Completely redoing hood, paint stripping etc

Carbon Blue

New member
Hey guys, Im about to completely re do my dads hood on his 1997 ford explorer. The thing is completely sun baked, clear coat failed, paint faded and chipped. ANYTHING is better than its current shape.



I want to keep this cheap and I know that I will not get OEM quality, I just want something that looks better than its current state



What grit sand paper do you guys recommend to completely strip the hood down to the bare metal without causing malformatiions in the metal? What grit should I finish with?



Do you guys recommend any kinds of paint? I was thinking about getting some of the krylon paints that they have at the local auto parts store. You give them the paint code and they give you an aerosol can etc. The hood will be primed and clearcoated, and yes I know how to wet sand.



Id also like to keep this as chemical free as possible. Thanks



Do you think a 12oz aerosol can of paint will be enough for a hood?
 
Please just let a professional do it. Painting a car part with aerosol cans is just going to look like crap (I've seen my fair share of DIY jobs come into our shops wanting fixed). If it was a mirror or door handle you might be able to not make it as noticeable, but to do a big panel that is easily visible such as the hood is in my opinion just not going to look good. Save a few pennies and just get it the top of the hood painted (no need to blend into fenders if your were thinking aerosol would look better). It shouldn't be all that expensive depending on shop/location.
 
I'd look around. You can have that hood done for pretty cheap.



The effort you'll exert in that paint job won't be worth the results. I've seen people put out some rattle-canned paint jobs. They always look the same.
 
If you intend doing it yourself, and it can be done by aerosol, then budget for a lot of paint. You'll need to get a decent amount of paint on there so that you can sand out the imperfections and if necessary respray.



It probably won't look worse than what's there already and the experience will tell you if its something you ever want to attempt again.



Edit:



For a guide to how to try reading the DIY paint job link on this page



GOTECH, Tech info page launch



I'm sure that there are more technical guides, but I like that one for its down to earth approach.
 
thanks guys, it was one of those summer projects I had in mind. I know the results wont be spectacular, but trust me anything in any shade of green will look better than what it has goin on right now. Ill call the local cheapo auto paint and body shops in the area.
 
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