As one who loves to cover old things with duck, not duct, tape and puts stickers on everything I'd definitely paint it. First I'd make a search to find the paint that would do the trick and adhere to the plastic; but then I'd be "full steam ahead." I just made a platform for my machine out of a piece of plywood, a cushion from an old typewrite stand and covered it all with duck tape that has an owl pattern. My machine is as steady as a rock and it looks super cute. So be creative and go for it. The suggestion to put it in the sun has merit, but not as much fun.