84-87 Turbo Hood: Bodywork to make the hood completely straight - Show quality paint

[GinoRin]

Hey guys, I am in a bit of a dilemma. My GN is getting finished up at the body shop, its a frame off restored 87 GN that was completely taken apart and all panels painted seperately. (its really really nice, this was not a cheap quickie job). The bodywork is absolutely lazer straight... with the exception of the hood. To preface this, the guy doing the bodywork has 30+ years experience and has done many high end show cars. He's even done some of my other GNs over the years.

Long story short, the hood is being a total PITA. The body man is at a loss for words. Every time he bodys the hood out, gets the bodywork perfectly straight with countless hours of blocking, priming, blocking, priming, etc. the thing looks absolutely perfect. As soon as he shoots the paint (base/clear) the sheetmetal on the hood seems to move around and there's ripples showing in the bodywork. He has redone the hood THREE times and its still not turning out perfect.

Now keep in mind, 99% of anyone else would think the hood looks amazing. This is a high-end show quality paintjob that needs to be absolutely perfect. If it were any other car, this would pass as very very nice bodywork. After three tries on my original hood, he gave up and asked me to get another hood, which I did. SAME THING HAPPENS! I now have two hoods that turn out nice but not perfect. I know my body guy well, and have been at the shop and can actually see the hood twist up after he shoots the color and clear. Its absolutely unbelievable. Both of these hoods were stripped to bare metal, by the way.

Is the sheet metal just that thin? Are there some secrets to getting this metal to keep from twisting up as the clear dries? Possibly some reinforcement between the hood frame and top sheet metal? I'd love to hear from some others out there who went for absolutely perfect, show quality paintjobs. Any help is appreciated!!!!

Thanks,

Gino

 

[forcefed3.8's]

He is pushing too hard when sanding the filler or primer. You need to let the weight of the block do the work. It also helps to support the hood from the outside lips, do not let the center support bars rest on the stand. What you are seeing are the glue dots that hold the sheet metal to the framework. A stand will push the supports up, making the dots high, so they get blocked straight, then when the hood is removed from the stand, the supports settle back down and become low. Pushing too hard makes the sheetmetal push down around the dots, so the dots get sanded more than the rest of the metal, and become low. Using fresh sharp sandpaper saves alot of time, cussing, and material too.

 

[Grumpy]

He is pushing too hard when sanding the filler or primer.

X2 ...been there an done it !!

 

[GinoRin]

Thanks guys these are good tips - for the record he was using two stands on the very corners of the hood as not to push up on the supports in the center. I'm not sure how hard he was pushing on the block, but I can attest that the filler/primer was absolutely perfect before he shot the color down. It almost seemed as if the sheet metal moved around AS the clear was drying - like it was pulling the metal as to how it was drying. I was there to see it happen. Crazy stuff. Keep the tips coming, and thanks again!

 

[forcefed3.8's]

Thanks guys these are good tips - for the record he was using two stands on the very corners of the hood as not to push up on the supports in the center. I'm not sure how hard he was pushing on the block, but I can attest that the filler/primer was absolutely perfect before he shot the color down. It almost seemed as if the sheet metal moved around AS the clear was drying - like it was pulling the metal as to how it was drying. I was there to see it happen. Crazy stuff. Keep the tips coming, and thanks again!

There is no way, if it has ripples after it was painted, it had ripples before it was painted. It can be hard to see. Wet is with wax and grease cleaner and get a light reflection before painting. The hoods on these cars are tricky.