Prep Work for Aluminum Hoods
 

I am considering the Saleen aluminum hood (NOT the fiberglass one).

One of the vendors indicated the hood requires three hours of prep work prior to painting. I was suprised by this. I would have thought that is the amount of work required for a fiberglass hood. Wouldn't an aluminum hood require less prep?

What prep work is required for aluminum hoods? Can anyone here that has one let me know how many hours of prep work it took?

I can't imagine 3 hours for an aluminum..He may be thinking fiberglass

I can't imagine 3 hours for an aluminum..He may be thinking fiberglass:dunno:

I've heard that the CDC stamped hood requires a lot of prep, too. Just like you, I'm not sure what kind of prepping could be needed, but I've heard this as well.

That's what I thought at first, but he also confirmed in the same email that the hood weights about the same as the stock hood (which could only be the aluminum hood, not the fiberglass).

Especially a Saleen hood, which I've heard is pretty quality stuff, I wouldn't expect it to need that much prep, but I guess I might be in for a suprise...

these guys do get paid by the hour...hmmmmm:hmm:

From what I know, prepping aluminum PROPERLY is a time consuming job. Aluminum is not as easy to paint as steel. With steel panels you basically sand, prime, and paint. Aluminum is not so forgiving. Once sanded it begins to oxidize. (If painted over, this oxidation will cause what some are seeing on their OEM aluminum hoods -- bubbles and blistering paint.) A variety of treatments are used to coat the sanded surface to prevent this oxidation, all of which take time and are labor intensive. Once properly prepped the aluminum can be primed and painted just as any other steel body panel. Bottom line... 3 hours does not seem excessive.

Since Saleen doesn't have a picture of this hood, does anyone on this forum?

B:)B
Semper Fi

The vendor that told me three hours was the hood vendor, not the paint shop. If anything, I would think he would want to sell me the hood and would under-estimate the prep time.

Wow for the price of the Saleen that sucker should be ready to go IMO

Good luck with this. I ordered and paid for a Saleen aluminum hood through an authorized Saleen dealer back in March. After nearly two months without Saleen even being willing/able to give an idea when they MIGHT ship the hood despite repeated emails and phonecalls, both the dealer and I gave up and I took a refund. :mad:

Saleen has not improved under the new regime at the helm...

If your going to paint aluminum panels you MUST etch/prime it first with a zinc chromate etching primer. I use Dupont's Corlar etch. Great stuff...very toxic though...Be careful with any zinc products. You have to wait for it to dry, then sand and prime with a 2K primer. NEVER paint directly over corlar. After you prime you have to wait for it to dry...then sand it (600+ grit). Then your ready to seal it and paint it and clear it....
So now you can understand why it could easily take 3 hours.