Anything special to fix hood cracks?

[phiebert]

My wife managed to punch a hole in the left quarter-panel of our Durango this week when the mail box jumped out in front of her. So since I am having my truck repainted I thought I might consider getting the Viper hood (with the notorious hood cracks) repainted too.

Is there anything special to do that I should tell the auto-body guys before letting them touch it?

 

[CAP]

I went through so much with my '96 (4 repairs, 1 new, horrible fitting hood which was NOT the solution).

Every time the hood was stripped down, re-glassed and painted. At one point, in the right light, I could see the pattern of the glass mat they put in for reinforcement.

The main guy at the body shop had a Corvette body shop for years and had never seen anything like this.

The crack was coming back on one side when I sold it.

I don't know, they did a great job with the paint every time, but could not stop the crack.

I would be interested in hearing any success stories.

If the '01 cracks.......???????

 

[BlackACR]

Forget trying to have it patched. Been there done that. 3 repaints later the hood looked good on my 99 but, started showing stress cracks again. The only real fix seems to be a new hood. Sorry, that's my experience

 

[HP]

Having worked on fiberglass many times in the past, your best
hope is going to an experienced body shop that specializes in
fiberglass. Also let them know that this type of crack has a
history of coming back- that will give them a challenge.
Fiberglass, sometimes like windshield glass, may need a hole
drilled at each end of the crack to diffuse the stress. Also,
a major stress crack will probably need to be ground on both sides, with some major reinforcement on the back side. To keep
down the layers, maybe a kevlar patch would be in order. Anyway,
the best approach would be to get an experienced person, with good technique, and present it as a challenge. Any fiberglass
crack can be fixed if done right. Hugh Perkins

 

[Lee Dove]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>
sometimes like windshield glass, may need a hole
drilled at each end of the crack to diffuse the stress.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's exactly how mine was fixed. Been painted over a year now and no sign of coming back

 

[-RUNNR]

Send me the pic, I'll host it.

btw, was talking to Adam Hoyt about your company last weekend

 

[-RUNNR]

Image posted for Donnie Blais

You must be registered for see images attach

btw, Adam Hoyt is the sales manager at Herb Chambers Dodge.

 

[CAP]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by -RUNNR:
Image posted for Donnie Blais

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Certainly not like the crack I dealt with. (And it sounds like others had the same crack I had.) Looks like scratches only.

 

[HP]

Even though I've done a lot of body work, I'm not experienced with the specifics for Vipers(i.e.type of primer & paint) But looking at the picture, and assuming your not dealing with a blistering or separation of layers, it looks like sand scratches-
caused by sanding the primer before it has fully cured. The primer usually shrinks considerably in the drying, and later in
the curing process, and if sanded too early, undetectable scratches tend to grow and later show through the paint. Since
this is isolated to one small area, I would wonder if this area
was 'touched up' after the factory paint job.