RRTEC

iTrader: (13)

Ok, as some of you know, I have finally found a specimen worth doing right. This car is near pristine. I have purchased a less then perfect T2 hood and do not want it to got on the car without having it re-surfaced and then painted. The hood, like most other aluminum hoods has plenty of little "hail" or strong rain dings and a decent little crease. I want to do this car right and was hoping to get some pointers on straightening it out.

I will probably let a body shop do it but want to keep it under $200 (I will paint it myself) Do you think that is a realistic price range? Also If I were to fix it myself how would you go about doing it. I have done bodywork before and am "fairly skilled" but by no means show quality skilled..

classicauto

iTrader: (3)

Make your budget $350ish and drop it off at a reputable body shop in your area along with a piece from the car you're installing the hood on for a match.

One thing I definetly wouldn't recommend for someone who isn't experienced with body repair is repairing/blocking an aluminum hood. Because of the soft nature of aluminum it makes the process slow, pressing too hard on the block can cause flexing of the panel which will distort it even more.

If you feel like doing it yourself to save money be warned that you'll probably spend at least $100 on tools and good product before you even log an hour into fixing it.

Although the process is very straightforward. working with an aluminum panel can make it just complicated enough to warrant leaving it to the pros (you said you want it to look good right? )

TitaniumTT

Excellent post. I spent SOOOO much time on my hood and it still came out with woes becuase, just like you said, you press on the board, the hood distorts and when you're blocking the guide coat all looks perfect, but when you paint finally paint it looks less than perfect. Next attept will be to strengthen the hood from underneath. There are plenty of places where the skin doesn't contact the bracing and I think that's where alot of the distortion came from

MDD0101

i HATE the little dings on my hood..i never really noticed them till the hood was off my car either

Syncro

iTrader: (1)

I swapped in an dinged aluminum hood on my car before it was painted.

The bodyshop got rid of the dings the usual ways and then used bondo to get it to a perfectly smooth surface.