TT Propane Tank Cover, looks blah

[DutchmenSport]

Weather warmed up real nice in Indiana today. I forfeited the Sportsman Boat and RV show in Indianapolis today to take advantage of the warm weather and decided to give the TT a bath. Washed entire roof all the way to the lug nuts! Camper looks really nice again! All ready for our South Carolina trip in March.

Late last fall we had the front cap repainted (long story), but it looks GREAT! Now, that vinyl propane cover looks really "blah!" When it was wet and soaped up,.... wow did it look good. Then it dried again and went back to a "blah" appearance.

I've waxed the cover before, washed it, tried a few things as it's lost it's luster over the last 3 years. I sure would like to keep it looking as "perty" as that front cap now ... without have to buy a new one. The color is a grey-brown, depending on how the light shines on it. Now it just looks like a faded grey.

So, any suggestions (except for purchasing a new one) that might help restore it's original "beauty" (if there such a thing as "beauty" in a propane cover?)... you know what I mean!

Any suggestions appreciated to restore it's luster. Remember, it's vinyl (I think)... a plastic of some sort anyway.

[SoundGuy]

DutchmenSport wrote:
Any suggestions appreciated to restore it's luster.

Mine looked like yours so I just spray painted it with some sort of paint from Home Depot that indicated it was suitable for use on plastic ... worked fine.

[RVcircus]

I'd paint it. Depending on how flexible the plastic is you may see some cracking at some point. If you're using a spray gun you can add flex agent to the paint to help and that's what's used on bumpers.

[Falconturns]

Just refinished mine. I cleaned it really well with soap and water, then wiped it down with rubbing alcohol. I used Krylon Plastic spray paint and hit it with three coats. Looks great and shines like it's metal, not plastic. I did use the "Gloss" finish instead of satin.
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[krobbe]

The Krylon Fusion paint in gloss river rock would look great. It is also extremely durable. Just give it up to a week to completely cure before putting anything over it like waxes or shines. Probably won't need to anyways.
Linky

[harley4275]

Mine used to look the same as yours.
I cleaned it with TSP (tri sodium phosphate) to get any wax residue off it and spray it with 'Krylon' black spray paint . Krylon comes in different colours (colors)so you can do it in brown if you want to look different than others. Krylon is made for plastic and works great.

[westend]

What's anyone's experience with outside plastics and paint?

Painted my sewer hose holder a few years ago. I used exactly the same process as rrev describes above. The paint (black on white fence post cover) is like the day I sprayed it. The secret is to get the surface super clean and use the adhesion promoter.

[DutchmenSport]

rrev wrote:
If you do it like I explained, it will hold up just fine.

Must have missed your post somehow. Sounds like a potential winner here! It's suppose to turn cold again tomorrow, might be an interesting project to do in the garage over the next few days.

[rrev]

If you do it like I explained, it will hold up just fine.

[DutchmenSport]

DownTheAvenue wrote:
There are spray paint cans on the market specifically for plastics. Why not just paint it?

I thought about spray paint for plastics. I've done a lot of woodworking and some metal work, a lot of finishing and refinishing. But not used plastics very much. I have used plastic's paint on interior items, but not on an item that stays outside 24x7x365. Would the paint hold up to freezing, snow, heat, from Wisconsin to Florida? Or do you think it would begin to peal and look worse than before starting?

If I were to replace it with a new one, I'd definately go with white. I had my Springdale for 8 years, and the tank cover never looked bad. It was white.

What's anyone's experience with outside plastics and paint?

[rrev]

Find the color you want. Scuff with the hottest water you can stand using Dawn dish soap and a grey scotchbright pad. Spray it with Bulldog Adhesion Promoter. Spray you paint. Stand back and admire. Any questions, let me know. I'm an auto body guy

[DownTheAvenue]

There are spray paint cans on the market specifically for plastics. Why not just paint it?

[westend]

You could buff it out but painting it may give you a better appearance. Plasti-dip might be a good choice.

[WNYBob]

I used a "magic eraser" on mine, cleaned it up great, but didn't restore the luster.