Ok I just talked to my bodyshop about painting my GTS2 hood and he said that its best that I mount the hood and drive with it for 2-3weeks, unpainted, so the sun bakes the hood from the top and the heat from the engine bakes the underside.

I know nothing about body work and painting but this sounds... Anyone ever heard of this? He comes HIGHLY reccomended and has over 30yrs experience in the bussiness. So he "should" know what hes talking about...

Opinions?

 

Any reason he couldn't put it in the paint booth while a few cars 'bake' after being painted?

 

Im confused or maybe I didn't explain it right. Hes asking me to drive with the the unpainted(white) hood for a couple weeks. He says driving with it mounted and unpainted will help the new paint job absorb better and prevent cracking later on.

But none of the other guys here seem to mention having to drive with the hood unpainted so thats why Im confused.

 

I understand ( I think ). I was saying why couldn't he put the unpainted hood in the booth for a few hours instead of you driving around town?

 

Ah, sorry it was me who was confused. I'm not sure. I'm going to stop by in person to talk details out.

 

Yeah...that way, you let the fiberglass set in naturally.

 

So you've heard about that before? I guess it would annoy me to have a unfinished hood on the car for so long.

 

Now we've given the ricers an excuse for driving their cars around in primer for months at a time.

 

Yeah.....you can let sit for a bit so the fiberglass can set in. If you bake it too much the fiber glass can warp.

I know...kinda scks driving it about like a ricer with an unfinished hood...

 

Meh, I'd MUCH rather bake in the shop then look like an idiot for a couple weeks. I guess we'll see tomorrow after I talk to him.

If warping is a posibility then he should be careful

 

you can tell every one the white hood is better for space flight

 

The only thing that would make a lick of sense in doing this is that fiberglass (unpainted) would do all of "settling" (adjusting to the car its mounted to and whatnot) before painting, before getting painted, thus avoiding cracked paint that could possibly happen afterwards.

 

I'd have to say I'd be pretty embarassed too, driving around with an unpainted hood. I didn't realize there was any functional reason to do this. I just assumed the ricers bought a hood they couldn't afford to have painted or just thought it looked cool.

 

I think what he is trying to say is that if you put the hood on and drive around for a few weeks, the hood will settle down into its natural position, especially with the heat of the engine helping to shape it properly. Then once he does paint it you won't have any issues down the road with the paint craking, because the hood has already settled properly from your pre-usage. I never would have thought to do that myself, but it makes perfect sense to me now that I have heard it.....

 

So I went and talked to him in person. First impressions didn't say much. Shop wasn't what I expected(coming so higly reccomended) but... when the garage door opened up and I saw his works in progress. Wow... All I can say. Hes a true car enthusiast, and I always find it important. Anyways...

He said he wouldn't have a problem baking it for me in his shop but again said he likes to have it settle naturally. Like some of you have mentioned he likes the hood to shrink and settle the way it wants to then paint. I'm not sure what I want to do... Redfire mustang WHITE hood haha...

He's a nice guy and honest. He just said I dont want you to have any issues with the hood down the road with cracking and whatnot.

 

Listen to the Master

 

yea it shouldn't be a big deal driving around with a white hood for a while ... it won't break your coolness and it will be a conversation piece

 

I wonder how many people don't do this and still don't have any problems? I'm taking a chance and getting it painted right away..Mines in the shop now

 

Well I'm guess Im going to listen to him and work the white hood for a couple weeks... Better safe then sorry and hes not cheap so I deff dont wanna pay twice, haha.

 

Look at it this way. If for some reason there are paint problems later on, he won't be able to say "I told you so" or "if you had done what I told you this would not have happened". If he is really good, and highly recommended, there should be no problems. Just don't give him an "out" in the event something goes wrong.