Styling bonnet

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Styling bonnet

djechouk

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Just bought an original factory bonnet for £30 wat a bargain, may just leave it black ? will look nice against the red, the air filter box came too now Gota find all the other parts for it to make it fit ? doh
 
The black paint that the bonnet comes supplied in is only there to protect it while in storage. It will not survive long when exposed to the elements, so it will have to be painted.
 
Re. the black paint; you don't necessarily have to remove it - if it's flaked off in places already, chances are that it's merely a 'shipping' primer, intended to prevent flash rusting between production of the panel and it being properly finished. But some panels are cataphoretically coated (also known as e-coating), which has the same appearance but is electro-chemically applied to the panel and is an effective barrier to corrosion. To finish such a panel it is only necessary to key the surface to promote adhesion of the material you intend to apply. You could remove e-coat but, in theory, it will protect the panel just as well as, if not better than, any material you might apply instead - best to just use it as a good base to paint over.

Edit: I should add that, if you were to leave an e-coated panel unfinished, it will of course be more susceptible to stone chips and scratches than a panel with several layers of primer and top-coat, with it being just a single layer. And if we're talking about a Punto bonnet...we all know how prone they are to stone chips. Probably best to paint it ultimately, even if you stick with black.
 
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Re. the black paint; you don't necessarily have to remove it - if it's flaked off in places already, chances are that it's merely a 'shipping' primer, intended to prevent flash rusting between production of the panel and it being properly finished. But some panels are cataphoretically coated (also known as e-coating), which has the same appearance but is electro-chemically applied to the panel and is an effective barrier to corrosion. To finish such a panel it is only necessary to key the surface to promote adhesion of the material you intend to apply. You could remove e-coat but, in theory, it will protect the panel just as well as, if not better than, any material you might apply instead - best to just use it as a good base to paint over.

Edit: I should add that, if you were to leave an e-coated panel unfinished, it will of course be more susceptible to stone chips and scratches than a panel with several layers of primer and top-coat, with it being just a single layer. And if we're talking about a Punto bonnet...we all know how prone they are to stone chips. Probably best to paint it ultimately, even if you stick with black.
Ok thanks it's in mint condition not one scratch on it I haven't taken it out the protection yet prefer not too until I'm gona paint or fit it, wat about just laying a clear coat over the top for protection but leaving it as is? if I gona paint it I may as well paint it red but just thought for a contrast to leave it black then if I didn't like it I can always spray it.
 
wat about just laying a clear coat over the top for protection but leaving it as is?

Hard for me to advise, as I've never done it. The way I was taught to paint was that if you are using a clear coat, then you will normally be applying it to a base coat after that base coat's flash-off time, i.e. the time between coats - essentially you normally apply clear coat to a somewhat wet base coat. In that scenario obviously no surface prep, as such, is required before shooting the clear coat.

What I'm not sure about is how you would prep a pre-finished surface for clear coat application. You could perhaps try keying the surface with a P600 abrasive, which is what's typically used to prep primer for base coat. If you go any coarser than that, e.g. P400, I would think you might see the scratches through the clear coat. Just a guess though - as I say, I've never seen it done. Any finer, e.g. P800, and you might not get good adhesion.

Might be worth trying to find out what techniques the rat rod guys use, as I know they're quite partial to clear coating existing finishes, or at least what's left of them.
 
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