Painting my hood flat black

I want to paint the raised portions of my hood flat black like this guys Jeep: http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=992571

As far as prepping the hood would you recommend sanding down to bare metal? What sort of primer and paint would you guys use? I want a flat black paint that wont fade, will be durable and will look good.

Any info you guys can give will be appreciated.

Thanks
Mike

i would just hit it with a scotchbrite pad, or some 1000 or 1500 grit sand paper. there is no need to sand it down to bare metal, the paint will stick just fine as long as you rough the surface up, and it will be better to leave the factory primer and sealer coat in there anyway, most aftermarket paints dont do a very good job of sealing metal surfaces.

as far as paint ive had good luck with the rustoleum paints, and dupicolor brands. i would use a rustoleum black primer, and finish it off with a satin or semigloss black duplicolor enamel. i think the semigloss finishes look better than the flats, but its up to you. whatever you do dont leave it just bare primer, it will fade fast and the primer will absorb and hold water every time it rains or there is alot of moisture in the air.

good luck.
-G

GrimmJeeper said:

i would just hit it with a scotchbrite pad, or some 1000 or 1500 grit sand paper. there is no need to sand it down to bare metal, the paint will stick just fine as long as you rough the surface up, and it will be better to leave the factory primer and sealer coat in there anyway, most aftermarket paints dont do a very good job of sealing metal surfaces.

as far as paint ive had good luck with the rustoleum paints, and dupicolor brands. i would use a rustoleum black primer, and finish it off with a satin or semigloss black duplicolor enamel. i think the semigloss finishes look better than the flats, but its up to you. whatever you do dont leave it just bare primer, it will fade fast and the primer will absorb and hold water every time it rains or there is alot of moisture in the air.

good luck.
-G

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what he said,Paint sticks great to paint, dont mess with the factory "seal". I used krylon semi gloss a year ago, no peeling chipping,nothing. I was told krylon "sticks great" ,and it sure holds up awesome! I just roughed it with brown scotchbrite, cleaned it well and painted. If you are using spraybombs its easy to tiger stripe the finish, be less noticeable painting the hood off the truck standing on end

Im planning to take the hood off to paint it. I may do it next week. I'll post up some pics when it's done.

1000-1500 is way too fine for the paint/primer to bite. If you want it to be "temporary" (meaning not absolutely permanent) this would work. But for a much longer lasting and durable finish use some 320 grit until the shine is gone from the clear. Then use some good spray primer and flat or semi-gloss paint, whatever toots your whistle.

When I say non-permanent, 1000 and 1500 grit scratches could be buffed out. So if you decide against it later you can use thinner or brake cleaner to take off the lacquer, then compound, polish, and wax the underlying paint. Looks like nothing was ever there...

This is what i did..
1.Clean all the dirt and bird crap off your hood
2. Find the cheapest spray paint possible, walt-mart for like, 96cents
3. Shacke can...
4. Spary ultill it starts to run, then back off a little bit.

I would go to a sticker/sign company and have them cut them out in vinyl.

If you want to paint and have it stick, here's how I used to do the prep for the squirt guy:

1) Wash thoroughly. You can sand dust into the paint, and that screws everything up.

2) Lightly sand using 240-320 grit paper. All you're after is breaking the clearcoat (if any) and scuffing up the factory paint. Ideally, don't sand in the locale where you plan to paint. Second best? Sand somewhere you can use water to hose the area down - you don't want to blow the dust around, you want to get rid of the dust entirely. That means water.

3) Wipe with lint-free rags and use a fairly volatile solvent that won't leave residue. The idea is to pick up any dust (without scattering it about!) and have it stick to the rag, but have the surface dry quickly. Denatured alcohol works well - lacquer thinner if you're breaking a lot of stuff, but DA is safer to be around.

4) Mask. Trim the mask as required with a sharp! razor blade - I'll usually use a brand spankin' new blade for this job. Check your masking carefully. Since you're going to wipe it down again anyhow, now is the time to check to see if you need to do any "detail scuffing."

5) Wipe down one more time with the DA and clean rags - it's a cinch you've got fingerprints on the part you're painting - even if you didn't check the sanding job. Even if you don't think you got fingerprints on it - you invariably do. If you wore gloves, you probably got powder on the surface - and that causes flaws as well.

6) Let it dry. Give it five minutes past when you can see any remaining solvent. You can use a heat lamp or something similar, but avoid fans (they'll blow dust onto your work, and you'll get fisheyes.)

7) Squirt. Follow instructions for drying the paint (if it just needs to set, let it set. If it is heat-cured, break out the heat lamps - make sure there's no dust on them! You get the idea.)

I wasn't the squirt guy, I was the guy that did all of the prep. My job ended when I put the vehicle in the squirt booth, but if I didn't do my job well, the gunner couldn't do his job well - 70% or so of a good paint job is in preparation, 15% is in having enough light to see what the Hell you're doing, and 15% is the gunner and his equipment. The best gunner in the world can't make up for shonky preparation - a good prep man is critical to getting a good paint job!

Mine is a large black decal. I own a sign shop and I sell them for $45

Hmmm that's a good idea. One question though, when you heat up/stretch the matte vinyl, does the luster increase? Kind of like if you buff flat clearcoat?

You cant heat and stretch this material or yes, it will turn glossy.

Hey, I was wondering, since guys are usually trying to get their rigs to run cooler, wouldn't painting the hood black make it tend to run hotter due to sun/heat absorption?

98XJROKS said:

I would go to a sticker/sign company and have them cut them out in vinyl.

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Achmed said:

Mine is a large black decal. I own a sign shop and I sell them for $45

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DanMan2k06 said:

Hmmm that's a good idea. One question though, when you heat up/stretch the matte vinyl, does the luster increase? Kind of like if you buff flat clearcoat?

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Hmmm, yeah good idea.

Land Rover guys have been doing vinyl hood blackouts for years with no problems that I've read about.

The whole color/temperature correlation really isn't a big deal. Otherwise Novitec Rosso would definitely NOT have they're 599 GTB totally blacked out ..... And other super performance applications as well

Ill take one if your buying :greensmok

That satin black is SEX on wheels!

I think Im going to use John Deere Blitz Black. I found out about it after reading on some hotrod forums. And if I XXXX the hood up then I have a reason to get the cowl hood I want!

I just sprayed my hood after installing my vents. Just cleaned it and sprayed away. It's a Jeep, not a Mercedes.

It's a Jeep, not a Mercedes.

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DaimlerChrysler was founded in 1998 when Mercedes-Benz manufacturer Daimler-Benz (1926-1998) of Stuttgart, Germany merged with the US-based Chrysler Corporation

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Wrong, you are :dunce:

DanMan2k06 said:

Wrong, you are :dunce:

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I also like my Jeepcedes to look good!