Fixing my new hood

[dabroncos12]

ok so i bought this ram air hood with scoops for $50. The person apprently went under a guardrail so you could imagine the whole front of the hood is messed up bad (cracks,holes,breakoffs,etc) my uncle owns his own car lot and has a body guy but first i wanna try and do this myself. I never worked with fiberglass b4 but this will be a start, so i wanna fix it myself akai dont really need comments like just take it to ur uncles body shop im looking for advice on how to do this. I know it is going to behard and time consumin but im up for it. so what i need to know is, what will i need(and how much of it)? where to get it from, how to actually do it. so if anyone has real advice id appreciate it thanks

[stewartfn20]

lets see some pics and we can tell you how hard its gonna be

[boost21]

lets see some pics and we can tell you how hard its gonna be

I think he got that white one from lemont

[stewartfn20]

I think he got that white one from lemont

if this is the case then just takwe it to the body shop. I just went to get an estimate to have the top of my hood done proffesionally and both places said it would not be worth it to fix, and i got the nicer of the two.

[Keefer1989]

every body shop is going to tell you that. For a shop to do it their going to charge 50$ an hour just in labor. If you DIY and know how thats the only way I would go about fixing it. I would try it and see how it goes, you really can't screw anything up worse then it is. Thats the nice thing about glassing if somethings wrong you just sand it down and do it again.

[stewartfn20]

every body shop is going to tell you that. For a shop to do it their going to charge 50$ an hour just in labor. If you DIY and know how thats the only way I would go about fixing it. I would try it and see how it goes, you really can't screw anything up worse then it is. Thats the nice thing about glassing if somethings wrong you just sand it down and do it again.

yea ur right, i might still try to salvage it.

[dabroncos12]

yeah its bad but my uncles body guy will do it if i cant. i did get the one from lemont but for $50 why not? what was wrong with the silver one? im def going to try myself and if ic ant ill bring it to the body guy but im just looking for somewhere to start with it i dont really know where to even begin

[Keefer1989]

go out to autozone and buy some matt resin, sand paper and some brushes. It's hard to tell without seeing pics of the hood. Start underneath and V out all the cracks. after thats done start building up the cracks by laying fiberglass down in them. then when dry sand and redo over until you feel its good. I am by far no pro, this is just how i would do it. I am sure someone with more knowledge them me will chime in.
From what I read the hoods a composite so im not totally sure. You should go over to fiberglassforums.com they have a lot of knowledge there and, its cool to just read and look to.

[dabroncos12]

alright will do. thanks for your help hah hopefully you can help me threw some of this because im completley new to this. Sunday after i work im probably going to run over to autozone and pick up some brushes, matt resin and sandpaper etc like you said and get started. ill keep you posted so lets hope you guys keep feeding me this info through the process cAUSE god knows ill need it

[Keefer1989]

Like I said im by far a pro, I would just read around and try to get as much knowledge as you can before you try to tackle this. just spend a few days asking questions and reading forums thats what i do haha.

[dabroncos12]

hah will do if you guys need a pic of the hood i bought its on grandamgt.com under allshow section i dont know ow to post pics here. im going to autozone sunday so if anyone has some things they think i should pick up for the start of this hell job let me know. so far sand paper (what grit im not sure yet ill look into it), brushes, and matt resin(which the guys at autozone have apprently never heard of as i stopped there after my gfs break 30 minuteas ago).

[dabroncos12]

+ for as bad as the hood looks on the outside the underneath isnt bad at all. the outside is bad theres 2-3 bad spots but all that all other stuff is scratches etc

[stewartfn20]

+ for as bad as the hood looks on the outside the underneath isnt bad at all. the outside is bad theres 2-3 bad spots but all that all other stuff is scratches etc

no teh underside of that hood was much better than the one i got, but the topside on mine was in better shape.

[Keefer1989]

you need fiberglass matting, and resin. Their two separate things. Just look in the body repair section also boat stores will have it to. I believe its in a small bag. I know there is a website a lot of people use, and order mass amounts of stuff from. its something like uscomposites.com or something like that not sure

[dabroncos12]

yeah i saw yours in his post and it didnt look to have much damage at all but i obviously have no clue about under it. Mine isnt bad at all to be honest bit the top is hell but theres nothing to loose in trying. i think i can fix it and if not well then i spend money and have my uncles body guy do it. let me know how yours goes keep me posted

[dabroncos12]

Oh ok well im going to go to autozone or whatever sunday like i said and pick this stuff up and get started. i also posted on the site above so well see if anyone there has anythign to say.

[stewartfn20]

yeah i saw yours in his post and it didnt look to have much damage at all but i obviously have no clue about under it. Mine isnt bad at all to be honest bit the top is hell but theres nothing to loose in trying. i think i can fix it and if not well then i spend money and have my uncles body guy do it. let me know how yours goes keep me posted

will do

[OpTiMo]

like keefer said order the stuff ( fiberglass , matting, cups, brushes ect) from www.uscomposites.com. There fiberglass is a quality high end glass. DO NOT and i repeat DO NOT buy the bondo brand unless you want to sand your ass off. Also dont buy bondo brand because it is not as durable as a quality resin. Just dtart doin it. The best way to learn it to learn on the fly with this shit. If ya have any question feel free to ask, Im usually around most of the day.
-OpTiMo

[Keefer1989]

Optimo, is there anything with cars you are a pro at haha. Good luck with the rebuild, just have patience and dont hesitate to ask a question. I am addicted to researching about fiberglass now, and looking at projects people do with it.

[stewartfn20]

any updates on the hood? mines all sanded down and ready for paint, minus a few cracks i still haveto fill. Maybe 2 or 3.

[dabroncos12]

Im going to order the stuff spet 2nd i think. My friend came over with his sanding machine and we sanded the top and bottom of it so far. Ill post pics when i get them. I was going to go to autozone and just pick up the bondo they have there or resin but thank god i didnt. I saw the fiberglass matt on the website but how much do you think id need roughly? and thank guys i appreciate it.

[OpTiMo]

Optimo, is there anything with cars you are a pro at haha. Good luck with the rebuild, just have patience and dont hesitate to ask a question. I am addicted to researching about fiberglass now, and looking at projects people do with it.


Hmmmmmmmmmmmm let me think......not that i can think of LOL, J/P. Anyway if you have question dont hesitate to ask

[dabroncos12]

haha alright well then ignore my comment above yours,. even though it seems you already have :x

[OpTiMo]

oh sorry, wasnt thinking, How big is the section you are repairing? If its the front of the hood a small bag should do. I personaly do not like the prewoven mat i like the stranded matt. I would rec. to get that kind of matt.

[dabroncos12]

hah its cool. if i knew how to post pics i would but the underside isnt bad at all a slight crack er 2. the top is pretty bad but its only the front of the hood, (theres a part where its practically a hole, there cracks and whatever) but we sanded most of it down so im going to order stranded matt from them then? and that should be all from that site im assuming, ill prolly get 2 bags though, put that on and sand that.And paint, clear coat etc? is there a specific brand of paint or clear coat thats best and what kind of white is the 03 grand am(idk if its diffrent then anything else)

[OpTiMo]

all depends on what paint you like to use. I work at PPG so i use PPG. But its all up to the budget. when you go to but the white just ask them to see there book and you will be able to match it pretty good!!

[stewartfn20]

hah its cool. if i knew how to post pics i would but the underside isnt bad at all a slight crack er 2. the top is pretty bad but its only the front of the hood, (theres a part where its practically a hole, there cracks and whatever) but we sanded most of it down so im going to order stranded matt from them then? and that should be all from that site im assuming, ill prolly get 2 bags though, put that on and sand that.And paint, clear coat etc? is there a specific brand of paint or clear coat thats best and what kind of white is the 03 grand am(idk if its diffrent then anything else)

im going to sherwin williams to buy mine, but like optimo said, its all preference. ill get a pic of the top of the hood. give me a minute.

[stewartfn20]

here we go:

[Keefer1989]

hey if you want to post pictures, I think the easiest way is using photobucket. Go to www.photobucket.com, then create an account. After that is done upload the photo's you want, then copy the [IMG] code and paste it in your message. Hope this helps you figure it out! any questions just ask. After you do this post up some progress pics when you get them!

[OpTiMo]

thats cake, not that bad at all.

[ssvejiita]

really cool projects @ fiberglassforums.com..you need to register to tho

[dabroncos12]

alright so monday i should be ordering the stuff. http://www.uscomposites.com thats the site that you gave me keefer im going to get fg mat (just not sure what kind and how much seeing as its all in ounces etc) but you reccomended the stranded mat? resin (no bondO) evercoat or better us composites b-440m, tons of brushes, sand paper 60 grit, 80 grit or 120, 220, and 400 grit, filler (again no bondo) ever coat or better. The only thing im unsure about is how much to order of the filler and mat.

[dabroncos12]

alright this friday its on lol. Im ACTUALLY starting it this friday. I had alot of other things come up so it had to be held off.

[stewartfn20]

good luck with it

[dabroncos12]

hey so i have everythign i need im going to start like right now. So lay down some fg matt and witha resin mixture and then over again and top with a mixture of resin and filler and hardner? Also The hole by the scoop ...where do i begin same thing or...start with filler?

[Blackhawk]

Remember to V out cracks.