Painting Fiberglass hood

74Scooter said
Hi all, have never painted before but I'm going to start baby steps when my fiberglass hood arrives. I'll fit and adjust it first and drill the holes for the hood pins. Planning on hitting it with matte black... I mean.. how badly can I mess that up? :rolleyes:

I have a compressor and am planning on buying a basic gravity primer and paint kit, something along these lines: DeVilbiss 802343 DeVilbiss StartingLine HVLP Gravity Feed Paint and Primer Spray Gun Kits | Summit Racing
If you think there is a better starter kit, pls post up a link.

The hood comes with gray gel-coat finish. I'm thinking sand, seal and shoot. Am I missing anything? Any special considerations working with fiberglass?

First, let me say that is a good, solid starter paint gun kit. You can get good results with that. Second, never say, How badly can I mess that up?" LOL That's like saying, "What could possibly go wrong?" Seriously, just take your time. Be careful and don't rush.

WAYNE0 said
First thing to do is let it sit in the sun for a few days. Its to make sure the fiberglass is cured. Here is what i do. I block sand it with 180 or 220 clean it then spray some high build primer on it at least 3 coats. Then block it with 400. Clean it then spray your black. They are never straight. The high build primer acts like a sealer unless you break through.

I totally agree. I just don't know if he knows what block sanding is. No offense, @74Scooter, but when someone says they have never painted, I won't assume they know about block sanding.

When I block sand, I use a Dura Block sanding block and dry PSA (sticky back) sandpaper. I agree with the 180 or 220 before the primer on the fiberglass. I usually do 220 followed by 320, but the high build will easily fill 220 sanding scratches. Use a cross hatch pattern when sanding. If you don't know what that is, a quick Google or You Tube search is in order. Then spray the high build primer with a 1.8 or 2.2 tip. I also agree with Wayne0 about blocking with the 400, in that I finish with 400. After spraying the high build primer (any good 2K polyester primer will do), I block it with 320 to get rid of the orange peel, switching to 320 to smooth it out and ending up with 400 dry. Then I wet sand with 320 and 400.