pipe, Lots Of Billet
85 ATC110: Stocker
01 TRX400EX: 440 Kit, Stage 2 Hot Cam, Trinity Pipe, Clean
78 Yamaha GT80E: Stock

I used some automotive grade paint for plastic and it didn't hold up long. Zip Ties are a wonderful thing for cracked plastic

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JkAss
85 200X(gone)
85 250R(gone)
87 TRX70(gone)
91 LT250R(gone)
04 TRX250EX
06 TRX90
06 LTZ400

What I learned about painting the plastics is, clean the plastic the best you can, then go over it with some rough sand paper, around 100 grit or higher, as long as it doesn`t leave scratches. Then coat the fender with rubberized undercoating as used on cars, you can get this almost anywhere, parts stores etc. for about 5 bux a can for the better stuff, this gives the base a flexible base coat, if you want it to look smooth, then wait for the base coat to cure, then sand it like you would using normal primer, then paint it to the desired color. if you don`t want it to look smooth just paint over the base coat. The result is a tough, durable finish that doesn`t chip easy. Cars use flexible primer for plastic pieces to keep the paint from cracking, so I applied the same thought to fenders only a little differently.

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1985 Honda 250ES Big Red
1983 Honda 185s (In Restoration, my pride and joy)
1984 Honda 200s

Thanks to all for the great info! I will give the flexible auto primer a try and see how it works out.

Wal-mart or any auto paint store has this stuff called bulldog it is a primer especially for plastic it can make paint stick to glass.

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81 atc 185s