I joked earlier about having the Viper out again before finishing last fall's updates. Turns out it wasn't that funny, because it's true. In my last post I started bondoing the hood. It's time to finish it off. One of the most prominent features of the Gen II Viper is the hood scoop. The scoop is a plastic part, and after 15 years in the sun it's not the same shape it originally was. Additionally, the scoop on my car isn't from my car. I assume that the original was damaged in the crash so it was replaced. What all this adds up to is a scoop that doesn't fit like it did when it was new. The shape doesn't quite match the hood, and, since I re-fiberglassed almost the whole perimeter of the scoop hole, the gaps are all over the place. Since I have the bondo out already, now's the time to fix it. The easiest thing to do is to just bondo over the whole thing and sand it down. First I covered the scoop in blue painter's tape, then I bondoed over the whole area. The tape both keeps the bondo from sticking to the scoop, and provides some protection so it doesn't get too scratched up while sanding.
The bondoed area is so big because it needs to blend smoothly into the rest of the hood. We don't want the scoop area to be a distinct high spot. You also have to make sure to allow enough room in the panel gap for primer and paint. If your gap is too small, the scoop won't fit once the primer and paint are applied. After blocking the area down, and some minor tweaking of the panel gap, the scoop fits good as new(actually, probably better than new).
With all the bondo done on the hood, it's time for more Dura-tec. If you remember back when I first described Dura-tec, you'll know that it's very similar to fiberglass resin. It catalyzes differently than standard paints and primers. When you mix regular car paint or primer with catalyst, while the work time, or "pot life" is only an hour or so, it can still take a few days for a cup full of liquid to actually start to solidify. Dura-tec isn't like that. Much like fiberglass resin, once it starts to cure, it gels up quick, and the more catalyst you use, the faster it kicks off. If it does solidify in your paint gun, you go buy a new paint gun. Why am I mentioning this? Because when I Dura-tec'd the hood, I had a VERY close call. My gun started spraying like it was empty, but it wasn't. The Dura-tec started to gel up in the paint gun. It took a few minutes of frantic acetone scrubbing to get my gun clean before the stuff turned solid. At any rate, I did get my hood covered, and the hood is done until it's time for final primer and paint :)
