The hood is flat and damage is very noticeable.
The hood on a car can become chipped or damaged from rocks, road debris and bugs. Touching it up with paint can work for a while, but it eventually needs new paint. This doesn't mean the entire car needs to be repainted. You can repaint your hood for less money and in only a few hours compared to the entire car. Repainting the hood allows you a smaller area to work with and practice on if you decide to repaint the entire car later.
Instructions
1. Open the hood and use the ratchet and a socket to unbolt the hood from the car. Two people are needed for this step. Unbolt the hood and place it on a set of stands so that it is secure. You will need to have easy access to all sides of the hood.
2. Sand the surface of the hood with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the clear coat paint and top layer of base coat paint. The new paint can't adhere to these top layers of the old paint. Sand the entire hood until it is dull and smooth.
3. Use the 400, 800 and 1200 grit sandpaper, in that order, on the hood. Sand the surface while holding a running water hose over the sandpaper. This smooths the hood further and eliminates any scratches made by the lower grade sandpaper.
4. Rinse the hood and allow it to dry completely. Once dried, wipe the entire hood with wax and grease remover and a towel. This removes any old wax or cleaning particles and removes any grease from your fingerprints, all of which can show under the new paint once it dries.
5. Hold the sprayer six to eight inches from the surface of the hood. Start at the top of the hood and work down, moving the sprayer left to right as you work down the hood. Keep the coat light and thin so that the paint doesn't run. Wait five minutes between coats and spray a total of four or five coats of paint. Let the paint dry for 30 minutes.
6. Spray a total of three or four clear coats of paint, using the same techniques as you did with the color coat. Let the finished paint job dry for four hours before handling the hood.
