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Cracking Fiberglass Hood, Can I Wrap It/Repaint It??
Hello! I have a 2003 nissan 350z and I want to wrap my hood, but i’m not sure how that would work with my cracking paint on this hood… from my understanding the stock hoods are aluminum, but this one is fiberglass just fyi…. Here are the photos… Would I have to sand it? would sanding it even work or would it crack again? and if I have to send it how would I go about that? Thanks ahead of time!
If it were me. I would just purchase a good used OEM hood, they're cheaper than you would think. Good in the sense that it's not mangled and dented to crap, paint condition doesn't really matter (much). THEN I would wrap the replacement aluminum hood. You could attempt to repair the fiberglass, sand it smooth, and wrap it. But there's no guarantee it will last. There's a high chance of a new crack forming and ruining the wrap job.
A quality wrap job in my neck of the woods is not cheap. I recently had PPF installed on my front bumper and it cost $750.00! Granted I wanted high quality film installed from a reputable shop that stands behind their work. I'm sure I could have gotten this done by a shade-tree gig guy for less than $200. My point is, if you're paying a pro to wrap the hood, better to start off with a good foundation than have to rip and replace later!
If it were me. I would just purchase a good used OEM hood, they're cheaper than you would think. Good in the sense that it's not mangled and dented to crap, paint condition doesn't really matter (much). THEN I would wrap the replacement aluminum hood. You could attempt to repair the fiberglass, sand it smooth, and wrap it. But there's no guarantee it will last. There's a high chance of a new crack forming and ruining the wrap job.
A quality wrap job in my neck of the woods is not cheap. I recently had PPF installed on my front bumper and it cost $750.00! Granted I wanted high quality film installed from a reputable shop that stands behind their work. I'm sure I could have gotten this done by a shade-tree gig guy for less than $200. My point is, if you're paying a pro to wrap the hood, better to start off with a good foundation than have to rip and replace later!
Just my 2c.
Cheers!
-Icer
Thanks for that info! I am attempting the wrap job myself, and have plenty of extra material, so I think I may try to sand it down, and worst case I'm out like 25 bucks of wrap and 25 bucks of sandpaper.... ill just keep keep an eye on it, and hopefully no more cracks form!
Thanks for that info! I am attempting the wrap job myself, and have plenty of extra material, so I think I may try to sand it down, and worst case I'm out like 25 bucks of wrap and 25 bucks of sandpaper.... ill just keep keep an eye on it, and hopefully no more cracks form!
I'm no wrap expert but when I was going to attempt it on my roof - was going to go the gloss black route - the clear coat was so damaged that I would have had to sand it completely down. That, according to the pro guys as the wrap does reflect a bad surface underneath. So I skipped it and sold the car instead. Ha!
I can only imagine that cracks in the fiberglass would be 10x worse; so, would suggest sanding then filling and re-sanding the proper gelcoat or other material compatible with fiberglass.
Cracking Fiberglass Hood, Can I Wrap It/Repaint It??
