Advice on spare tire cover... necessary for protection??
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- 1.21 Jigawatts!!
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Advice on spare tire cover... necessary for protection??
I hated the gray plastic spare tire cover so much. I read on here that some folks have removed it completely, so I removed it. It looks so much better! But then I read another post that said the cover was there for a reason, to protect battery and some other electronic components. So I decided to paint it black. I bought special for-plastic valspar spray paint, and did a fine job of painting it. Let it dry for 24 hours, then did a test scratch with my fingernail, and the paint scratched off SO EASILY. So I can imagine how that would stand up to road wear, and now I have basically ruined the ugly spare tire cover. Is the cover really necessary? Has anyone else had success painting theirs? I don't really want a showy cover, because I am already gravitating toward the "pee wee's big adventure" look. I would love to hear some opinions/solutions to this problem! Thanks!!
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- slotrod65
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I removed my spare and cover and installed a Stebel air horn under there. I have had no issues with the battery or other electronics. My scoot is stored in a wooden floor shed. I guess if stored outside (hopefully) under a cover, you might get issues, but they would probably happen even with the spare and cover there.
- Neurotic-Hapi-Snak
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I know what post you're talking about, and that is for the Stella Auto, which lack a spare tire. They use the cover to protect the electronics. On the Stella 4T, the spare tire protects the electronics, the only thing that is slightly exposed is the battery, but there's almost no possibility of the battery being damaged without the spare tire cover.
- jimmbomb
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you may have had better luck spray painting plastic if you would have sand ed it first to rough up surface up a bit. that gives the paint something to grab onto. Good luck
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- 1.21 Jigawatts!!
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I love this forum!! Thanks so much for the replies.
I didn't know at the time that valspar isn't good paint. Lesson learned. I also trashed the cover even further by trying to scrape the paint back off. Apparently it stuck really well to about 30% of the surface area. Yeah.
SO happy to know I can roll without it! I'm tossing it and I'm not looking back.
I didn't know at the time that valspar isn't good paint. Lesson learned. I also trashed the cover even further by trying to scrape the paint back off. Apparently it stuck really well to about 30% of the surface area. Yeah.
SO happy to know I can roll without it! I'm tossing it and I'm not looking back.
Headaches are all in your head.
- Elder Scoot
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- ScootLemont
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I took mine off a couple years ago - no problems
Also.... when painting smooth plastic, it is usually helpful to rough it up slightly with a fine grain sandpaper so the paint can stick.
If you want to take a run at painting your's again, you can use some sandpaper to get as much of your paint off & take another run at it.
Also.... when painting smooth plastic, it is usually helpful to rough it up slightly with a fine grain sandpaper so the paint can stick.
If you want to take a run at painting your's again, you can use some sandpaper to get as much of your paint off & take another run at it.
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tire cover
Hello All, I'm Moseseatonjr. I own a 2009 Stella 2T. I agree the spare tire cover is UGLY.. Paint is......ok but I have decided to go another route.. I found a fabric I liked and covered it in fabric. I then coated the fabric with several coats of clear lacquer and now I have the coolest tire cover on the planet....why you ask??? only because it's a one off..no one else has one exactly like mine. I would post a picture but I am bloody hopeless with this computer stuff........i'm better with tools....
Last edited by moseseatonjr on Sat Oct 04, 2014 3:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
- Clipper
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I bought a stainless steel one off of ebay uk. Looks fantastic. Here's one:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VESPA-PX-T5-L ... 4acf3f95f0
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VESPA-PX-T5-L ... 4acf3f95f0
- Wild Handyman
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- Neurotic-Hapi-Snak
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If I was to get a spare tire cover, I would buy the black plastic version of this one. But I can't justify spending $16 on a piece of plastic that serves little purpose.J33pman wrote:I bought a stainless steel one off of ebay uk. Looks fantastic. Here's one:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VESPA-PX-T5-L ... 4acf3f95f0
- min2max
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- viney266
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Check Cheeky seats:
http://scooterseatcovers.net/index.php? ... x&cPath=46
They make several different ones.
http://scooterseatcovers.net/index.php? ... x&cPath=46
They make several different ones.
Speed is only a matter of money...How fast do you want to go?