Repainting a junk yard hood

[Heirloom]

Hi everybody. I have a few questions about repainting a hood for one of the household hoopties.

A wind storm last year freed a big branch from one of our shade trees and left it's mark on my wife's 2002 Jetta. This is an aluminum hood with support structure underneath, so straightening the dents from underneath was futile energy wasted on my behalf.

I found a straight hood at an auto recycler, and now I need to paint a red hood "cool white" to match the car. I want this to look nice and be a durable matching paint job. I plan on doing this myself. I have the requisite shadetree skills and tools (HVLP, sanding equipment, dry air).

The factory red paint is in good condition. Great adhesion, no flakes or chips. The hood is straight and will not need any cosmetic repairs. Can I sand this hood with 600 grit paper and lay a few coats of white directly over the red paint, or is primer an absolute requisite?

I am having trouble finding out if the paint on the car has a clear coat. It is 2002, so I am assuming there is a clear. How important is the clear for matching the hood to the fenders? Is clear absolutely necessary for my application?

I don't want to do this wrong, but I don't want to put in more effort than is necessary to get it right. Somebody here has more experience than I do with this stuff.

Thanks for the help.

 

[rayjay]

I would say you would want to use a sealer to cover the red atleast but I'm no expert.that way yor white would cover better with out bleed thru.

 

[Max Garwood]

I'm no expert but if I were in your position, I would sand the red to give some adhesion, then lay a sealer coat and then your base white on top. In terms of matching the paint to the rest of the vehicle, if your car has clearcoat then you'll need to go with a base/clearcoat as well if you want it to match well. 2002 will almost certainly be clear coated, but to check you can get some buffing compound and give a hard rub. If colour doesn't come off then you have a clear coat over the colour.

 

[Heirloom]

Thanks for replies, y'all. I went to the local paint supplier and asked my questions. He advised white epoxy primer and said I'd get close with single stage, if I used "wet look" hardener. Since the hood goes almost to the edge of the car, there wouldn't be a huge concern for blending. I followed his advice.

My spraying technique was lacking practice, but my sanding and polishing technique was up to par. I refinished the headlights while I had the 3000 grit sandpaper out.

 

[4x4Johnny]

looking at the pic. i think you still did a pretty good job there. great work