Big paint chip on hood

Well my hood is gray, the rest of the car is black. It is annoying. I am a college student and am planning on painting it myself.

The problem is that there is a good amount of paint that has chipped off down to the primer on the hood. When I go to sand this down what is a good procedure? Basically if I painted over this area at this point I would see the layers.

In some areas the paint is bubbling up and is just waiting to chip off. Should these areas be peeled off than sanded same as above?

My plan is to clean off the entire hood, hit it with some 300 grit, clean, paint, wet 600 grit, paint, wet 800 grit, clear coat, then 1000 grit or buff it. Is this good enough for the area of the paint missing?

This is the hood in question:

Kingkong wrote: My plan is to clean off the entire hood, hit it with some 300 grit, clean, paint, wet 600 grit, paint, wet 800 grit, clear coat, then 1000 grit or buff it. Is this good enough for the area of the paint missing?

That's way more than enough work, are you trying to make this thing a show car?

I'd just sand(blast or wire wheel) everything until it's smooth and spray over it like a lazy bastard (or factory robot), but that's just me.

If it were me I'd start by wet sanding the whole hood with 220 grit. Block sand the edges of any all the popped paint, rock chips and other spots until they slowly blend together. In other words an area that started out the size of a dime would end up being about 1 1/2 to 2 inches around when you've blended it. Always remember, anything you can feel will stand out like a sore thumb once you paint it. ESPECIALLY BLACK.

If you really want to make it look good (and everyone looks at the hood first) take you time. Prime it, sand it, prime it, sand it. One thing a pro painter showed me was once you think you have it smooth put a coat of primer on it then put a very light dusting of a contrasting color primer on it. Lightly sand the contrasting color and the imperfections will stand out.

Body and paint work is a time consuming PITA and that's why most people just pay someone else to do it. But it's very rewarding when it turns out right and you can be proud of your work.

PS - I'm not a pro painter but I do paint my own cars so the above statement above may be total E36 M3.

I used hardware store paint stripper on my Mustang hood. It took a couple of coats of the stuff but eventually I had a clean slate to start with. I then used a good primer and color coat. It turned out pretty decent.

Haha I'm not trying to make it a show car but I do want it to look good.

That's a good idea MGAMGB, use the pressure washer to get the bubbling paint off. Then Ill sand it like Nickel_Dime suggests.

Now with the primer, is it ok to use it over the paint or should I strip all the paint off with paint stripper then primer it?

the paint that is still there after wetsanding is going to provide better adhesion than bare metal. Rough it up and run with it.

Nice, thanks. Going to hopefully try this on Saturday.

After wetsanding, wash with dawn suds, let dry and then wipe down with acetone. Use care not to touch the finish so you don't get oils from your hands on it, that doesn't necessarily mean use rubber gloves, just use care. This will help your primer and any subsequent layers stick better. Don't use an air compressor to help it dry faster unless you run a filter on it, you may spread oils or other contaminants onto your freshly cleaned surface.

I realize you are not looking for a show-quality paint job, but it would suck royally to put any amount of effort into a paint job only to have it peel off in a week.

Wear eye and breathing protection when spraying.

If you are using spray bombs, get one of those trigger handles that snaps on to the can, this makes it a whole lot more comfortable to do for any length of time. Turn spray bombs upside down occasionally and hold the trigger to clear the nozzle. Do this when you are done with a color for a while to clear the paint from the nozzle.

I went to the carwash and used the pressure washer to get off the loose paint and a lot came off.

Most of the sanding on the right side is done. I used 320, then 400 to make it feel smooth going between the black and gray. Some of the black primer came off and went down to bare metal so I primered those areas.

There was a big dent in the middle of the hood I am using putty to fill in. I used a little too much earlier in the day and it ended up cracking. Right now I am slowly adding on layers of the putty and will more than likely paint it tomorrow.

You seem to have an adhesion probvlem. It looks like the hood was replaced and not properly prepared. Do youself a favor and take off ALL the silver paint, as whats there will most likely continue to peel under the new paint. 180 paper in an orbital sander should make quick work of it, just don't press down to hard and dent the hood. You can also use paint stripper, but if you do remove all the bondo and re do it afterwards because the bondo sometimes soaks up the stripper causing new the paint to bubble off. It's a bit more work now but you've already go through the trouble of pulling the hood, why do a half assed job that will peel off in a month.