OK - i have been reading on this forum about people painting their side panels - so I decided to do it myself. I have been doing body work for over 20 yrs. So this is nothing new to me - but I thought I could help everyone else out with an easy step by step.
Heres what you need:
- 2 cans of Krylon plastic fusion paint - Flat black is a better match than satin black - satin is a little too shiny to match the other parts - but you can use what you want
- 1 green or red scotchbrite pad
- 1 can of ajax or comet cleaner
- 1 roll of 1" masking tape
- 1 tack cloth
- shop towels or paper towel
- enamel reducer or low grade paint thinner or panel degreaser
- adhesive remover/goo b gone
Step 1 - Prep
- remove stickers (cheap to replace) with hair dryer or low setting heat gun. use adhesive remover to get all the glue residue off the panel
- rewash with ajax and use scotchbrite pad to lightly scuff the panel - you dont have to scrub hard, just make sure you lightly rub all areas of the panel that you want to paint. DO NOT scrub the areas that are already black(IF you have black on your panels as I do) you will not be painting these areas - also do not scuff the vent on the top of the panel, you will not paint this either.
- rinse and wipe dry - blow off all moisture or I left mine dry completely overnight
Step 2 - Mask off
- mask off all parts (with masking tape) that you do not want to paint - this included all the parts that were black on my panels. You dont need to paint these parts - less likely to fail/scratch/peel later on.
- I also masked off the hinge portions and the tabs that will come in contact with other panels on the sled. Paint would just rub off these areas due to excessive contact.
- mask off the vent as well
Step 3 - Paint
- make sure you have a warm dry place to do this
- lightly wipe off panels with enamel reducer/degreaser to further remove any contaminents - wipe dry leaving no residue on panel
- lightly tack off panel with tack cloth - for those of you who have never done this, pay attn: fully open tack cloth - then loosely ball it up - DO NOT rub this on the panel - lightly skim the panel with the cloth - no pressure what so ever. you only want to remove fine dust particles - most of which you cant see.
- VERY IMPORTANT - spray 1st coat very lightly - not heavy at all - you want to be able to see the original color thru this coat. let dry for about 5 min
- do this the same way for coats 2 and 3. Paint will start to fully cover panel by now. This Provides better adhesion to the panel and does not trap any solvent under the layers - that would cause problems later.
- after letting dry for 10 - 15 min (should be dry to a lite touch) then you can put a full wet coat for the 4th coat. Should not be any dry areas while spraying this coat. Let dry 10 - 15 min .
- This is where I switched to my second can of paint - so I did not get any dry spots while spraying or sputtering from lack of paint in the can. Apply 5th coat
- If all looks good after this coat dries then stop here - I had to put on a 6th coat because I had a dry area on both panels that I needed to cover up. You should not need more than 6 coats - too much could crack later on in the cold - so there is no need to put on excessive coats of paint
- let dry for 45 to 60 min - carefully unmask all areas that were taped.
- Put the panels where it stays above 60 degrees for at least 7 days. This ensures that all of the solvent evaporates out of the paint. Go even longer if you can wait - 10 days would be ideal
- you can know install decals and put panels back on sled - If you can wait a full 30 days for paint to cure before riding - that would be fantastic - but reality will set in - and you will want to hit the trails asap.
Just be patient while doing this job - you dont have to take it to a body shop to do this - anyone is capable of this easy spray job
Probably the biggest reason I chose to paint with a spray can instead of auto paint, is that touch ups are far easier with a spray can and the whole job should cost less than $20.00 for all the materials.
Hope this helps and Good Luck
Full Version: Just painted my xp grey side panels - very easy
DOOTalk Forums > Ski-Doo Snowmobiles > REV-XP Chassis - Performance and Trail Models > REV-XP FAQ's > How To's
QUOTE (thatguy @ Nov 8 2008, 01:03 AM) 
OK - i have been reading on this forum about people painting their side panels - so I decided to do it myself. I have been doing body work for over 20 yrs. So this is nothing new to me - but I thought I could help everyone else out with an easy step by step.
Heres what you need:
- 2 cans of Krylon plastic fusion paint - Flat black is a better match than satin black - satin is a little too shiny to match the other parts - but you can use what you want
- 1 green or red scotchbrite pad
- 1 can of ajax or comet cleaner
- 1 roll of 1" masking tape
- 1 tack cloth
- shop towels or paper towel
- enamel reducer or low grade paint thinner or panel degreaser
- adhesive remover/goo b gone
Step 1 - Prep
- remove stickers (cheap to replace) with hair dryer or low setting heat gun. use adhesive remover to get all the glue residue off the panel
- rewash with ajax and use scotchbrite pad to lightly scuff the panel - you dont have to scrub hard, just make sure you lightly rub all areas of the panel that you want to paint. DO NOT scrub the areas that are already black(IF you have black on your panels as I do) you will not be painting these areas - also do not scuff the vent on the top of the panel, you will not paint this either.
- rinse and wipe dry - blow off all moisture or I left mine dry completely overnight
Step 2 - Mask off
- mask off all parts (with masking tape) that you do not want to paint - this included all the parts that were black on my panels. You dont need to paint these parts - less likely to fail/scratch/peel later on.
- I also masked off the hinge portions and the tabs that will come in contact with other panels on the sled. Paint would just rub off these areas due to excessive contact.
- mask off the vent as well
Step 3 - Paint
- make sure you have a warm dry place to do this
- lightly wipe off panels with enamel reducer/degreaser to further remove any contaminents - wipe dry leaving no residue on panel
- lightly tack off panel with tack cloth - for those of you who have never done this, pay attn: fully open tack cloth - then loosely ball it up - DO NOT rub this on the panel - lightly skim the panel with the cloth - no pressure what so ever. you only want to remove fine dust particles - most of which you cant see.
- VERY IMPORTANT - spray 1st coat very lightly - not heavy at all - you want to be able to see the original color thru this coat. let dry for about 5 min
- do this the same way for coats 2 and 3. Paint will start to fully cover panel by now. This Provides better adhesion to the panel and does not trap any solvent under the layers - that would cause problems later.
- after letting dry for 10 - 15 min (should be dry to a lite touch) then you can put a full wet coat for the 4th coat. Should not be any dry areas while spraying this coat. Let dry 10 - 15 min .
- This is where I switched to my second can of paint - so I did not get any dry spots while spraying or sputtering from lack of paint in the can. Apply 5th coat
- If all looks good after this coat dries then stop here - I had to put on a 6th coat because I had a dry area on both panels that I needed to cover up. You should not need more than 6 coats - too much could crack later on in the cold - so there is no need to put on excessive coats of paint
- let dry for 45 to 60 min - carefully unmask all areas that were taped.
- Put the panels where it stays above 60 degrees for at least 7 days. This ensures that all of the solvent evaporates out of the paint. Go even longer if you can wait - 10 days would be ideal
- you can know install decals and put panels back on sled - If you can wait a full 30 days for paint to cure before riding - that would be fantastic - but reality will set in - and you will want to hit the trails asap.
Just be patient while doing this job - you dont have to take it to a body shop to do this - anyone is capable of this easy spray job
Probably the biggest reason I chose to paint with a spray can instead of auto paint, is that touch ups are far easier with a spray can and the whole job should cost less than $20.00 for all the materials.
Hope this helps and Good Luck
Heres what you need:
- 2 cans of Krylon plastic fusion paint - Flat black is a better match than satin black - satin is a little too shiny to match the other parts - but you can use what you want
- 1 green or red scotchbrite pad
- 1 can of ajax or comet cleaner
- 1 roll of 1" masking tape
- 1 tack cloth
- shop towels or paper towel
- enamel reducer or low grade paint thinner or panel degreaser
- adhesive remover/goo b gone
Step 1 - Prep
- remove stickers (cheap to replace) with hair dryer or low setting heat gun. use adhesive remover to get all the glue residue off the panel
- rewash with ajax and use scotchbrite pad to lightly scuff the panel - you dont have to scrub hard, just make sure you lightly rub all areas of the panel that you want to paint. DO NOT scrub the areas that are already black(IF you have black on your panels as I do) you will not be painting these areas - also do not scuff the vent on the top of the panel, you will not paint this either.
- rinse and wipe dry - blow off all moisture or I left mine dry completely overnight
Step 2 - Mask off
- mask off all parts (with masking tape) that you do not want to paint - this included all the parts that were black on my panels. You dont need to paint these parts - less likely to fail/scratch/peel later on.
- I also masked off the hinge portions and the tabs that will come in contact with other panels on the sled. Paint would just rub off these areas due to excessive contact.
- mask off the vent as well
Step 3 - Paint
- make sure you have a warm dry place to do this
- lightly wipe off panels with enamel reducer/degreaser to further remove any contaminents - wipe dry leaving no residue on panel
- lightly tack off panel with tack cloth - for those of you who have never done this, pay attn: fully open tack cloth - then loosely ball it up - DO NOT rub this on the panel - lightly skim the panel with the cloth - no pressure what so ever. you only want to remove fine dust particles - most of which you cant see.
- VERY IMPORTANT - spray 1st coat very lightly - not heavy at all - you want to be able to see the original color thru this coat. let dry for about 5 min
- do this the same way for coats 2 and 3. Paint will start to fully cover panel by now. This Provides better adhesion to the panel and does not trap any solvent under the layers - that would cause problems later.
- after letting dry for 10 - 15 min (should be dry to a lite touch) then you can put a full wet coat for the 4th coat. Should not be any dry areas while spraying this coat. Let dry 10 - 15 min .
- This is where I switched to my second can of paint - so I did not get any dry spots while spraying or sputtering from lack of paint in the can. Apply 5th coat
- If all looks good after this coat dries then stop here - I had to put on a 6th coat because I had a dry area on both panels that I needed to cover up. You should not need more than 6 coats - too much could crack later on in the cold - so there is no need to put on excessive coats of paint
- let dry for 45 to 60 min - carefully unmask all areas that were taped.
- Put the panels where it stays above 60 degrees for at least 7 days. This ensures that all of the solvent evaporates out of the paint. Go even longer if you can wait - 10 days would be ideal
- you can know install decals and put panels back on sled - If you can wait a full 30 days for paint to cure before riding - that would be fantastic - but reality will set in - and you will want to hit the trails asap.
Just be patient while doing this job - you dont have to take it to a body shop to do this - anyone is capable of this easy spray job
Probably the biggest reason I chose to paint with a spray can instead of auto paint, is that touch ups are far easier with a spray can and the whole job should cost less than $20.00 for all the materials.
Hope this helps and Good Luck
good post; pics?......
paint is still drying - and I dont know how to get the pics on here - tried but no luck
I also installed powermadd handguards with a stock windshield - non X model - and I wanted to get those pics up as well
I also installed powermadd handguards with a stock windshield - non X model - and I wanted to get those pics up as well
Nice tut I think I'm going to do this next year when it's warmer out a d I don't have to worry about rushing it. As for the pictures most guys just get a account at photobucket.com and the cop the links over.
thatguy, thanks for the info. 
I just asked the mods to put it in the REV-XP "how to" FAQ section.
I just asked the mods to put it in the REV-XP "how to" FAQ section.
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