Hood painting cost (for a new hood)?

[DMan]

I've been holding my breath on buying a new hood since Thanksgiving, got side tracked with family stuff etc. Now I'd like to pull the trigger, I'm thinking of getting the vipair hood - like an 08 just a little more bulge.

Went buy my local paint shop & asked for a quote, they said $600, this is for paint & clear coat, wet sanding & installing it on the car. They give a lifetime warranty. Does this sound reasonable?

 

[VicTxV10]

That is pretty close to what I have been told also.

 

[Nine Ball]

My '08 hood was $850 with stripes. Yours sounds about right without stripes. It also depends on how good the surface is to begin with, and how much prep time is needed to get a hood smooth. That adds labor costs.

 

[DodgeViper01]

Heard around the same thing from Chuck Tator when a few of our members got them done.

 

[Fast Viper]

Sounds like a great deal

 

[SquadX]

I've been holding my breath on buying a new hood since Thanksgiving, got side tracked with family stuff etc. Now I'd like to pull the trigger, I'm thinking of getting the vipair hood - like an 08 just a little more bulge.

Went buy my local paint shop & asked for a quote, they said $600, this is for paint & clear coat, wet sanding & installing it on the car. They give a lifetime warranty. Does this sound reasonable?

DMAN, where did you get your quote from?
I just had my facia painted with stripes for $675 and your getting an entire hood for $600, that sounds good to me.

 

[VicTxV10]

My price was without stripes...all Slate. I did notice the Vipair does have a higher center. How does the finish compare to a OEM from Dodge meaning prep time as Nine Ball stated could add to cost.

 

[Brandon@DC Performance]

Sounds about right.

 

[HI-NOS-Viper]

Good choice going with the Vipair. It looks great. If you would like I have pics of mine.

 

[DMan]

Good choice going with the Vipair. It looks great. If you would like I have pics of mine.

Yes, please! Thanks!!

 

[VicTxV10]

Good choice going with the Vipair. It looks great. If you would like I have pics of mine.

Your hood does look good. I saw your car on the "post your SRT pics" thread and noticed the hood looked different. Does it use the OEM vents?

 

[joedud]

SquadX,

I think a fascia with stripes for $675 is a good price. Isn't there a lot more labor working the stripes through the crosshairs and all?

 

[DMan]

DMAN, where did you get your quote from?
I just had my facia painted with stripes for $675 and your getting an entire hood for $600, that sounds good to me.

From Columbia Auto Body in Columbia MD. The owner also said he'd do it in one day so the car isn't there for days. He said I could bring the new hood in a few days earlier, they'd prep it & then bring in the car first thiing in the morning & pick it up about 12 hrs later.

 

[GTS-R 001]

I've paid as low as $300 and as much as $1050 to paint a hood,, just depends on which color /paint and how good of a job you want done, how many coats clear, how much polishing, do you want teh bottom of teh hood in flat black or car color etc.

BE careful with viper metallic colors like blue and probably slate as well, a lot of body shops mic their own paint to match but the metal flakes in the cheaper systems seem to be larger than the viper factory viper paint metal flakes which can give you a color shift. make sure your body shop is using factory paint if you want a perfect match

 

[plumcrazy]

sounds about right

 

[Joseph Dell]

check your PM... a local VCA member has a vipair hood that he had painted black that he kept when he traded in the car. i bet he'd let it go for a good price if it is the same hood you are looking for.

 

[kllymartin]

I'd go with a stock '08 hood instead of Vipair.

 

[HI-NOS-Viper]

I'd go with a stock '08 hood instead of Vipair.

So why don't you give your FREE one back and go that route. Please keep your trash out of this site. We don't need this site infected.

 

[Darbgnik]

So why don't you give your FREE one back and go that route. Please keep your trash out of this site. We don't need this site infected.

What did I miss?

 

[kllymartin]

So why don't you give your FREE one back and go that route. Please keep your trash out of this site. We don't need this site infected.

I was giving my firsthand opinion. Compared to stock, the fitment of a Vipair hood doesn't come close. Why don't you post some up close pics of your Vipair hood fitment? Specifically where it meets the fender and cowl...both sides.

 

[bmw2nv2000]

I was giving my firsthand opinion. Compared to stock, the fitment of a Vipair hood doesn't come close. Why don't you post some up close pics of your Vipair hood fitment? Specifically where it meets the fender and cowl...both sides.

 

[DMan]

Interesting. I've talked to 2 guys with the Vipair & both only had positive things to say, even when asking about prep, etc. Is there something I'm missing on the "con" side? I've seen some pretty hi res large pics of the Vipair on cars & everything I've seen so far looks killer. Welcoming all input before plunking down my ka-ching, but not lookin for any forum drama. Thnx.

 

[kllymartin]

Interesting. I've talked to 2 guys with the Vipair & both only had positive things to say, even when asking about prep, etc. Is there something I'm missing on the "con" side? I've seen some pretty hi res large pics of the Vipair on cars & everything I've seen so far looks killer. Welcoming all input before plunking down my ka-ching, but not lookin for any forum drama. Thnx.

No drama here, just personal experience. All I can tell you is to look at one in person. Or see if you can get those 2 Vipair customers to show you some up close pics of the hood, fender and cowl fitment...both sides. The overall front/back and left/right measurements of my hood are far from stock hood dimensions.

 

[GTS-R 001]

No drama here, just personal experience. All I can tell you is to look at one in person. Or see if you can get those 2 Vipair customers to show you some up close pics of the hood, fender and cowl fitment...both sides. The overall front/back and left/right measurements of my hood are far from stock hood dimensions.

Kelly, You are full of Drama,

I have yet to see a single hood that cannot fit properly with a little adjustment of the surrounding panels (just as they do at the factory)

I have owned 3 gen 3 vipers and I still own 2 of those, each one of these cars has different spacers and hole sizes one each and every attachment point of every panel that surrounds the hood. (2 fenders, and facia), with a loosening of the body bolts and a push here and a pull there and then a tightening and an adjustment of the bump stops and maybe the hood latch, any hood can be made to fit.

I will post up pics later to show the differences between two cars made a few months apart.

I have taken factory hoods from one car and put it on another and then had to make adjustments JUST LIKE THE FACTORY DOES.

Kelly, Just because you and your friend that arranged for you to win an illegal unlicensed raffle where you guys raffled off race prizes instead of leaving them for the winners)

 

[Fast Viper]

Why won't kllymartin post some closeup photo's as well as other Vipair hood owners? I personally believe these gaps are installation issues, not the hood product itself. I'm sure if the proper adjustments are made, the Vipair hood fits and looks fine. Although I must say my 08' hood didn't require any adjustments.

 

[Brandon@DC Performance]

Why won't kllymartin post some closeup photo's as well as other Vipair hood owners? I personally believe these gaps are installation issues, not the hood product itself. I'm sure if the proper adjustments are made, the Vipair hood fits and looks fine. Although I must say my 08' hood didn't require any adjustments.

I'm almost positive that he meant that when the car is pieced together at the factory, it's not just a matter of bolting together body panels... there is some finessing required even at the factory.

 

[Fast Viper]

I'm almost positive that he meant that when the car is pieced together at the factory, it's not just a matter of bolting together body panels... there is some finessing required even at the factory.

Couldn't agree more.

 

[GTS-R 001]

Here are some pics of the areas Kelly mentioned. on 2 different cars, both with a Vipair hood

This red car has had no adjustments made

Here is the blue car and comparison to the door gap

 

[GTS-R 001]

Here are some pics that show the differences in build dimensions on similar cars at THE EXACT SAME SPOT

As you can see this is the exact same point on 2 different cars but the spacer used is almost a 1/4 inch thick.

The location of the body bolt is different in both cars as well ( I don't have pics of that yet)

All Vipers when built are hand made and are pieced together and then at final assembly stage are shimmed and adjusted to make the panels fit. A lot of cars are not perfect when received from the factory and I have personally moved a stock hood from one car to another and found that what was a perfect fit on one needed adjustment on the other.

Aftermarket parts sometimes need adjustment to the surrounding panels as well for a perfect fit.

The Hood that Kelly has was a previously owned hood that the previous owner will attest to fitting perfectly on his red SRT10. The hood had a hand print visible in the gel coat so we replaced it and the replacement hood also fit great on his car.

Kelly "won" a fiberglass hood and needed it right away as he wanted to paint it before he went to the race that the hood had been donated as a prize for. I offered kelly this imperfect carbon fiber hood as a gesture of goodwill as he would be able to race with out painting and then could paint the hood later after the race. Kelly received the hood and made no complaints initially but has since shown his true nature and has criticised the product to no end.

 

[GTS-R 001]

If one installs a hood and there is too much hood gap on one side, it is easy to loosen the body bolts along the entire fender side and then shift the fender over by as much as 3/8 inch as teh holes in teh fender are huge and are shaped as they were modified at the factory. The holes are filed and touched up and then the car is bolted together.

The following pics show how much of shift can be achieved by simple adjustments that any body shop or guy with a ratchet wrench can do in a few minutes, these only show the side to side, up and down is adjusted with spacers or lack thereof as seen in the previous post