I bought a clean white hood for my truck that have a few tiny rock chips in the front, no dents bends or scratches. I'm replacing my red one that's lost some of its clear coat and has the typical dent in the middle on the side, more like a buckle from a small accident. It's been this way since I bought it.

Im sure there's a number of us who's replaced body parts, what do you do for paint?

 

I use automotive paint, not really sure what the question is. The only real issue is matching, red is tough to match, impossible if it's faded.

 

Sorry I am unclear. Do you guys go through the sanding and prep work? Do you spray over the original paint? Do you use a paint gun to paint?

 

Any thoughts?

 

To get a finish that you're going to be happy with, yes you will have to sand and do a lot of prep work. Prep work will make or break your paint job. Anything you can feel with your hand will show through the paint.

You will want to sand and fill any chips and scratches, then sand again. use a wax and grease remover, and a tack cloth to get it really clean and dust free, then prime and paint. You will want to spray the paint onto the hood. For a super cheap paint job you can roll it on or brush it, but you're not going to end up with a nice smooth finish that way. If you haven't done this before an dyou don't have a good way to spray the finish, you may look into having a local paint shop put the color into an aerosol can for you. There are several places in my area that will mix your color and then put it into a rattle can for you to make it easy to do this kind of thing. It's not the cheapest way to do this, but it should make for a decent finish. Go with a base coat / clear coat for the best finish, or you can do a single stage paint if you're not concerned about how it looks. There are a lot of options, and a lot of tricks and products to use. If you want it to be flawless and this is your first time using automotive paint, I think you would be better off dropping it off at a body shop and having them spray your finish. If you just want a straight hood for your truck then dive in and learn as much as you can. There are a bunch of how-to videos on Youtube that will get you started.

 

Prep work is critical. If there is a small dent and you don't fix it; then it will show through. A HVLP gun can be bought at HF for a minimal amount of money. Do not use lacquer primer. An etching primer helps the top coat to adhere to the primer. Start off with 400 wet and dry paper. Then move onto 600. That will give you s amoother finish.