Questions about fixing paint...
 

I have an aftermarket fiberglass hood that was painted some time ago, I do not know exactly when. The issue is that the clear coat is peeling/flaking off. And the problem is just on the hood apparently. The rest of the car, which seems to have been painted at the same time, is fine.

I want to fix the paint without sending the hood out for a complete strip down and full respray. The base color is in good shape and it is a custom color which would be almost impossible to match.

What steps should i take to remove the old clear coat?
Do I just sand the clear down around the spots?
Should I try to peel up as much as possible, then scuff up the whole hood and then re-clear it?
Should I sand down the clear completely on areas that it wont peel off?
I'm just afraid of going too deep and sanding through the base coat.

and ultimately, my biggest question is WHY did the paint lift? improper flash times? wrong mix? cheap paint?


http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d5...m/f978fe45.jpg

looks like a familiar hood !

and ive always wondered the same thing about when just the clear flakes off

I'm having the same problem with the clear coat on my hood. There was only major spot though, the rest is peeling a little along the edge. The person who took care of it for me sanded down the clear coat around the spot then repainted it... it doesn't look perfect but it's much better than it was. I can post pictures later if you want.

It's possible that all 4 reasons are the culprit, especially if it was a done at home job. Another problem is that if the hood is fiberglass, and a flex agent wasn't mixed, that can lead to premature clear coat failing since the fiberglass flexes, and stretches more then metal. Same thing when you see poly bumpers with flaking clear coat. The rest of the car may look good, but if its an aftermarket paint job, a flex agent wasn't added, or didn't hadve the correct amount added.

As to go about properly removing the clear, I'm not sure how to do it without losing some paint, but removing as much delaminated clear as you can is a good start, however the old clear may make a step with the new clear, so much sanding and buffing to blend may be needed after curing. Id talk to my co worker who's on this site that went to school for painting (94camaroz28)

I'm also afraid that if I sand the trouble spots down and re-clear, that maybe in a few weeks or months, the flat areas of clear that are good now may flake and open up. But if that would happen... would the new clear coat, with proper flex agent, contain it enough?

Back on the topic of flex-agent, since the rest of the car is peel-free, I doubt that is the issue. I would assume the front urethane bumper and the rubbermaid-like fenders would have flexed way more than the hood previously. And I don't believe any of the job was an "at-home" paint job. All jambs and everything were done properly and finish quality is very good. Was it a possibility that something in the gel-coat affected the clear?


If it comes down to needing a full hood respray, (primer, base, clear) then I will just go ahead and get a whole new hood and have a shop do it so they can worry about matching it as best as possible.

It would if the paint was coming up as well. Gel coat can have a wax agent mixed in it (The tooling gel I'm working with right now doesn't so it stays tacky for days, and squeaks for weeks until sanded.) The clear coat alone wouldn't be coming up, you would have fish scales, fish eyes, and other stuff if that was the case.
Just may be the fact that it sat in the sun for a while. I had my right hand side view mirror repainted at work because the sun made the clear coat peel after a couple years. No other parts of the car had that, just there because of the way the sun hit it where I parked it.

just from my experience, and jeff will tell you. once u sand the basecoat(if it is metallic) there is no going back. the metallics and micas no longer stand up like they should. all the clear should be feathered out, or if ur afraid of it peeling in the future, take all the clear off and repaint. i know thats prob not what you wanted to hear but metallics are impossible to work with once the clear is gone

coulda been a bad mixture for the paint/clearcoat, or just cheap clear coat

You are going to have to re-shoot the hood...no way to sand off the clear while leaving the basecoat and as w/doing away w/runs or whatnot, common principle is 'if you didn't shoot it initially fixing an unknown from an unknown painter most likely will not work'. Many reasons why the clear lifted...fiberglass is a different material, more heat intolerant and should be prep w/certain primers (common issue on hood of vettes if not done correctly). ..materials used...paint not taken care of (not waxed, etc)...that is why a lot of high areas always have this issue (esp in chrysler black back in the 90's)...high areas w/the most exposure to the sun always have this issue...hood/roof/top of quarters/fenders/windshield surrounds, fiberglass spoilers etc....couple that w/the hood getting heated from both angles, top and bottom is a reason to see why this would occur. I know most if not all fiberglass hoods do not use an underhood pad, but using this buffer could help after its painted again (dynomatt, etc).

http://www.njfboa.org/JustinImages/New_Jeep/New31.jpg

Yup....driver's side of the hood of my old '96 (taken in '07 when it was just starting).

- Justin

^ Had a '95 cherokee (box)..had to repaint the top of the rear hatch (fiberglass) and wiper cowl as well...in black...lol.

I said screw it and bought another hood, I'll just repaint the other one and sell this one.

hmmm... that may be nice hood to pick up on my part to for the street

hehe

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d5...6-19163712.jpg


The red one is from Suncoast Creations, and goes for $695 new. Its a bit heavier and thicker than the one I took off and also has nicer black mesh type grills on it.

let me know, i'm gonna post it up for sale this week

not bolted on yet.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d5...7-09193852.jpg

http://suncoastcreations.com/mm5/mer...nshot_offset=5
Paul, Does the underside of your hood look like this? I'm trying to figure out what brand the one you sold me is.From the top, its almost exactly the Suncoast Creations Predator but the underside rib pattern and cutouts are different.

yes, the hood I have is a Suncoast hood, that other one I had no idea.