Painting a truck hood

[zahc]

My white Tahoe has the paint peeling off the hood. Looks terrible, with a big black patch and clearcoat of the rest all peeling with dust under it. I figure I can sand the whole hood down and repaint it in a weekend, but I don't know what kind of paint to use. Do I have to use special automotive paint and a spray gun, or can I buy suitable paint in a spray can? What about clearcoat and wax? If it's possible to repaint a hood it should be possible for me to repaint the whole truck, a quarter at a time. Should I just forget about it unless I have a real body shop do it, or is it possible to get decent results?

[zxcvbob]

When I saw the title I thought you were wanting to know whether to use a brush or a roller. 

[Gowen]

One thing to remember, nobody steals or robs from an ugly truck.  I've got a 1997 Dodge Dakota truck, the paint used in 1997 sucked.  It's all cracked and peeling and nobody wants to look at it twice, but it runs like a champ.

[Harold Tuttle]

you will never match the factory paint job, so don't try

i would do it up in a complementary color, or flat black with the Batman symbol

[Monkeyleg]

I'd say do one of two things: if you don't care about how the paint job looks, do it with a spray can. Sand as much as possible to remove the peeling paint and layers underneath. Wash it well, then clean it with a wax and oil remover made for painting cars. This will assure that your paint job will last.

If you care about how the hood looks, pay to have it done. Unless you have access to a spray booth, or have a detached garage you can use as a spray booth, even your best effort at painting will wind up with dust and bugs embedded in the paint.

Shooting paint in a garage is going to leave you with paint overspray all over the place. If you have an attached garage, the house is going to get the paint overspray, as well as the odor.

[230RN]

i would do it up in a complementary color, or flat black with the Batman symbol

Tell you the truth, with almost every vehicle I owned, I wished the hood was flat black.  Oh, and the dashboard under the windshield, too.  Especially around the equinoxes when the sun is right there every AM and PM.

Most of our roads around here are due north-south and due east-west.

Terry, 230RN

[Tallpine]

When I saw the title I thought you were wanting to know whether to use a brush or a roller. 

I'd go with the roller, myself 

Paint it black and add a fake air scoop 

[sanglant]

cover it with carbon fiber print vinyl. or what ever color you want, holds up much better then paint anyway.

[Scout26]

I'd go with a tasteful pastel in Latex.  Use a roller so you don't have those annoying lines.  And paint it under the shade of a tree.

 

[Harold Tuttle]

i wonder what a graphic shrink vinyl job would cost?

[Harold Tuttle]

http://www.stickercity.com/3D-Carbon-Fiber-Vinyl-Hood-Kits/

[sanglant]

or you can stretch it around the curves, use a heat gun for sharper curves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLsmPbPyE00
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jhB0dlST_0