fiberglass hood re-paint

[hamesdart]

ok so my fiberglass hood is nice.. but has some cracks here and there and the paint is chipping alot. I was wondering what the easyest way is to get it ready for paint... strip it all? sand... what do you think

 

[BigStrok3]

I myself would strip it all the way down to make sure I get all of the chips out with sandpaper. Obviously dont use too rough of a grit so you dont make any huge scratches in the fiberglass.

 

[mopar340dave]

Sanding it all the way down is not the way to go. I'll consult with a friend of mine who does this for a living, but I'm sure he would agree.
Yes you wanna sand it, but not to bare fiberglass. Only sand it enough to rough it up. Use 320 grit.
You can then repaint using a automotive primer that is designed to fill the imperfections. After applying that stuff and letting it set up good, you resand and prime until you are happy with the results. You wanna get down to a bit finer grit before the final finish is applied.

The only reason I would remove all of the paint is if it was peeling.

 

[mopar340dave]

Here is some of my friend's recent work...this is actually the mold:

 

[demon seed]

I'll tell ya what I did when the AAR hood arrived and it needed to be prepped and color matched since I have very little experience with fiberglass. I found a shop that turned out to be close by that specializes in older Vette's. Figured they knew all about glass so gave the whole car, with hood, and told them to handle it. Total cost of sanding, prep and paint (3 coates black and 2 clear) was $500 and it's perfect.

 

[mopar340dave]

That's not bad at all! My prob is, if i do that, Murphy's Law will pobably kick in! LOL

 

[70Duster440]

If the fiberglass has cracks though you will have to go down to the substrate and deal with them or they'll be back in your new finish.

 

[mopar340dave]

I agree, hopefully it's not too bad. If the cracks are small it's probably not a prob but if they are deep, as in through the gel coat, then you will have to sand a bit more and use a good sealer afterwards. I'd be very careful with your DA because once you're through the paint it can sand deep very easily, making quite a bit more work for yourself.
I did speak to my buddy today and he agreed. Sand the paint off but try not to go through the gel coat if you don't need to.