SEMtastic!

It's still too cold to do any actual work on the Viper, so I'll do more posting instead.  It's time to finish the bottom of the Viper's hood.  Unlike the paint on the outside of the car, the paint on the bottom of a Viper's hood is not catalyzed.  If you wipe it with a strong solvent like lacquer thinner, it comes right off.  Because of that, I don't feel bad using non-catalyzed products to refinish it.  I'm also going to cheat just a little bit because I know my work isn't exactly as it was originally anyway.  I'm going to use a pair of SEM products.  As a company, SEM doesn't make any bad products.  Their Color Coat plastic/leather/vinyl/cloth paint beats Duratec as my #1 favorite product.  Here, I'm using a pair of products I've had good results with in the past.  The first is #39853 Texture Coat, the second is #39143 Trim Black. 

Texture Coat is just that, it's meant to give some texture to an otherwise smooth surface.  The Texture Coat is made to match OEM textured surfaces like you find on bumpers and some interior plastic parts.  You can also vary the texture by changing your spraying distance and how heavy you put it on(and as a benefit in my case, it will also hide sand scratches).  Here you can see the texture I ended up with on the Viper's hood. 

Trim Black is a satin black that very closely matches a lot of OEM finishes like you sometimes find under hoods, in fenderwells, and misc exterior trim. It's very close to the original black under the Viper's hood.  It's a good, durable, air dry paint that stick well to most surfaces.  It looks a bit shiny and uneven here, but it's still wet.  Once dry, it's a bit more satin, and very even.

The only thing left is to reinstall the hood pad and put the hood back on.  I expected the bottom of the hood to be a weekend project, but it was a month and a half before I actually got it done.  It was far more damaged, and the repair done much more poorly than I expected.  Even though it was off the car for a month and a half, because of the other demands on my time, I really probably only have 35-40 hours in it.  An actual professional bodyman probably could have had it done in 20-25 hours.