Go-kart bumper

During the 2021 Covid lockdown, this was one of my many projects to keep me entertained. This was a boring black bumper and I decided to experiment with whether spray paint from Bunnings would stay on a hard plastic. I went out and bought a plastic primer, different coloured DuraMax paints and some Squirts fluro colours.

I started by first detaching ithe bumper from the go-kart. I made sure to take off all the metal parts. I don't think they're cheap and the owner wouldn't be happy if they got it back all painted rainbow. I then cleaned the bumper. It had heaps of grease from the exhaust and dirt so I used brake cleaner (a karting trick) for cleaning the plastic. Petrol is also a good cleaner to get rid of grease.

Prepping and painting

Once it was all clean, I started by lightly sanding the plastic, which did nothing. I then sprayed the plastic primer which was clear, and I don't think that did anything. I didn't really have a plan for how I was gonna paint it other than a small sketch of how the colours would blend. I went with orange, yellow, green and blue. The yellow was to match the driver's helmet. The fluro colours came out really well and they were super bright, surprisingly. I like the design, but don't really like the green. I tried using vinyl stickers as stencils to advertise the brand, but the paint came off when I pulled the vinyl off. Next time I will probably use stencils that aren't stickers, maybe paper or card. I might also layer the paint with Rustoleum nest time as a protective top coat.

Testing/durability

The paint hasn't fully come off despite the kart being tipped all the way back onto the bumper. The paint also doesn't come off when I clean the kart with brake cleaner which is a plus. There are a few scratches and could do with a touch-up, but overall the paint worked surprisingly well. The fluro colours are great on track, especially when it gets dark, the bumper is very visible on the track. The kart owner has asked me to do their whole kart.