Paint flaked off hood

[gw186]

A couple of weeks ago I noticed something on my hood, turns out it was the paint. Maybe a rock chipped it or who knows. This is a 2000 Ford Taurus so nothing I would want to put in a paint shop.

I have a square of that clear automotive protective film I thought about trying. I would like to hit it with some spray paint first. Will this work at least some what? What type of spray paint would you recommend? Any tips for applying the film?

 

[JulesMaximus]

Must have been some rock.

 

[PottedMeat]

damn it looks like the original paint didn't adhere and the hood wasn't prepared right. now the air/water has a place to enter and it's all gonna come off

if you don't care, i'd clean it and hit it with some cheap clear spray enamel.

 

[Meghan54]

Isn't that back from the abortive attempts automakers tried to save weight by not using primer and just painting the bare metal? See that crap all the time on that age vehicle.

 

[mindless1]

Sand off ALL loose paint around the area, hit it with gray sandable primer, sand that, and then use color matched automotive can spray paint, dupli-color or whatever brand your local auto parts store sells, at least two coats and lighter is better. Do not try to get 100% color on the first coat, you should still see the primer through it.

Look up the paint code on the respective brand's website. If it doesn't perfectly match then you may want to broaden the area you spray and feather the border to blend it more, but frankly I don't think it'll be off enough to matter, won't devalue a 17 y/o american sedan much at all. Non-metallic white is one of the easiest colors to get "close enough" to matching. If you then want clear coat, do that too.

 

[PClark99]

My 2000 mustang had the same issue. They forgot to primer the hood before they painted it at the factory.

 

[gw186]

Thanks for the advice. Picked up Dupli-color sandable primer, perfect match paint, and 600 grit paper.

My plan(let me know if sit sounds good enough)\cruticual step
1. remove any loose pealing paint. (hopefully not ending up with the entire hood unpainted)
2. Mask off area and lightly sand with 300-400 grit then clean area thoroughly.
3. 1 medium heavy primer coat
4. Sand primer with 600 grit
5. 3 to 4 light coats of white paint
6. Done? Should I clear coat? Not that worried about looks. Would the clear coat be a crucial step in prolonging the lifespan of my work?

 

[mindless1]

You'd look at the primer coat and make your best estimate whether it built up the surface enough that it will be flush with the existing paint once you're done, or whether it needs another primer coat. Granted, this is being picky, trying for some closer to mirror reflection.

Also, 600 grit is a little coarser than I'd use for the final sanding, but if it's what you have and you put down enough light coats of paint, not trying to fix it with heavier coats, that could work.

Clear coat is not a crucial step, you'd use it if it needs that to match the sheen of the adjacent paint. If you don't have any, I wouldn't buy any until you've come that far and saw the result.