Hey guys.

What's the best way to strip down the under side of a hood? A friend of mine has a tool (don't know the name of it) that will basically peel back the crimped metal holding the inner panel to the outer and then be able to fold it back over again. He says he has used it with success. It sounds like a good idea if it works and would really make it easier to make sure the top is flat. I want to do the entire under side body color so I'd have to get all of the old paint out of there.

Thanks for any suggestions!

George
george@spattaweb.com
TC #1921
ACES ##5880

I've done a couple with 3M's Clean-N-Strip discs on a die grinder and lots of elbow grease. Unskinning a hood just to clean up the frame sounds like a lot of work to me.....

Cam

I would just get it acid dipped before I would remove the frame from the hood. The dip will get rid of everything iff the hood and you won't have to worry about getting everything back together, plus it will be a heck of alot less work.
One thing that I figured out while doing my car was that sometimes it's easier, better and most of the time cheaper in the long run to let the pros do some tasks.

George, Your in for a lot of work if you plan on disassembling that hood. Dipping would be your best bet. If a dipping operation isn't an option for you then I would do the following: cut cardboard to cover the exposed areas of the hood skin and tape them in place, then sandblast the frame work at low pressure to remove the remaining paint and corrosion. Then use a Kleen and strip disc and hand sanding with 80 grit to clean up the exposed areas of the skin. Clean everything really well and apply some self etch or epoxy primer followed by urethane surfacer. Sand with 400 grit and paint. Before installation hang the hood nose down and spray some 3M rustfighter behind the framework and ley it run out the front. You can then hang it from differnt loactions and treat the sides and rear. The Rustfighter should protect the areas that weren't accessable for cleanup. Years ago it was not uncommon for bodymen to section out large areas of inner structure for access for dent removal. On many occasions working on old cars I've seen where inner quarter panels, door frames etc. have been cut out then rewelded back in after the bump work was done. But taking a hood apart is a touchy operation that will leave a lot of distortion. I seen a 68 Camaro cowl induction hood done that way, and whoever did it brazed it back together, talk about ambition! And a lot of filler :eek:

Hey guys,

Thanks for the advice. I am looking into taking the shell and other parts to a place to have them dipped. It makes sense to have the hood done that way too. There is only 1 place in the half of Florida that I live in that can dip a whole body and I think it's way expensive. I haven't called them yet but a friend said that to dip, etch, & epoxy prime the shell it was like $2000! That sounds very high to me but I'll have to check on my own. Bob thanks for the tip on how to get to all the hard to get spots under the webbing. I think I'll really look into the dipping. I don't think the top skin is that bad I can hopefully chemically strip and bump the metal before it goes to the acid dipper!

Thanks again!

George
george@spattaweb.com
TC #1921
ACES #5880