Preparing Plastic ABS sheet for Painting

In my on going experiments with synthetic surfaces, I recently purchased two sheets of ABS plastic for painting. ABS stands for “acrylonitrile butadiene styrene” and is a thermoplastic polymer. It has multiple uses for such things as computer cases to Legos. It can be run through a 3D printer to make all sorts of things. It can come in almost any color, but is typically available in black or white. In sheet form it often has a rough “haircell” texture on one side, and the opposite side is smooth as glass.

I first heard about this material for artwork many years ago from other artists who liked painting on it. One of those people is my friend, Kim Dow. She told me she gets it in thin sheets, and then has it glued to a foamcore for support. The two I bought are 1/8 inch thick, and 17×21 inches. The price varies online, but these were @ $10 each. The smooth side is sanded down enough to remove the shine, and make it capable to hold paint. I’ve done this in the picture above where you can see the sanded sheet on top. I used an orbital sander with a 120 grit disk which took just a few minutes to get it ready, and then washed off the plastic dust. Use protective goggles and mask so as to not inhale any of that. At this point the plastic has a paper-like feel, and can hold any form of paint, from gouache to oils. No priming is required even for oil, but I added a coat of very thin acrylic primer just to lower the value to a light grey (see picture below.) It’s a little streaky, but that won’t matter.

A new panel ready for paint. I should also mention that you can draw on these too once sanded down with dry media or inks. No priming necessary there either. Now it’s time to start making some art on these.