Prep for Repaint or wrap hood

[Drfromnc]

Sometime before my 2014 Ram 1500 hit 100k miles and was beyond the corrosion and rust warranty I had my truck looked at for paint bubbling up on front edge of the hood. Local dealer took pictures of issue sent it up the chain and RAM said it couldn’t be repaired but would replace the hood under warranty. Fine do it. They ordered a hood and 3rd party paint guy (no body shop at dealer) painted. Called me up and said drop off truck so we can swap new hood for old. Done. Hood looked great. Fast forward a few months and I noticed hood looked like orange peel was starting to show. Weird. Took back to same dealer to show them and they say beyond repair warranty but will cover some of the repaint cost. They’ll do it for $700 my cost. Haha. No thanks. Never did do anything about it. Paint on the hood continued to get worse day by day. This was probably 5-6 years ago.

Fast forward to today, truck has 138xxx miles on it. Look what I got now. SMH

I’d like to do something about it now by either painting it or having it wrapped in flat black. Local vinyl shop quoted $250-300 and my brothers neighbor quoted me $300-400 to paint it. I’d actually like to attempt to wrap it myself but not sure how to prep this hood for wrapping.

What grit sand paper to use to smooth out the defective paint? Or should I strip it since it looks like paint and primer is coming off anyway?

 

[tron67j]

Hood was obviously not prepped properly before painting. It is going to continue to lift even if you cover with a wrap which will make wrap look terrible. Proper way to do anything is put a paint remover on entire hood (take hood off truck), sand and prep surface and then repaint hood. Wrap can be done after paint cures. I figure you are thinking wrap so you can avoid painting, but that isn't an option. Best option is to take to a quality paint shop who could properly blend paint and match hue to faded paint on fenders.

 

[Burla]

citrus strip holmes

cant wrap that damage

 

[Indynick]

Factory sheet metal comes with a baked on very hard primer. All the painter needs to do is scuff with scotch bright and then put some primer on it. And then paint it.

A lot of painters don't realize that they can't skip the primer step just because it came from the factory with the primer on it. If they don't put primer on it before they paint , then the paint will peel off.

When I worked an Oldsmobile body shop, they sent me to the GM Tech Center, for training, and they told us that's the way we're supposed to do the new sheet metal.

If you put stripper on the hood , don't be surprised if it only goes down to the black factory primer. Almost nothing gets past that.

 

[Drfromnc]

citrus strip holmes

cant wrap that damage

Yes I realize I can’t wrap over that damage since it will continue to peel off under the wrap.. if I go wrap option I’ll have to prep it first because I am sure a vinyl shop won’t do that part

 

[Jeepwalker]

My suggestion is to take it around to Maaco and other shops. Get pricing to have the hood paint removed and repainted at a competent shop. $700? I know you think that's a rip-off, but auto paint is very expensive (not like the tractor paint at your local farm & barn!). It's a lot more work than most lay people realize. It's not a half hour job. More like 2 days. It's skilled labor. How much furnace or A/C work do ya get for $700? Shops pay electricity, labor, insurance, heating, staff ...supplies, etc.

As for the corrosion? Who knows what happened there? Might have been some water drips at the factory, or the previous shop?? Heat build-up from underneath? Hard to say. You could try RamCares on this forum for possibly some extra help. Worth a shot. Otherwise, paying the $700 might be the best money you'll spend.

Most likely the shop will have to strip that corroded area of the hood down to bare Aluminum to remove the corrosion fully. That's the key...remove it all. Aluminum requires a certain zinc or special primer treatment initially, which a bodyshop should know what to use. A lot of vehicles use aluminum panels nowadays.

Psychologically-speaking, the hood on your truck is like the hair and crown of a princess. It's the one panel which HAS to look good! It's the FIRST thing people look at and judge your truck by. Wraps in all due respect, look like garbage ...no gloss, someone went 'cheap' on paint. They look good on a 2005 Honda Civic that someone else is driving. But on a nice Ram? IDK. Hopefully with the help of RamCares ...they can get you taken care of. But if not, get some prices to repair, save your nickles & dimes ....get it fixed and put it behind you. Your truck will look good and you'll feel great you have it back to tip-top shape!

Best of luck!

 

[04fxdwgi]

OP stated paint problems started "a few months" after hood replacement and dealer said beyond warranty period. I call BS on that. That is when it should have been escalated to Ram Cares, then to the Regional Manager and, if no satisfaction, the local BBB, consumer protection folks or the AG.

If dealer sub'ed it out to an outside shop, dealer is responsible for the sub's work because the DEALER was the one that got paid.