pitting on hood

[Clinton1396 0]

I need help, My hood is pitted really bad, I went to get a smooth finish. What should I use to get it smooth? Body filler? thank you

[oldandred 15]

What kind of tractor and pictures would help some pitts are real deep some are just light a good sanding of the hole hood and prime then paint

[past7971 0]

Check your local TSC, hardware or auto paint supply store for a tube of glazing putty. Easy to apply, sand and works great for taking care of those nasty looking pits.

[Brian1045 28]

Check your local TSC, hardware or auto paint supply store for a tube of glazing putty.

I agree, that's the best solution. grab a file sander and have at it.

http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/b...2041_3232440444

[Horse'n Around 22]

Howdy,

Whats the cause of the pitting?If its rust, you need to make sure that you remove it really good before you start refinishing the part or the rust will eventually come right back and bum you out.As for how to get rid of the imperfections.... while you can use spot putty, it really depends on how big the pitting is .Basicly spot putty it sort of a really thick primer and if its applied too thick you can run into problems with shrinkage that will show up after the part is painted and has had a chance to dry well.The finish will look nice and smooth at first and after a while the spot putty can shrink and the spots will still show up.If the pitting is pretty severe, you could apply a coat of filler and block sand it out and then prime and refinish the part.As stated in an earlier post, if the pitting isnt too bad you can always prime the part and sand out the pits.Personally I always try to stay away from using spot putty to fix deep scratches,pin holes and such because after its dry and especially if its exposed to heat of some sort, the repair can show back up after a while. If you do choose to use spot putty, make sure that you put a coat of primer on first to help the spot putty adhere, after the primer dries good apply the spot putty but not too thick.Spot putty is good stuff as long as its used sparingly, where problems seem to start is when its applied too thick.

I am new to this forum so if Im repeating some tips or advise thats been given in the past, please forgive me .

Another neat thing you can do when preparing a surface for painting, is using a guide coat when you do your final sanding.Its really simple and its a great way to make sure that you have a scratch and chip free surface before you apply the paint. All you need to do is apply your primer just like normal, then take a contrasting color of cheap spray paint and very lightly fog some on the surface to be sanded and let it dry real good. That way when you sand the primer, any low spots will still have the contrasting guide coat in it.Just sand untill the guide coats color is gone and you will know that the imperfections are gone. Dont forget, when spraying the guide coat, just lightly fog it on and dont go for thickness or a gloss . Personally I use light gray primer and really cheap flat black spray paint for the guide coat (after all its all gonna be sanded off anyway). I know that were not talking about a custom car paint job or anything but it sure helps a bunch.

I am new to this forum so if Im repeating some tips or advise thats been given in the past, please forgive me.

Sorry for the lengthy post.

John

[Clinton1396 0]

I counldnt get a good picture of the pitting but some of it is pretty deep. Thanks for all the helpful info!

[Buzz 502]

Another neat thing you can do when preparing a surface for painting, is using a guide coat when you do your final sanding.Its really simple and its a great way to make sure that you have a scratch and chip free surface before you apply the paint. All you need to do is apply your primer just like normal, then take a contrasting color of cheap spray paint and very lightly fog some on the surface to be sanded and let it dry real good. That way when you sand the primer, any low spots will still have the contrasting guide coat in it.Just sand untill the guide coats color is gone and you will know that the imperfections are gone. Dont forget, when spraying the guide coat, just lightly fog it on and dont go for thickness or a gloss . Personally I use light gray primer and really cheap flat black spray paint for the guide coat (after all its all gonna be sanded off anyway). I know that were not talking about a custom car paint job or anything but it sure helps a bunch.

Guide coat? Hadn't heard that trick before but it's worth remembering. Thanks. :thumbs:

[linen beige 15]

I am new to this forum so if Im repeating some tips or advise thats been given in the past, please forgive me .

No appologies needed when repeating good advise like this!

I'll second everything you said, but I'll add just a bit. If the repairs are meant to be long lasting you might consider using lead in place of plastic filler. Lead is a bit more expensive, but much more permanent.

I'd also like to add some advice on primer color. I know most everyone uses gray primer, after all it's the most commonly found color and it's easier to see scratches while sanding, but for the red finish coat Red Oxide is a much better choice. Save the gray for your wheels.

[Horse'n Around 22]

No appologies needed when repeating good advise like this!

I'll second everything you said, but I'll add just a bit. If the repairs are meant to be long lasting you might consider using lead in place of plastic filler. Lead is a bit more expensive, but much more permanent.

I'd also like to add some advice on primer color. I know most everyone uses gray primer, after all it's the most commonly found color and it's easier to see scratches while sanding, but for the red finish coat Red Oxide is a much better choice. Save the gray for your wheels.

I never thought about using red oxide primer, thats a great idea! Your so right, that gray shows up like a sore thumb when the paint chips or gets scratched. Im going to take your advise and use it rather than the gray when I start to refinish my 702. I finally started to work on it and Im making good headway on it, I started it for the first time yesterday evening , no smoke and it sounds great.Next I'll test the transmission and if all checks out good, Ill start taking it apart and get working on restoring it.I have good before pics of it from when I got it (4 yrs old), Im looking forward to working it over and enjoying the finished result.

John

[Brian1045 28]

the red finish coat Red Oxide is a much better choice.

That is an awesome idea. Why didn't I think of that earlier?

I hate gray primer under red paint. :whistle:

[linen beige 15]

One of the first lessons in my old auto body class was that one should always use a primer color that matches as closely as possible the finish color primarily to lessen the chance of cracking paint. This problem is much more prevelant in lacquer finishes since they don't flex as much as enamels. Different shades absorb heat, and therefore expand/contract at different rates. This is true even when one color is covered by another. using light colored primer under black lacquer is almost sure to cause the paint to crack in sunny climates. The same is true if dark primer is used under light lacquer. Not to mention that chips are less visible.

[sorekiwi 761]

I know most everyone uses gray primer, after all it's the most commonly found color and it's easier to see scratches while sanding, but for the red finish coat Red Oxide is a much better choice. Save the gray for your wheels.

The Valspar Red Oxide primer isnt sandable though - even the can says not to sand it, or lifting will occur. (BTW, they are right - you cant sand it! ask me how I know!)

So it might not be the best choice for covering pits.

My Lawn Ranger had a lot of rust pitting. The worst of it was fine with a skim of bondo, but there was also a lot of really light pitting that wasnt really deep enough to "grab" onto the filler. I used "high build" primer for that, and it has seemed to work OK.

[linen beige 15]

The Valspar Red Oxide primer isnt sandable though - even the can says not to sand it, or lifting will occur. (BTW, they are right - you cant sand it! ask me how I know!)

You're right about the Valspar. It's more along the lines of the old time primer/sealers anyway. But Valspar isn't the only brand of primer out there.

[joebob 45]

The primers used today in most body shops , are tintable using the the same colors they use to make the paint they spray with, the just start out with basic colors white, gray, black or cream primer and tint away, that also saves on paint with less coats needed to get good coverage on there top coats