Remember the day you first laid eyes on your ATV in the showroom? Those shiny, sinuous curves gleaming beneath the studio lights, the smell of virgin plastic and vinyl…for one perfect moment, everything and everyone else in the room just faded away, leaving the two of you — love at first sight.
But take a look at your ride now. It’s not a pretty sight, is it? I know it’s still your pride and joy, but mud and dirt have found their way into all the nooks and crannies, dust has settled on the stained plastics, and that factory shine lives only in your memories.
I mean, these blemishes are a good thing, mementos of all the gnarly times you’ve spent together… that hill you conquered, that trail you shredded like an absolute beast.
Still, you may well be considering a whole new set of ATV plastics, but you don’t necessarily have to spend your hard-earned cash to revitalize your baby.
Today, I’m going to take you through some simple steps on how to clean all the plastic on your dirt-slinger. We’ll be discussing everything there is to know, from buffing out scuffs and scratches to cleaning away dirt and grime to fighting those unsightly fades.
Like a phoenix from the ashes, like Lazarus from the grave, your ATV will rise again!
Contents
Why Does ATV Plastic Stain and Fade?
There are 9 primary steps to this guide: Panel removal, dirt removal, pre-soaking, pressure washing, scrubbing, bleaching (white plastic only), panel reapplication, sanding, and polishing, but before we get into the thick of it, let’s take a moment to contemplate why it is that all the plastic surfaces on an ATV stain and fade.
ATVs plastics are usually one of two materials, polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP). They’re what are known as olefinic plastics, meaning that they’re derived from oil.
Physically tough and slippery enough to make the cleaning process a total breeze (for the most part anyway), they’re the ideal materials for our muddy ATV monsters, but, unfortunately, they have one minor weakness… the sun.
That’s right, folks; the plastic surfaces of your ATV have a kryptonite. Exposure to bright, natural light triggers a steady chemical reaction, and the surface oils begin to evaporate, which is why your colored plastic fades, and your white plastic turns a sickly shade of yellow.
Then there are standard mud stains to consider — the bane of ATV owners everywhere. As mud is wet, it has loose, free-flowing molecules that just get EVERYWHERE! They latch onto the minuscule imperfections in our ATV plastic and hold on for dear life.
These stains can be incredibly difficult to remove, even after numerous standard washes, but today, we’re going to conquer them! Let’s take a look at what you’ll need to revive your plastics and bring back some shine to your ride.
What You’ll Need to Clean Your ATV Plastic
- An auto trim removal tool — You’ll be using this to remove any bolts or clips holding your ATV plastics in place. You might be able to get the job done with a simple pair of pliers, but a removal kit makes things much easier.
- A strong cleaning solvent — If your mud stains are fairly fresh and minimal, you can settle for a simple water/dish soap concoction, but I’m assuming you’ve arrived at this article because you’ve got some serious mud stains to oust. If that’s the case, I’d recommend something like Purple Power industrial strength degreaser.
- A pressure washer — Now, you shouldn’t always use a pressure washer to clean ATV plastic, but desperate times call for desperate measures. If you don’t have one and can’t borrow one, I’d recommend the amazing Sun Joe SPX3000.
- A bucket full of soapy water — This is just to give the plastic an initial once over to remove surface grime.
- A stain eraser — I can’t speak highly enough of Mr Clean Magic Erasers.
- Bleach (white plastics only) — Bleach will phase out those stains in no time!
- A dry rag
- A microfiber towel or two
- A soft brush
- A car sponge
- A razor blade — To trim the scuffed beards your plastics have been cultivating.
- Sandpaper — I recommend using three grains of sandpaper: 220, 320, and 500. This PC Racing Plastic Renew kit comes with all three, but feel free to purchase them separately and save yourself a few bucks.
- A silicone-based wax — As the plastics are made from oil, water-based waxes tend to bead up a little on application, but a silicone-based solution, such as Nexgen Ceramic Spray will be more spreadable.
Okay…that about covers all bases, I reckon. Let’s start the ATV rejuvenation process!
How To Clean And Revive Your ATV Plastics?
As I mentioned earlier, we’re going to break this up into steps to make the process as easy as possible. It all starts with the removal of your plastic surfaces; however, if you’d prefer to do your initial surface clean while the panels are still on your ATV, that’s perfectly fine. Just bear in mind that you’ll need to give the undersides a rinse later on, too.
Removing Your Plastic Panels
Use your pliers or, if you have one, a removal tool to free up your plastic surfaces. You can do this one at a time, cleaning as you go, or remove everything first – it’s entirely up to you.
However, it’s advisable that you remove any panel before using any chemicals on it, as you don’t want to get anything in your engine that’s not supposed to be there. The clips that hold your plastic in place can be a little tricky to uncouple, but a careful wiggle should free them up.
Cleaning Off Surface Dirt
Before we pull out the big guns, getting as much surface mud and dirt off as possible is important. If the mud sticking to your plastic is particularly moist, it’s best to wait for it to dry out a bit; otherwise, you’ll end up smearing it all over the plastic and making things harder for yourself.
Use a bucket of warm soapy water and a sponge to buff away the stubborn mud, then give your plastics a once over with your dry rag. Make sure you flip your panels and give the undersides a good wash too.
Your wheel wells and fenders are probably particularly dirty and grime-covered, so if you need something with a little bit more oomph to clean them, I’d recommend a quick spray of Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner. You can buy some here.
Poor out your bucket of muddy water, fetch some fresh, rinse the soap away, make a cup of Joe, take a seat, and leave the plastic to air dry.
Pre-Soaking Your ATV Plastic
By soaking, I don’t mean sticking your panels in a bathtub, although you can do that if you’re having trouble with dirt removal and you have a tub large enough.
I find it’s actually best to do the pre-soak with your industrial degreaser, so grab your spray bottle and get spritzing. This will make it a lot easier to buff the stubborn dirt away during the next 2 steps.
Ideally, you’ll be doing this outside because there are some particularly harsh chemicals at work here. If you have no other choice but to do it inside, make sure all the windows are open to exhaust the fumes. To be safe, it’s best to wear some form of PPE.
Leave the degreaser to rest for 30 seconds to a minute before moving on to the next step.
Side-Note: If you’re particularly fond of your vinyl decals, protect them from the chemicals with a couple of layers of tape. This will also protect them from the pressure washer.
Bring Out the Pressure Washer
Now’s the time to give the plastic surfaces of your ATV a blast with your pressure washer. I find this stage particularly satisfying, as the force of the washer combined with the power of the degreaser strips most of the dirt and greasy residue away in seconds. Use the medium pressure nozzle, and watch the mud and grime vanish!
Even though you’ve taped your decals, it’s best to try and be careful and avoid spraying them directly.
Scrubbing The Residual Dirt
If you took my advice and bought yourself some Mr. Clean Magic Erasers, it’s time to grab one and scrub your plastic surface like you’ve never scrubbed before.
To prevent the muddy water from the pressure wash from finding its way back on your plastic, move to a dry spot. Put on some disposable gloves, wet your eraser, then go to town on your dirty plastic surfaces.
This part of the cleaning process takes some serious elbow grease, so feel free to take a few breaks and give your wrist a rest.
Finish this step with a final rinse wash. Your surfaces may not have that shine to them that you recall from the showroom just yet, but the mud, dirt, and grime are gone, which means you’re well on your way!
Bleaching White ATV Plastic
Bright white ATV plastic looks amazing when new, but that fresh look can go downhill remarkably fast if your ATV is often exposed to the sun, so let’s see if we can’t fix that up.
The easiest way to go about this is to mix some bleach with water in a large tub, then soak your white plastic in it, but don’t worry if you don’t have a tub big enough for dunking your surfaces in; there’s another way that you can clean up those off-white areas.
First, make sure there are no rips in your gloves. If there are, switch them up. Make your bleach/water concoction, soak some paper towels in it, then layer them on the affected areas. Leave the paper towels to sit for 5 to 10 minutes, then remove them, and rinse the surface down.
With any luck, your plastic will be bright white, but if there are any areas that still don’t look so clean, you can hit them with some Clorox spray bleach and work it in with an old toothbrush.
It’s important that you do all your bleaching while the plastic surfaces are still separate from your ATV, as if you get any on your seat or another section of colored plastic, it can be quite damaging.
Reinstalling Your Plastic Panels
For the rest of the steps, it’s going to be a lot easier if the plastic surfaces are back in place, so collect all your bolts up and reassemble your ATV, giving each panel one last inspection for any dirty areas mud, or grime. Ensure the panels are all securely in place; otherwise, you may find yourself on a naked quad halfway through your next ride!
Sanding Down Scratches and Gouges
As ATV owners, we’ve become numb to the odd scratch here and there. It’s just one of those things you have to accept if you enjoy pushing your vehicle to the limit, but when they build up, they can make your ride hard to clean. Getting rid of them will prevent mud from sticking so tenaciously. Here’s how it’s done…
Step 1.
Take your razor blade and use it as a scraper to get rid of most of the burr protruding from the surface.
Step 2.
Next up, grab your rough, 220-grain sandpaper, dip it in water, and rub the surfaces up and down to reduce the prominence of the scratches — Use light, even passes.
Step 3.
Move on to your 320-grain sandpaper, wet it, and buff out the majority of the remaining scratches.
Step 4.
Finally, moisten your 500-grain sandpaper, and use it to bring the surface to a nice, smooth finish. You can also use this fine-grain sandpaper to buff away faded surfaces, revealing the rich colors beneath.
Once you’re all sanded out, wipe away the particulate plastic with your micro cloth, a soft brush, or, alternatively, spray the area with some compressed air.
Side-Note: If the scratches are particularly deep, shelf the sandpaper and invest in some J-B-Weld 50139 Plastic Bonder Gap Filler. It arrives as two substances. Mix them on a 1:1 ratio, then use the formula to fill in the deep scratches in your surfaces. Leave it 30 minutes to set, then sand it down.
It’s a black paste, so bear in mind you may need to paint your ATV after use.
Polishing Your Plastic Surfaces
We’re almost there! All we have to do now is give your ATV a good polish and wax it up.
Step 1.
Use a micro cloth to give your plastic surfaces one last dusting, then fetch your silicone-based wax.
Step 2.
Spray on the wax one panel at a time, give it a few seconds to rest, then use your microfiber cloth to spread the substance over the surface. Next, take a clean cloth, and wipe your surface some more, buffing it to shine.
Side-Note: If you chose to purchase the ATV PC Racing Plastic Renew kit, it comes with a finishing agent. For the best results, apply the spray to a microfiber cloth and wipe your surfaces down. Leave it to dry, then buff it with the provided soft steel wool.
Remove particulate matter, then apply another coat. Leave it to dry for 5 minutes, then apply coat number 2. Repeat this process until you reach coat 4 or 5.
These waxes won’t just make your vehicle look brand new; they’ll also make it way easier to brush off mud and dirt.
How to Clean ATV Plastic: Summing Up
Hot damn… that is one fine-looking machine. If all went to plan, these simple steps solved your plastic problem and brought back that showroom shine. Not that we ATV owners typically are, but I hope you’re not shy because you’re going to be turning some serious heads on your next ride.
The grime is gone, the mud is gone, the scratches are no more… I’d be surprised if anyone even recognizes your old engine.
Cleaning your ATV plastic can be quite a tough job, but just look at your mud-slinger shine and tell me it’s not worth it. Besides, the more you keep on top of cleaning the beast, the easier it is.
You won’t need to pressure wash it or use any plastic fillers, just a sponge and some good old-fashioned warm, soapy water. Hey, seeing as the pressure washer’s already out, why not give your wheels a good cleaning, too? — The finishing touch to a job well done!
