bonding issue
 

I didn't have much luck with SEM on my plastic seat trim. I have a coupe and it is the piece near the hinge where the seat back folds forward to allow access to the back.

The paint went on great... the color was much lighter than my Palamino interior is today (shouldn't it be the other way around) I cleaned the parts first with soap, then lightly sanded to remove the original flaking pieces, then sprayed about 3 coats or so...

After one year it is flaking off...

Here is my original post
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/detailing-interior/180176-palamino-sem-spray-paint-doesnt-match.html

I bet you have to use all of SEM's prep stuff so it works..

SEM would certainly appreciate that. Of course, if you don't then that gives them an out, I guess. Besides, preparation is usually more important than the painting to get the best results.

What sets of an alarm in my head is there is no oil and wax removal step between sanding and spraying you described. Plastics contain mold release agents. They're literally infused with them. You can have it perfectly clean, but if you then sand them, they need to be cleaned again, or the paint finish is doomed to fail.

In the case of hard plastic trim, adhesion promoter is really more of a requirement than a suggestion.

Could be worth trying again. Just be sure to clean off as much of the old finish as possible, first. Oddly, plain ol' Dot 3 brake fluid will soften it up an old coat of ColorCoat well enough to scrub it completely away with a soft toothbrush. Lacquer thinner works as well, but can attack the plastic beneath it very quickly if you're not careful.

The only product that you really have to use is the adhesion promoter, and that's only if you're colouring rigid, or semi-rigid plastic. You can get by without any of the other products, but for consistently good results, using them can't hurt.

I use the entire product line as suggested. The body shops that I've talked to about the SEM stuff all do the same thing. As a system, the products are awesome, and if you follow the directions, the results are fantastic, and long-lasting.

Both SEM sprays (there is a "old" and a "new"; one's got more flex) are available here:

http://www.vinylpro.com/

I use paint thinner or acetone or alcohol as a prep AFTER TESTING A NON-VISIBLE AREA of the part. Not recommending this, just telling what I've done. Acetone dissolves a lot of the materials we want to color!!! ;)

The carpet dye on this site (different than the SEM aerosol) worked ONLY for touch-up; not a particularly great product.

The 1980's Mercedes MB Tex grey is #15393 for inquiring minds.

Wrecker's yards love SEM because they always, somehow, manage to have YOUR color "in stock" (at a slight premium, of course).