i have helped my father in law repaint his a couple of times and yet it returns to the same state every time, its like it just sucks up paint. i couldnt get them to stay painted for more tha a year(the blazer is a 97 4x4 2 door) he had them professionally re painted last year and once again all they did was re soak up paint. i wonder if a thing skim coat of bondo or some other body filler would help. this has been running through my mind here recently.

 

You can buy paint made for plastic, vinyl, and trim. I've never used it, so I don't know how it might look. It's worth a try I guess. If it doesn't look any good, you'll probably just have to change it out.

 

Having mine painted this Winter. I'll let you know how it goes.