BEFORE
AFTER
BEFORE
AFTER
This has been a long time coming and I should have never let my ATV go like this, but time got past me as I got married, had a couple of kids, and gathered a few more jobs in my busy world. Some things like my 2003 Yamaha Big Bear 400 4X4 found minimal usage (500 miles in six years) and I never replaced the cover once it went bad. Nevertheless, I decided this winter that I would either repair the damage done by the sun and weather or buy a new fender kit for my quad...
After an abundance of research and no luck, I decided that maybe a heat gun could potentially restore the plastic to a more original form. I chose to hit up youtube.com to see if anyone had done this and found several videos of people using heat guns to bring out the finish on plastic ground effects. There was one that seemed plausible. Click here to see the video.
So I've started the process and see some success, but I want to mention that this will not be perfect but rather an improvement. Also, once the heat gun has been used for several minutes I've applied a buffing agent used for fiberglass boats. It has evened out the spots where the heat gun overlaps, but the compound beforehand did not yield better results...
I look forward to the complete restoration of this proven quad with only 700 miles. I've documented my progress below...
Take care
The Downeast Duck Hunter
4 comments:
Looks like heat did the trick. I am wondering how even the finish looks to the naked eye- as it always hard to tell in pictures. Was there an unevenness to it, like heat gun "tracks"?
Kmurray,
It's not perfect, but the overlapping runs that were creating uneven blotches were quickly removed by a marine buffing compound. I applied it by hand and will run an electric buffer later on this week, the pad is on order right now. On any account, I'm pleased at the result and two hours worth of time greatly offsets the cost of a new set of fenders. Thanks for swinging by!!!
Its no grizzly but it still looks great buddy. I am sure I will be hitting mine with the heat gun in 7 years!
I can't wait Rabid when I'm moving forward and you sit there too scared to get that pretty machine dirty, you'll have to get it off the driveway eventually!!!
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