painted plastic vs metal body panels

[Bunky]

I am getting ready to work on my wife's black Chrysler Sebring. It has a large plastic front body panel (everything forward of the hood) and a plastic rear bumper. These panels have a different sheen (more oxidized paint surface look) than the painted metal sections (hood, doors, quarter panels, etc).

Will I be able to polish this out or does painted plastic panels behave differently as they age? Everything matched when new but I am wondering if they were be as good as the metal panels. The painted metal have the usual swirls from washing but from many angles they look great. The painted plastic just look duller.

 

[budman3]

I can't say I've seen this in person before. Have the bumpers been repainted or is it all factory? As for treating it differently.... paint is paint. The only thing you would keep in mind was if you were using a rotary and the plastic would melt faster than the metal. Most likely using a PC and a medium polish you'll get the whole car looking even again.

 

[ScottB]

like a Corvette versus a Suburban, its the paint and clearcoat you are working on not the makeup of the panel. While it is necessary to place some flexible ingredient in paint when doing these areas, it has little to do with detailing the final result.

 

[Bunky]

They have not been repainted. I will use a UDM + Mothers Power Polish with a LC orange or green pad. It just seemed odd and wondering what to expect.