Hood insulation pad

[Coleroad]

Looking for feedback on issues I might not have thought about.

I`m tired of the difficulty and time to clean the hood liners. You have to be so careful. You get done they always only look ok. I want easy clean like the rest of the engine bay.

so I came up with the idea to coat the outside of the liner with fiberglass resin. A light coat to act like a sealer. Then one or two more coats to get a surface i can sand smooth then paint. Then eventually ceramic coat for ease of cleaning.

are there real issues I’m not seeing in doing this?

 

[TheMeanGreen]

Looking for feedback on issues I might not have thought about.

I`m tired of the difficulty and time to clean the hood liners. You have to be so careful. You get done they always only look ok. I want easy clean like the rest of the engine bay.

so I came up with the idea to coat the outside of the liner with fiberglass resin. A light coat to act like a sealer. Then one or two more coats to get a surface i can sand smooth then paint. Then eventually ceramic coat for ease of cleaning.

are there real issues I’m not seeing in doing this?

Will the heat of the engine reflow the resin in the fiber glass? Will the continual heat cycling of the liner by engine release any toxic or volatile fumes? How will the heat blocking abilities of the hood liner be effected? How will all of the systems/parts found in the engine bay be effected by your modification? Could your modification, in any way, damage the paint system on the hood via something related to heat? Honestly, I just foam mine down and then rinse it. I view these pads as consumables because they do not hold up to more than a light agitation, foam, and rinse over an extended period of time. An extended period of time being years and tens of thousands of miles. Since I have and maintain a high mileage vehicle, I do experience things that people with vehicles that have less than 110K miles do not experience. However, that still doesn`t make me an expert, just experienced. If you want that hood liner go the distance, I would suggest an agitated wash maybe twice a year and then just a foam/rinse in between. But if you can afford to continually replace the hood liner, then by all means wash it aggressively as much as you want.

 

[Accumulator]

Coleroad- I too wonder about unintended consequences. I`ve never seen a "hard" liner, and I suspect there`s a (functional) reason for that.

I`ll occasionally clean mine with a BHB and foamgun output, and/but once I`ve done a decent cleanup (of a used, but new-to-me vehicle), wiping it down gently with a cloth damp with RW/QD/etc. is generally enough to keep them nice. You can also try a SprayWax, which IMO works great on some liners but not on others.

FWIW, on a brand-new vehicle, I`d expect the liner to last a long, long time with regular/gentle cleaning. The one on my wife`s `00 A8 is just starting to wear in ways that`ll eventually cost me $, though the one on the `93 is still fine (well, it has <half the miles of the A8). The one on the Tahoe was torn and drooping when I got it a decade or so ago, and while my quick-fix has held up pretty well it`s almost to the point where I need to mount the replacement (which I bought when I had a chance to get it cheap).

I trust you`re thinking of removing the liner to do the fiberglassing. I`d sure be careful as they don`t always survive the remove/reinstall process. I`d be prepared to replace it, and you`d better check the pricing as some of `em are awfully expensive.

 

[Coleroad]

My headliners are still in really good shape. I actually already ordered a new one for the camaro. They are only $43, so not to bad. My plan was to not soak the entire liner all the wa through. Hopefully not more than half way, shooting for a quarter-of the way through. If it were hard on the backside, I’d worry about it harming the paint it was touching.

they do sell ABS hood liners for various vehicles, but I know that’s a different animal. My thought was this would really be no different than a fiberglass hood. Plus the fact that the hood is aluminum, and aluminum dissipates heat quickly. The blanket would also still have dome insulation qualities to it.

 

[Billy Jack]

I`m no expert, but between years of patching up old Corvettes and race car bodies, I wouldn`t go the resin route for a hood insulator pad. Trying to marry a rigid material (resin) to a flexible piece of insulation just sounds to me like too much work for a high possibility of failure. I`d suggest researching KBS Diamond Finish Clear. It`s a somewhat flexible coating that is as easy to apply as paint, but should seal up your hood pad, making it easier to keep clean.
I had an old-school fiberglass mat under the hood of my El Camino that was just impossible to clean. I found some Reflectix insulation, merely foil faced bubble wrap, cut to fit and glued it to my hood underside with silicone sealant. It`s been on there for 6 or 7 years now and is very easy to clean, brightens up the otherwise dull engine compartment and hasn`t caused any deterioration of the ancient lacquer paint on the hood.

Bill

 

[Coleroad]

I`m no expert, but between years of patching up old Corvettes and race car bodies, I wouldn`t go the resin route for a hood insulator pad. Trying to marry a rigid material (resin) to a flexible piece of insulation just sounds to me like too much work for a high possibility of failure. I`d suggest researching KBS Diamond Finish Clear. It`s a somewhat flexible coating that is as easy to apply as paint, but should seal up your hood pad, making it easier to keep clean.
I had an old-school fiberglass mat under the hood of my El Camino that was just impossible to clean. I found some Reflectix insulation, merely foil faced bubble wrap, cut to fit and glued it to my hood underside with silicone sealant. It`s been on there for 6 or 7 years now and is very easy to clean, brightens up the otherwise dull engine compartment and hasn`t caused any deterioration of the ancient lacquer paint on the hood.

Bill

i’ll read up on the KBS Diamond Finish Clear. Thanks for the information.

your el camino is on one of the rockauto magnets isn’t it?

 

[Stokdgs]

Looking for feedback on issues I might not have thought about.

I`m tired of the difficulty and time to clean the hood liners. You have to be so careful. You get done they always only look ok. I want easy clean like the rest of the engine bay.

so I came up with the idea to coat the outside of the liner with fiberglass resin. A light coat to act like a sealer. Then one or two more coats to get a surface i can sand smooth then paint. Then eventually ceramic coat for ease of cleaning.

are there real issues I’m not seeing in doing this?

Hello, Coleroad !
If a hood liner is a type of fiberglass product sandwiched between 2 very porous sheets of material, then the idea is to "insulate" the heat and perhaps some noise from coming out of the top of the hood.
If you change the airflow, heat absorbing, etc., characteristics of this sheet, I do not believe it will be a good thing for what the intended use of this product was made for..
Knowing the little I know of car manufacturers, I am positive that if they could get away with NOT putting it in there, they would NOT install it in the first place..

For years, I have treated most underhood liners the same way --
(The only exceptions are Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, etc., which sometimes have more exposed engine parts, fittings, etc., and less liner materials if any)..

* Inspect for grease, oil, etc.,
* Spray Gently, underside of hood, hoodliner, lightly with widest Fan Spray Nozzle on my Pressure Washer to thoroughly wet entire underside of hood.. Keep Fan Spray far enough from the liner to not damage it..
* Spray lightly with a good, low foaming, cleaner =Meguiar`s D103 is still my favorite.. The newest alternative = Meguiar`s D107
* Let cleaner work for a few minutes, and then again, spray lightly, starting at top of underside of hood (so all the water runs - down- to bottom of hood)
* Spray lightly entire engine compartment with widest fan nozzle, and pressure washer. Always spray -Down- on the engine and compartment. Watch the generator, and try to not spray directly into it..
* Spray lightly with good low foaming cleaner as above.
*Let set for a few minutes and then rinse as above..
* Leave hood open and up, so as much water drains down out of it, before bringing vehicle into Shop to start the Interior, Paint Correction Process..
* When engine and compartment is sufficiently dry, spray your favorite conditioner, (Sonus Trim & Motor Kote, Chemical Guys Black on Black, etc.,) allow to dry overnight, and you will have a new looking engine compartment!

Notes : You have to mind - how close - you hold fan spray to Liner!!! You do NOT want to cause this fiberglass type material to separate.. Gently, gently, until you get the hang of it..
Rinse completely; the Meguiar`s products listed always rinse completely, leaving no residue..
Leave hood open as long as possible to help dry all moisture out of hood liner, and engine compartment..
Sometimes, I will also use my Master Blaster inside the compartment and carefully, on hood liner, to help speed up the drying process..

In the hundreds of engine compartments I have done this way, I have never had an issue with one being damaged, not starting, etc..
And they ALL looked beautiful after the work !

Good luck with your research !
Dan F

 

[Accumulator]

... I`d suggest researching KBS Diamond Finish Clear. It`s a somewhat flexible coating that is as easy to apply as paint, but should seal up your hood pad, making it easier to keep clean.

I really like the KBS Diamond Finish! But it`s not all that flexible for me, neither the brush-on or the aerosol..both cracked/flaked. Not as badly as "regular paint" but bad enough that I`ll have to redo those parts, and they didn`t flex all that much, really surprised me that it [messed] up.

EDIT: Sure *not* saying to forget about using it, just warning you what can happen...some liners are gonna flex no matter how careful you are (and some won`t, maybe that includes the one in question).

your el camino is on one of the rockauto magnets isn’t it?

I was wondering that myself We must spend way too much time/money on RockAuto!

 

[Billy Jack]

i’ll read up on the KBS Diamond Finish Clear. Thanks for the information.

your el camino is on one of the rockauto magnets isn’t it?

Yep, that`s me!
I thought my pic in front of a Champion Spark Plug mural on an old repair shop might be appropriate for Rock Auto.
Once the local non-chain parts store closed up, I`ve been buying as much as I can from them. Not only are their prices favorable, but they support much of the automotive-themed TV programs I`m addicted to.

Bill

 

[Coleroad]

I did try the resin on the hood liner. Yeah, it did work out for me. I tried to do it so just the very outside layer was hardened. I spent many hours on a futile effort. Apply sand apply more, repeat, repeat, and repeat. Never could get it to be smooth. It looked blotchy even painted. It was definitely a different experience.

so after all that i just did this.

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