I thought some of you would like to see how I do a job like this.
The first thing I did is to strip the hood with 40 grit on the buffer/grinder. The next step was to do my filler work (body work) I finished sanding the bondo with 180 grit.
I then sanded the entire hood again with 220 grit on the D/A.






The next step was to tape it off and apply two coats of etch primer.



After waiting 30 min for the etch prime to flash, I applied three coats of my 2K filler primer, letting that flash between coats.
This filler primer will set until I get home tomorrow afternoon.
I will block the primer on the hood with 240 grit, apply a guide coat, and then sand this hood and fenders with 400 grit. My blend panels (fenders) will be sanded with 800 grit.
Ill try to spray it tomorrow afternoon. If not Ill paint it on Sunday.
(Yes, I will post more pics)

Is the hood aluminum?

Thanks for posting this.

No Sir.

Your welcome

Is your use of etch primer a personal preference? Or was there a specific reason for using etch and not epoxy?
I use rattlecan etch on most of my small projects, because I usually weld pieces together, then leave them until it's time to finish a few at a time. It's convenient, and the welds don't get surface rust. Without etch primer, rust starts to build on the welds within hours, or within a few days if using any other rattlecan or 2k primers. (Except epoxy, never used it on my projects.)
But most guys say epoxy is better for cars, so I'm a little confused. Does it matter much if you use etch instead of epoxy, or vice-versa? BTW, I wouldn't use rattlecan etch on bigger projects, like a whole hood.

Personal preference for one reason. Speed is another. You wont find one drop of epoxy in a production body shop here in Charleston,SC they all use etch.

There is nothing wrong with etch primer. Ive been using it for almost 30 years with not one problem at all. NONE!
And dont worry, I wouldn't use rattle can etch or epoxy on a car like this...................

I could have used epoxy in place of etch,,,but I didn't.

Lets please dont get in a debate about epoxy vs etch,,,its been beat to death on this forum.

Looks good man!

It will look real good when its gone,,,,,Ha-Ha-Ha!


I hate working on a car for more than three days.

Looking foward to tomorrow.

Personal preference for one reason. Speed is another. You wont find one drop of epoxy in a production body shop here in Charleston,SC they all use etch.

There is nothing wrong with etch primer. Ive been using it for almost 30 years with not one problem at all. NONE!
And dont worry, I wouldn't use rattle can etch or epoxy on a car like this...................

Thanks.
To me. there's no debate. As long as there are experts on both sides of the issue, it seems to me either etch or epoxy are the first lines of defense. Besides, my 2k epoxy says it has to go over etch or epoxy. Doesn't specify one or the other. I'll go with etch on the whole car, because it needs to be finished in the shortest time possible.
I only said I wouldn't use rattlecan etch on a large area, because I said earlier that I used it on small projects. Didn't want anyone to get the impression I wanted to use rattlecan etch on the whole car.

I believe the type of project has a lot to do with it as well. Guys like ODG who don't want to spend more than 3 days to a week on repairing a car will usually gravitate to the faster curing etch primer, while guys that do restoration work and are not looking for fast turn around time seem to prefer epoxy. Obviously both are acceptable products and both will be promoted by those that prefer them. Warranty work can/will also dictate which product you apply.

The benefits of one over the other should also enter the discussion. As with all products there are advancements made in the technology and most are met with resistance at first: lacquer paint, enamel paint, urethane, polyurethane, etc. Maybe a side by side comparison chart between Etch and Epoxy primers showing the Pros and Cons of each is available somewhere?

Looks good. What type of block and procedure will you use for blocking the curved areas on the hood. Thanks.