ragu

My 88 has hood damage from a suspected tool left on top of the engine when the hood was closed. It's a half-dollar size spider crack thru the clear coat and is getting more noticable in the two months I've owned the car. Money is an issue (as usual) so I want to do the repair myself. Should I repair above and below the hood? Any suggestions about the repair and/or products is appreciated.

Jim Dillon

Scott, I see no one has jumped on your post to help so maybe if you can narrow it down it might generate some advice. First of all since we do not know the extent of the damage the advice can be all over the place. I have heard of this happening with the 1st and 2nd generation cars as there is little room, so you are not alone. It is possible you just cracked the clear coat but if you did fracture the panel inside or the outer surface, it is a bunch of work. Try to use some magnification on the inside or you can use some wax and grease remover which sometimes works. Putting on a liquid like this (that does not evaporate too quickly) and then either use a squeegee or rag to wipe off the liquid will sometimes leave traces of the liquid in the fracture or crack, making it a little easier to spot.

Lets say the crack is just in the outer painted surface. I do not believe you would have a whole lot of success if you just sand it a bit and touch it up. It more than likely will come back to haunt you. Probably have to block sand the outside crack to a point where the crack is totally gone, which may put you down to the primer. Then would you be leaning toward repainting the whole hood or try to touch up?

What kind of equipment do you have and what kind of experience? Maybe a photo or two might spark some debate.

Post a couple of photos and maybe some others will chime in as well-Jim

ragu

Jim,
I don't see any cracks on the inside of the hood, but I believe the exterior is cracked thru the fiberglass. My thoughts are to sand down the area, repair and paint hood stripes verses paint the entire hood. I've done general fiberglass work and spray painting, but not on vettes. Since my post, I found a supplier for the proper resin (SMC). Thanks for the info! - Hope the warm weather makes it your way soon.

Googan

ttt

BondoKing

If the hood itself is cracked then it could be a problem forever.. The only proper repair is to V-groove each crack in the hood itself and then fill with repair materail.. seal with epoxy, let set overnight, 2k ( urethane primer sufacer) block, seal with a reduced coat of epoxy, then base and clear.. Thats how I would do it.. Some people will sand it down with aggressive grits and then smear a coat of Rage or Metal glaze, block, prime, block and paint.. I think that way is a poor repair, destined to fail

If you just sand it down and dont repair the cracks themselves in the hood, then it will come back for sure.. Even doing the repair to the hood does not mean it wont come back, or crack around the repair spots.. One of those bad gigs..

If its in the paint, you have an easy fix.. If not, its more work, but fixable.. Longevity of the repair will just depend

ragu

Thanks Bondoking......I'll get a body shop to take a look. If there's a chance the fiberglass is OK, I'll sand it down myself....otherwise the repair is more complicated than I can handle.