Cutting into the front hood. (Page 1/2)
LornesGT MAR 25, 11:23 PM
I want to use a dremel to put an image into the hood. I will probably recess not more than an 1/8”. Am I asking for trouble? I am not sure what I should use as a filler if you will. I am not going to bring it back to flush.
theogre MAR 26, 03:10 AM
You weaken the skin face by Cutting can, likely will, cause problems later because gives more flex to the finish and the skin face.
Plus hood is a safety feature with latch bolts at rear corners and a "fold zone" on bottom so won't get push thru windshield in a wreck. Weaken hood may not fold properly in a wreck. ETA--> or may fold just for opening/closing the hood very soon or down the road depending exactly how you cut.<--
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YT Fiero Crash Test to watch several front end wrecks.

------------------
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[This message has been edited by theogre (edited 03-26-2019).]

fieroguru MAR 26, 08:23 AM
If your intent is to recess a graphic in the surface of the hood, but not cut all the way through the hood, then you will want to stick to about 1/32" recess.

1/8 will cut through, 1/16" will likely make it too thin and prone to cracking. 1/32 will be visible, but still leave material under it for hood integrity.
Gall757 MAR 26, 08:24 AM
The front hood is SMC, similar to fiberglass. If there are any cracks in the paint or sealer, moisture can get into the fibers and expand them over time, so the paint job has to be very good to prevent blisters. On a show car it might be OK, but if your car sees a normal amount of water, chances are good that paint will lift after a few years. Here is a photo of the problem on a Fiero sun roof.
theogre MAR 26, 08:51 AM
That too...
Above hood had iffy factory paint that blistered etc after ~ 5 years much worse after 30 years. Roof has damage at SR edges too because easy to wreck the edges taking the roof off/on.
LornesGT MAR 26, 09:49 AM

quote
Originally posted by fieroguru:

If your intent is to recess a graphic in the surface of the hood, but not cut all the way through the hood, then you will want to stick to about 1/32" recess.

1/8 will cut through, 1/16" will likely make it too thin and prone to cracking. 1/32 will be visible, but still leave material under it for hood integrity.



1/32 would be hard to use the SMC to seal the graphic without completely filling the graphic back in completely. I will have a scrap piece to test out eventually, I have two hoods but I don’t want to ruin either the of them. Thanks for the info guys.
thedrue MAR 28, 05:48 PM
Um... Whats wrong with a good old fashioned vinyl graphic?

Your results will be much better and you will not compromise a hood to accomplish it. Whittling the hood seems like a terrible idea to me,
shemdogg MAR 28, 08:44 PM
Reinforce the bottom of the hood w some big pieces of fiberglass first

shem
LornesGT MAR 29, 12:07 AM

quote
Originally posted by thedrue:

Um... Whats wrong with a good old fashioned vinyl graphic?

Your results will be much better and you will not compromise a hood to accomplish it. Whittling the hood seems like a terrible idea to me,



Um... what is wrong with doing it the way I want? Did I not ask for people opinion of what would happen? Why do what every one else does?
thedrue MAR 29, 10:31 AM

quote
Originally posted by LornesGT:


Um... what is wrong with doing it the way I want? Did I not ask for people opinion of what would happen? Why do what every one else does?



Then it sounds like you are blazing the trail. Go ahead and give it a go and report back how it turns out!

There is nothing wrong with doing things the way you want but there are reasons certain techniques are common and others are not. Hand carving a fiberglass hood doesn't seem like something that will yield any sort of good result to me but I'm happy to be proven wrong!

[This message has been edited by thedrue (edited 03-29-2019).]