repainting hood DIY

[paypalbid]

you will need 3 cans of primer, 3 cans of paint, and 3 cans of clear.

I have painted many projects with rattle cans over the years including motorcycles, bumpers, fenders, car roof.

You can only read so much on the internet but you are only gonna get better with experience. Let me know if you have any questions about sand paper grades, cure time between coats, or wet sanding including using compound and polishing just ask away. I usually do 2 coats of primer, 3 coats of paint, 3-4 coats of clear because I like to wet sand/cut and polish the clear coat to bring out the mirror shine. Since your car is a light color use white or light grey primer. This will probably be a 3 weekend project. I like to let the paint and clear coat cure for one week to make sure it sticks and no weird chemical reaction.

 

[Brad2274]

hey btw, after painting quite a few large pieces with rattle cans, ive learned that holding the can almost completely vertical is a MUST, otherwise it comes out of the can differently and you wont notice till you're done an then youll have to sand and ad another coat, i would remove the hood and lean it up against something for the best results.

 

[talontsiawd]

you will need 3 cans of primer, 3 cans of paint, and 3 cans of clear.

I have painted many projects with rattle cans over the years including motorcycles, bumpers, fenders, car roof.

You can only read so much on the internet but you are only gonna get better with experience. Let me know if you have any questions about sand paper grades, cure time between coats, or wet sanding including using compound and polishing just ask away. I usually do 2 coats of primer, 3 coats of paint, 3-4 coats of clear because I like to wet sand/cut and polish the clear coat to bring out the mirror shine. Since your car is a light color use white or light grey primer. This will probably be a 3 weekend project. I like to let the paint and clear coat cure for one week to make sure it sticks and no weird chemical reaction.

I would agree, maybe even get 4 cans of color to be on the safe side. I think you could probably get buy with one can of primer and clear per side but getting good color coverage will take a few coats, especially with metallic. My last coat is usually only to get the metallic even, especially with color matched paint that is mixed as it usually has much more metallic than hardware store paint.

I also recommend using a catalyzed clear. It will not only cure a whole lot faster but holds up better over time. The problem is, this is usually about $20/can.

It may actually be cheaper to go to a Macco or something. Their has to be one good one in SoCal and if you prep it yourself, I could see it being cheaper and being the same to higher quality.

 

[DarkSideAccord]

thanks for the input guys!

btw, i'm just doing the top.. keeping the bottom as is... do i still need 3 cans of paint/primer/clear for that?

so far, i have picked up sand paper... 120, 220 and 600 grit... looking for 1200 grit ones, but lowes doesn't carry them... btw, how do i tell if these are dry/wet sandpaper?

as for maaco, i'm not sure abt tht haha... never heard good things from the ones close to me... i asked a few shops the cost to prep/repaint my rear bumper and hood and was quoted abt $450 on average

as for process, i just want to make sure if i'm getting this right... btw, i'm hand sanding this whole thing...

1. wash the hood
2. start off with 120 grit to remove old paint. sand until i hit the primer
3. even surface out with 220 grit, then 600 grit
4. Wipe surface down with clean lint-free cloth and grease remover
4. apply first coat of primer, then wetsand (how long do i have to wait before wetsanding?). Repeat with 2nd coat of primer
5. apply first coat of paint (then wait one week?), then wetsand. Repeat until 3 coats of paint applied
6. apply first coat of clear (then wait one week?), then wetsand. Repeat until 2 coats of clear applied

 

[Brad2274]

usually says dry/wet on the packaging, try autozone or autobody supply shops for the 1000-1500 grits(almost all grits over 800 or 1000 are wet/dry, because it's almost impossible to use 1200 dry without it clogging every 10 seconds lol)

 

[Lebowski]

I did this with 4 cans of rustoleum black automotove enamel. I like it because it's uv resistant. Followed with a few cans of clear. Hit it with some rubbing compound and carnuba wax.

Turned out ok. Looks fine on a 15 year old car with a fading scratched exterior

 

[Russianred]

^ That turned out great

 

[Lebowski]

^ That turned out great

Thanks. This was my second attempt. I didn't wetsand it This time just used rubbing compound . When I painted it over a year ago it turned out really dull. I must have accidently wet sanded all the clear off. It works out better for a high build catalized clearcoat. Thats what I got for using spraypaint and acting like I was doing legit body work lol