I have a G-62 that I could never hand start, a MAG ignition so I just installed a spring starter and it fires on the first flip now. The original post was about Nylon spinners and not plastic. I had a big box of the old Nylon spinners with the aluminum back plate, they mounted just like the aluminum spinners and worked just fine, even with a starter except they would develop a starter groove on them. I have used the plastic spinners with the aluminum back plate on a number of gas engines but only hand started, no problems with them at all. If someone has one of the screw on all plastic spinners on a plane I won't even pit next to them, I have seen too many of them blow apart like a hand grenade.
Starters on gassers?? When we still had a lot of the Madera racing every pit had one. After I rebuild a carb I have needed to borrow a bigger starter to get the engine going the first time. After that they all hand started.