Painting a hood with a spray can possible?

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WobblyElvis

WobblyElvis

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I've looked a few used cars and a couple of them [Hyundai] have very faded or sun damaged hoods. Perhaps it's the heat from the engine. Is it possible to do a reasonable job with spray cans of color match paint and clear coat? I'm not looking for the best appearance but if they had some shine to the paint, they sure would look better. Would it last a couple of years?
 
I would get a small can of auto paint mixed based on your car's paint.
Prep and shoot the hood yourself.

Or prep it and take it to a local shop and let them shoot it.
 
just have a body shop do it - unless you have experience spraying...its not hard - but skip the rattle cans if you want a semi-decent job, buy a compressed air sprayer and some decent automotive paint (they make a 1-coat finish that doesn't need a separate clearcoat)...but depends on your skillset....by the time you learn and buy the stuff it may end up costing almost as much as you taking the hood off and just having a pro do it.
 
Last year I got a price on a similar job but the hood had an area of about 2 sq inches where the paint had just popped off. They said something about acid etching the hood and gave me a price of $660. A $3000 dollar car just isn't worth it. Maybe I could take the hood off the car, wet sand it, take it to them and see what they would charge. One of the mirrors is faded quite bad. I could try can of color match on that and see how it goes.
 
Originally Posted by WobblyElvis
Last year I got a price on a similar job but the hood had an area of about 2 sq inches where the paint had just popped off. They said something about acid etching the hood and gave me a price of $660.


$660 is very high for a hood spray and minor repair. Body shops have two types of customers. Self paying and insurance jobs. If it went through insurance, no way the insurance company allow that much. Self paying customers don't have that much clout.
 
Prepping is 80% of the work. If you can bring a removed & sanded hood to a paint shop....I'd expect to pay $200.
 
YES!! but you need to prepare like a professional to get those results.

If there is no rust, get a few sheets of wet/dry sandpaper (1000, 1500, 2000 grit). maybe two sheets each.

Get a real respirator. they are about $35 https://www.lowes.com/pd/3M-Reusable-Painting-Valved-Safety-Mask/1000035337
You don't want these vapors in your lungs, they can cause nerve damage.

Also get goggles https://www.lowes.com/pd/3M-Reusable-Painting-Valved-Safety-Mask/1000035337

and gloves https://www.lowes.com/pd/3M-Large-Nitrile-Cleaning-Gloves/3451206

wear long sleeve shirt and pants.


wash the hood well to get the heavy dirt off then rinse.

I fold the sheet in 1/4ths and tear at the seams. using teh 1000 grit, start on the transition between the good clear and the peeled clear. Wet the hood with soapy water (carwash works)
and sand with your flat palm. use light to medium pressure. Don't press hard. You want the sandpaper to do the work. Think of the sandpaper like a saw. When its sharp it will cut well, when it gets dull you need to change the blade. Keep the hood wet to let the sandpaper slide easily. Sand in straight back and forth motions following the body lines of the hood. If there are no body lines on the hood you can go in circular motion like car waxing. Sand the roughest spots first to smooth them out. once they are smooth, sand the rest of the hood.

Wash the hood to remove the sanding slurry.

Dry and wipe down with rubbing alcohol (70% or higher clear type not green) This will remove any oil that will make the paint "fish eye"


Get a few cans of duplicolor in you cars paint color (have more than you need so you don't run out) you can always return extras.

Mask off the car with cut open 33 gallon garbage bags or whatever. Overspray will go EVERYWHERE. Its best to paint in a large garage so bugs and grass trimmings, leaves, etc don't get into the wet paint. Do not DIY a small paint booth with poor ventilation. you need a open enough area so you can properly ventilate the fumes.

Look at youtube videos on proper painting technique but the basics are 1) apply multiple light coats (at least 2) instead of one heavy one that will likely run. 2) Press the spray button off the the side of where you are painting before moving across the surface of where you are painting. if you point a the surface then press the the button you will likely get a heavy coat there that will be hard to blend out. 3) keep the can equal distance awat from the hood during the entire left to right pass. 4) don't move the can too fast while spraying. Say about "3 Mississippi" counts for a full left to right sweep. 5) Start a the windshield and work your way back to the front bumper. They way you are not leaning into wet paint to get the back of the hood.

Let the first coat set for the amount of time stated on the can (few minutes). Then make the second coat the same way. That should make it look pretty good.

I would let that dry for at least two weeks.

Get two cans of this clear coat.

https://www.amazon.com/Spray-High-G...D806Y/ref=asc_df_B00W2D806Y/?tag=hyprod-
20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312128189269&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12288399076999319489&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9027693&hvtargid=pla-570217458937&psc=1


Then wash and lightly wet sand again with 1500 grit this time. You are just trying to knock off the shine of the color paint and a few nibs or other small imperfections in the paint.
Make sure all of the surface is dull with no shine but don't sand through the color coat. light touch and even coverage. Watch those body lines as the outside edge will sand through easy if you lean on it.

Wash the hood and clean with alcohol again.

Mask off the car and suit up in your resporator and goggles.

look at the youtube videos for the clear. You use red cap the crack the internal vessel and release the hardner inside. You only have ~2 hours to spray after you do this so be ready. shake the can thouroughly.

spray with the same technique as the color coat. At least two coats (likely three) with ~5-10 minutes in between. Let this dry.

If you like the shinyness and you didnt get much "orange peel" affect, your are done. If not there are two extra steps.

let dry for at least 2 weeks.

get your 1500 sand paper and lightly sand the hood focusing on the orange peel spots. keep a flat hand. then follow with the 2000 grit sand paper.

The get some meguiars Ultimate polish from walmart and a foam polishing pad (or microfiber). put some on and strong arm polish a 1 foot area. wipe clean with a microfiber cloth and admire your work, it will shine like a new car. Continue for the rest of the hood.


The 2K clearcoat will help the paint job last for years instead of a single year.


You can wax the paint after about 1 month to give it plenty of time to outgass and dry out.
 
Some colors are harder to make look good than others.
Spray can paint job can look nice enough.
And it's just the hood. Sides are looked at more and it's easier to see when things are wrong on them.

Prep work is the main thing. If you just slap some paint on it, that's what it will look like.

Do a search for combinations of "Rustoleum" and "$50 Paint job." You'll see many cars that look great, painted with home improvement store Rustoleum, and a paint brush or roller. I've done it. Turned out well. I'm not saying you should use Rustoleum instead of matching paint; just saying if those can look good with spray cans or a brush, so can yours.

Or maybe just get a used hood in the same color.
Or put on a black one. It may not match, but people will think you did it on purpose to try to make it look more sporty.
 
Sounds like to do the job right, it would take weeks. If I do get this used car I might try do the mirror myself. Then maybe it's best to take to a shop or just live with it the way it is. To bad they don't make a polish that you can buff to get the shine back. I understand you can do that but it only lasts a week or so.
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
Junkyards around here sell hoods for $50. Is it a common color?
If every one he looks at has the same damage, so will a yard hood.

If it's just the clear oxidizing/peeling you can sand it all off and re-clear it. Otherwise, I did two fenders with dupicolor and 1k clear rattle cans and it came out pretty good. The duplicolor cans match better than you think they would, although my paint was a solid colour.

My vote goes to a CF hood.
 
I have painted entire farm trucks with spray cans and they actually come out pretty decent. I followed some You Tube clips on it. The main thing i found when using rattle cans is that humidity level and temp are key! Not too hot or humid.
 
I have painted entire farm trucks with spray cans and they actually come out pretty decent. I followed some You Tube clips on it. The main thing i found when using rattle cans is that humidity level and temp are key! Not too hot or humid.
 
My complete rear bumper on the WS6 is rattle canned. I pulled, it prepped it, Multiple light coats of GM artic white than 2 coats of clear. You can't tell. Actually looked better than it
did. That was 2 years ago now.
Take your time.

Someone hit me in the Walmart parking lot and left. Scratched it all the way down to the plastic.

Set up a small booth with plastic and wet down the floor to keep the dust down.

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]
 
Originally Posted by mbacfp
Love that car ls1mike. Enjoyed my 2000 Trans Am a lot.

Thanks! It is a mid 11 sec car with heads, cam, full exhaust. You get the idea.
I don't drive it much now. Mostly sunny days in the summer.
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
Probably depends on what you think is a reasonable job. For $1,000 beater, good enough. For a nice $5,000 car, spend $300-$400 at a body shop.

I once painted my whole car with a Brush and quart of paint.

OP, I say "go for it".
Watch the overspray.

My Father painted his car with a 'small' Roller and the fuzz came off / but still looked decent.
 
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