How To Restore Sun-Faded ATV Plastic

Accepting that ‘ATV’ and ‘off-road’ riding have become synonymous is much more truthful. Off-road riding is one of the most popular activities across the US and UK.

The constant growth of All Terrain Vehicles has made it possible to have a spectacular and safe riding experience in the wild where no on-road vehicle stood a chance even for a few miles.

ATVs have become highly advanced and versatile vehicles with all modern automobile technologies.

But nature works its effect on all the materials in existence, and just like an iron catches rust with the passing time, the plastic regions in an ATV also start to fade.

Just like a person wouldn’t like his car to look dull and old, the same goes for stylish vehicles like ATVs.

The vehicles like ATVs are meant to be driven in harsh conditions, and the long term one feature or the other would require maintenance in the long term.

Thus the fading of ATVs is a fact that needs to be accepted and tried to be fixed. The factors like harsh sun rays and heat on the trail will commonly have an impact.

The other deteriorating plastic factors include impacts from mud, sand, dirt, and even long-term water exposure.

The Faded Portions Are Signs To Take Action

The scratches that fall one after the other on the surface of the ATV plastic slowly makes them lose their shine and appear much older compared to the other ATV parts.

If faded and deteriorated plastics are left unbothered, they can often lead to cracks in the plastic. When cracks appear on the plastic, there remains no option but to replace it.

In this case, a high expenditure will be needed to get the ideal ATV plastic fitted to your ATV. There is more than one technique to restore your faded ATV plastic before it deteriorates further.

A timely restoration technique can make your ATV plastic look new and shiny. The best methods for restoring your ATV plastic are mentioned below:

Restore Sun-Faded ATV Plastic Using Boiled Linseed Oil for Faded Plastic

Linseed oil is also known by other names: flaxseed and flax oil. This is a unique oil that is obtained from the flax plant and is slightly yellow or colorless in appearance.

Flax or linseed oil is the drying oil that becomes solidified by natural polymerization.

The linseed oil can be combined with multiple other oils or used alone for multiple purposes, from furnishing wood to hardening putty.

But if you are an ATV owner, the prime use you should be aware of is that it restores faded or dull ATV plastic.

But for actually reaping its effect in a trouble-free procedure, you need to use ‘boiled linseed oil’ instead of just ‘linseed oil.’

But it needs to be clearly understood by you that this doesn’t mean you go out into the market and then buy linseed followed by plans of highly boiling it.

‘Boiled Linseed Oil’ is a specific category of linseed oil that has been treated previously to dry up at a great pace.

Firstly, you need to mix linseed oil with paint thinner in a 40-60 ratio format to get the maximum impact all over the ATV plastic.

Remember this, for any plastic restoration process to work amazingly. You need to properly clean your ATV plastic.

The rest of the ATV also needs to be properly cleaned so that you can use the linseed oil properly on the plastic and remove the solidification if slight spills occur.

The soap water that you might be used for cleaning the ATV properly should be properly dried before you apply Boiled Linseed Oil.

In the linseed oil procedure, blending the oil with paint thinner is necessary as it reduces the oil effect and doesn’t make the ATV plastic remain sticky and irritating.

The proper 40-60 ratio combination lets the applied solution dry very quickly.

You might be wondering what will happen if you use linseed oil instead of the ‘boiled linseed oil’ variant. Well, it would be a great mistake as it would take several days to get dried up, and the ATV would be non-usable in the meantime.

Experts suggest removing some parts, like the rack from your ATV, so you can apply the solution more conveniently without leaving a spot untreated. Make the mixture of thinner and oil in such a container that it can be easily used.

A popular Boiled Linseed Oil from the Klean Strip brand.

A bottle-type object works best with a nozzle at the top.

Then, pour some portions of the mixture onto a clean, dry cloth and rub it across the plastic surfaces.

Linseed oil works best on plastic surfaces, and applying it on other surfaces wouldn’t cause much harm but won’t restore them, either.

It’s better to apply only on the plastic surfaces and save the rest if it’s still there after application.

Linseed oil removes the oxidation from the plastic surfaces, which has killed the shine and made the plastic look dull. Experts suggest leaving the linseed oil mixture to remain applied for 24 hours.

ATV riders and garage experts have suggested that the boiled linseed oil mixed with the thinner completes its total action within twenty hours.

This ATV restoring process keeps showing its benefits for several months until the need for reapplication in the same process occurs.

ATV restoration by liquid wax of vinyl floor type

ATVs are meant to be ridden in the wild, making them a mess requiring strong all-around cleaning.

Strong water hosing and scrubbing are also responsible factors for making the color dull of the ATV plastic.

Using liquid wax is another technique to restore ATV plastic. The process is mentioned below in the steps:

Step 1

The primary task remains to remove the skid plates and racks on your ATV.

The removal process should be done gently while being patient with the basic tools. Rarely does it occurs that the rack and skid plates are removed from the ATV.

So once you remove it for the Plastic restoration, check on the removed parts. If they require some repair or paint job, you need to complete it in this opportunity.

Step 2

The next task in the process is to make your ATV clean. A proper vehicle wash is needed to proceed with the next steps.

Experts recommend using a high-quality dishwashing liquid to use as the soaping agent.

The liquid should be able to remove trail factors like oil, dirt, and grease from the ATV without combining them with any other chemical.

Using a sponge or similar object, scrub around the ATV with the foamy liquid, and wash it off with clean water after a two-minute gap.

A type of liquid wax polish that can be used on ATV plastic.

Step 3

After this arrives, the sanding process implementation. You need to rub around the plastic using proper grit sandpaper.

This needs to be always noted that starting from the lowest numbered sandpaper is required, and you cannot jump to a higher number. Breaking the sandpaper numbers pattern would leave the plastic surfaces with uneven sanding.

After you complete the sanding process, applying steel wool is recommended. If the intensity of scratches or oxidation is not very high, you can pile up the plastic with fine grit.

Step 4

Lastly, the most important and effective liquid wax application phase arrives.

Get the wax ready within the crucial period to apply peacefully without any distractions. Expert suggests using wax applicators for cars to use the vinyl floor liquid wax.

You do not need to apply it in large quantities; the aim should be to provide a thin layer around the plastic surfaces of the ATV.

Using plastic restorers and heat gun

Experts suggest dividing the ATV plastic regions into sections and making a mind map of the progress.

Based on the condition of your ATV plastic, several coats of wax might be required, and the sectional progress highly benefits this procedure. 

A lot of time is saved when the liquid wax is applied in a planned structure. High-graded automobile wax should be applied to the liquid wax dries primarily applied.

Some dedicated ATV plastic restoration products are also available in the off-roading market that can be applied directly to the plastic.

The effect is similar to the solutions mentioned above, and chemical experts claim the product is also very similar. Car Guys Plastic Restorer is one of the best ATV plastic restoring products in the global market.

This product is the number one bestseller on Amazon. The price is much more affordable and can be found around 15-16 dollars with discounts.

Plastic Restorer from Car Guys.

This product is made with enhanced nanotechnology that has been made to easily get dried and not become oily. The solution is made to protect the ATV plastic from UV radiation.

This product application lasts several months and maintains the shine on the plastic surface. The solution is made water-repellent, which means you can ride on wild surfaces without worry.

Besides this, a heat gun can be used to restore the ATV plastic, but it needs to be precisely used in a low-temperature setting. The gun nozzle must always be kept a little higher than the surface so the plastic doesn’t melt.