Hood question

sprint_9

sprint_9

Rookie
I need some guidance on my hood. I have one problem spot, the spot is low. Its next to a brace, but foam supports the hood resting on the brace, the foam is removed. The low spot in question seems to be shrunk as it appears sunk down and doesn't pop back like the other side of the hood.

What coarse of action do you think I should take? One thing I need to note is I have the hood in 2k.

20181103_124146.jpg
 
Last edited:
Its possible this might be blasting damage. I dont remember seeing it before I started on this. I had my blaster go real light and then I finished it off with a da, wouldn't have thought anything would have happened but who knows. The othe side of the hood blocked out good.
 
If it goes DOWN inside a void or opening in the brace, this is damage caused by the blaster. The stretched metal always goes in the direction the media is coming from, so yes, it should look like a low. The brace blocks what is under it (above?) and the open area that is stretched follows the exact shape of the opening. You need to shrink to remove the damage.
 
Last edited:
It does go down next to the brace, but the foam has been out since I started on it, so the brace technically wasn't doing anything as there is around a 1/4 inch gap between it and the hood skin. I dont know if that makes any difference or not, just want to highlight it.

Whats the best process for shrinking the spot? I'm completely new to trying something like this. I'm assuming I probably need to get back to bare metal as a start?
 
Basically when someone is too aggressive on the inside skin, the brace protects what it covers...regardless of foam, as the media is coming straight in. When it hits the open area of the hood skin that exact area stretches, and that which is blocked does not.

If you want to try shrinking with paint still on, try a donut dolly. Other methods with paint removed are acetylene torch, dent puller with shrinking top, etc. if you have none of those, perhaps a TIG welder. So what do you have available for shrinking???
 
Good writeup as usual Robert. But as typical, someone that knows more than all of us has to get in there about his water blasting.:rolleyes: Not enough air recirculating into the 68 airstream I guess.:oops:
Never tried a donut dolly, pretty cool. Gotta agree with you on it's better to move less metal at a time than more drastic methods. Especially with someone not experienced or some one like me that goes a while without smoothing metal & has to get back into the feel of action & reaction. Made a couple of shrinking discs earlier this year. They give results, just takes a lot of care to get needed result.
 
Last edited:
Shrinking with a torch really doesn't care what side you shrink from, the heat is going all the way through the sheet metal and is shrinking regardless. For media blast damage, I prefer the heating tip on my dent puller. With hood (or whatever) placed with inside facing up, the ever so slight amount of heat and the weight of the puller, you can actually see the panel moving outward with each shrink.

For the donut dolly, with a relatively flat panel you want to use a crowned hammer like the Snap On BF618 and use light taps up from the damaged side. Too hard a hit will give you little dents upward. Like anything else, the area of sheet metal struck will have a slight bit of spring back. Ideally you want just enough strike that once spring back occurs the panel is flat within the donut capture. If you're a bit timid, use a flatter face body hammer, but realize it will take longer.
 
Ive got a torch I can use, but thats about it, and my experience with a torch involves heating up some rod and bending it to make an exhaust hanger. Those are the two times Ive used an actual torch and not one of those propane ones. I know a guy that has a stud gun, but I highly doubt he has a heating tip, so that is probably out of the question.
 
Sprint, if you don't have much experience with heat, I'd suggest leaving that method alone for now & find some sample metal to dent & work on with hammers and donut dollys.
Also sprint, hard to see in pic, do you have epoxy under the 2k?
One thing I love about Robert's threads, they always help me think.
Saw this in a donut dolly for metal shaping google search. A radiused roller looks like it could be useful in reasonably skilled hands, getting some gentle results quickly, though not a final finish substitute for skilled hammer & dolly work. Probably best for newer thin stuff. Thoughts on these Robert???
https://www.etoolpros.com/automotive-tools/LOC-LT790.html

Beware donut dolly type google searches, they can make you hungry.:p
 
jlcustomz said:
Sprint, if you don't have much experience with heat, I'd suggest leaving that method alone for now & find some sample metal to dent & work on with hammers and donut dollys.
Also sprint, hard to see in pic, do you have epoxy under the 2k?
One thing I love about Robert's threads, they always help me think.
Saw this in a donut dolly for metal shaping google search. A radiused roller looks like it could be useful in reasonably skilled hands, getting some gentle results quickly, though not a final finish substitute for skilled hammer & dolly work. Probably best for newer thin stuff. Thoughts on these Robert???
https://www.etoolpros.com/automotive-tools/LOC-LT790.html

Beware donut dolly type google searches, they can make you hungry.:p
Click to expand...

Yes I have epoxy under the 2k, it's the black. My low spot is real hard to see on any other screen than my phone.

Funny you mention the Google search results, last night's first pic. :D
lg_53e19dce86450.jpg
 
I've actually made a noticeable difference to my surprise in the last half hour.

The grid tip helps tremendously.
 
Here is where I'm at now, I have the oil canning of the hood back to about where it needs to be I think, its at least in the ballpark compared to the other side. Crown not so much.

I blocked what I had on there which was about 3 coats of 2k on top of my epoxy. It really doesn't look great, but at least there isn't a 6 inch round low spot any more.
20181104_122209.jpg
 
Did you wind up using donut dolly to remove the stretch? I like using heating tip in my dent puller or donut dolly because they move things a little slower and you can more readily keep track of where things are going.

When done, you should be able to apply light finger pressure anywhere on the hood without the hood flopping from an oil can. If not, any adverse effect, such as heat from the sun or wind pressure from driving down the road may cause the hood to move from the way it was blocked for a noticeable repair (filler). If you see an oil can in that area, try to get a video of it as you cycle the oil can. Also, if you see a sinusoidal wave in the metal (up, down, up, down...) this is a good indicator of a stretch, where more shrinking would be needed.
 
Here's what my hood looked like first blocking, you can see exactly where every brace is. I wound up standing it up on it's end, and using very light pressure to block it out. I know it does'n necessarily help your situation, but...
20160429_170818.jpg
 
I started with a piece of PVC to mimic the donut dolly, but didn't stay with it as I was having too hard of a time keeping things lined up and being accurate since it is such a reach to get to. I ended up just using alot of relatively light taps hammer off dolly.

I've got some real minor wave you refer to, I kind of stopped as I wasn't sure what I needed to do and it didn't feel too bad.

Leonard my hood looked pretty much the same with the exception of my low spot. There really isn't alot of support for them.
 
I was able to get my low spot sorted out nicely, it blocked out good and looks good now that the hood is done.

The problem I ran into now that clear is on is that where the braces are I have a faint high spot the length of the brace on both the left and right side of the hood. It's kind of baffling as when I blocked it showed no evidence of being an issue. I guess it's just beyond my skillset. I might put it on and see how it looks outside, but I'm almost leaning towards getting a different hood.
 
right or wrong, what I have done on two hodds to date (my elcamino and roadrunner hood) that was missing the foam was to run a bead of urethane window adhensive around the whole inside to lock the inner to the outer.
 
Barry told me once never to judge something in a paint booth. I have to say that out of the booth and in its proper position laying flat and not hanging it looks a lot better. Maybe it isnt as bad as I thought it was.

20181115_191710.jpg 20181115_191706.jpg

I guess for now I'll wait till I get it outside to make a decision. Thanks again everyone for the help.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top