The Boys in the Hood

The last few days were spent working on the hood.  I actually started it the same day I finished the air filter, but I elected not to talk about it since there really wasn't much to talk about.

Originally, I had pleasant thoughts and dreams of slowly and deliberately sanding down layer after layer of paint on the hood in order to carefully find and, perhaps, preserve the original hood numbers.  When I dug the hood out of storage, those hopes and dreams were quickly shattered when I discovered that the entire outside of the hood was pretty much a nice light dusting of surface rust.  There was barely a lick of paint to grind off.  I wonder where it all went?  Oh, well.  Perhaps next time I can preserve some hood numbers because, unfortunately, these numbers are long gone.  I will be able to get a decent estimate on what the hood number is, but in the end, it is most likely lost to history.

The first day of work went rather quickly since there really wasn't any paint to grind through.  I used the hand grinder with a wire brush and cleaned it to recognizable metal.  I then coated it with rust preventative chemicals and let it sit for a few days while I worked on the inside areas.

This is the "before" picture.  The large white spots would be a fairly thick layer of bondo.  
Hmmm, wonder what is hidden below it?

"After" the wire wheel.  All in all, it was in very decent shape. 
I found one hole smaller than a dime near the top right corner.
 The bondo just hid depressions in the hood where it was dented.
 A hammer, a steel block, and a plumber's wrench corrected those areas!

This is the underside before any work was done.

Since I could not find any of the original hood numbers, I decided to try my hand at just removing one layer of paint to see how much of the original paint could be preserved on the underside of the hood.  Original is only original once, right?  I guess I had it in my mind that I was going to do some sort of detailed work, so this was my last opportunity. 

I went with a "wet sanding" technique.  I used a medium grade sandpaper and would wet the surface with a paper towel and gently rub away the red paint.  During the process, I would continually wipe away the paint residue and apply more water.  Unfortunately, there were wide surfaces areas that lacked any paint at all.

The left side has been done and the upper portion of the right side.

This is the somewhat cleaned and finished product. 
I may go over some other areas with a fine piece of sand paper later.

In the end, I discovered something new about the hood and possibly the vehicle.  For starters, I thought it weird that I could  not find any of the holes for the windshield blocks.  By the time I cleaned everything, I found where they had been welded shut.  What a relief.  I temporarily began to doubt that this was a military hood.

The other interesting thing to note is that this hood might possibly have belonged to a USMC vehicle.  When I removed the Lube Chart envelope, I found original paint beneath it.  It appeared to be the late war, dark semi-gloss...maybe.  However, below the top layer of red paint, I found in some areas a darker green, perhaps that of the Marine Corps, and it was across the black tar substance that the Marines are notoriously known for spreading across the undersides of their vehicle.  Interesting (to me).  Especially since I did not uncover any of that tar anywhere else on this jeep.  So, this hood may not necessarily be original to this vehicle.

I'm sitting on the fence with this original paint.  I know it does not look great, but some of the lighter green does match the newly painted OD on this vehicle.   But like I said before, its only original once, and once I remove it, it will never be again.  So, I figure I can keep it like this for now and if I ever grow tired of looking at it, I can then remove and repaint.  Until then, it is just a great reminder of this vehicle's history.

As for the small hole repair, I had a tiny scrap of steel already cut.  I just traced it on top of the hole and then carved out the hole so it would fit.  It was welded in place, the seams were ground down and then a coat of primer paint was applied.  It will be some time before it gets to look OD.  I figure I will do the windshield, seats and whatever other pieces all at once.

The hole!  Horrors!!

The replacement before welding.  Oh, joy!

Primed and soon to be installed.

A close-up of the area that had the hole.  I've done worse! 
I do notice I have some runny paint.  Punch list.

I still haven't found my 1/16" piece of steel tube so I can attempt my temperature gauge repair.  Since that fix is a no-go, I'm leaning towards doing the outer windshield frame clean-up this weekend.  That way I can mount the hood and have a place to lean it while I'm repairing whatever the heck it is that I forgot to do in the engine compartment!  That, my friends, is using my brain...kind of.  Thanks for reading.