Hello everyone i bought me an 01 Cherokee a few weeks back and i've been lovin it so far. Anyways it really only came with one problem and that was a decent size paint chip missing from the hood which im guessing is the result of something somewhere hitting it. Im wondering what is the best way to fix it? inhibit the rust, get touch up paint and clear coat it? i understand its never gonna look perfect but as you can see other areas around it are starting to chip up to.
I was thinking about trying to find a replacment hood all together but the color is rare around me (steel blue pearlcoat) I guess what im really looking for is some other ideas of better ways to go about this as i want to get it sealed up before it gets any worse.

 

Sand down the hood and repaint. Or just the area and blend the new paint with the old.

 

Bummer. It don't look like hood vents would look right in that location. Maybe I'm wrong as I'm not a big fan of them anyhow. You could paint the whole hood, but it may be hard to match the color. If done right it may be a good option. Whatever you do wax all your vehicles if you don't already do so. Stuff happens when paint is left unprotected.

 

Looks like it'd work good for you, and I think it'd look nice with the blue paint.

 

If you repaint, do the whole hood.
Looks like more might come loose later if you don't.

 

Find another hood they don't cost very much. Then save a little money and take it to a body shop and have them shoot it. There is just too much work on that hood and the cost of a used one.

If what you say is true about the rest of the XJ its worth doing it right, painting a hood is cheap. You might find a painter that would do it on the side for really on the cheap.

 

There is no saving that paint. You best bet is if the hood is in good shape with no bad dents or bends in it just take it to a shop and have it stripped and primed and re-shoot the paint to match the cooler

 

It had so much damned bondo on it I thought it must be damaged, but maybe not.

 

That's what I thought too. But if you look closely, It looks like it was repainted after being stripped and wasn't prepped right before repainting since it looks like it was never primed.

 

I dont think theres really any bondo there. it just goes from paint to straight metal. The primer might be coming off with the paint. Like i said i have no idea how this happened as i just bought the vehicle. its possible it just grew from a smaller chip. I was thinking of just cutting it out and putting hood vents there but i'm not really a fan of em however there a few that look good. I do have a heat soak issue so i might be able to kick two birds with one stone there.

If i were to get the hood repainted how much am i looking at for cost. i've heard it can be 550 plus just for a hood?

 

A little chip can cause it.
Hate to say it but the price will be different depending on location. You are going to have to start heading to several body shops and get some price quotes.

 

^This, and it is usually best to stay away from dealers and chain-shops, look for a good local independent body shop. Dealers charge ridiculous prices for even simple repairs (most of their work comes from insurance so people generally don't care about the price so they can get away with it) and many chain shops (***Cough*** MAACO ***Cough***) do sub-par work and in some cases can still cost more than a decent local shop.

 

I agree having it repainted at a local shop would probably be the best but watch out for shops that like to cut corners, generally the price reflects this. I know theirs a few places around here that only charge a few hundred bucks for touch-ups like that but within a year or two the paint starts chipping away because of poor paint prep.

 

What does the rest of the vehicle look like? If it's weathered just sand the entire hood down, grab a couple of spray cans of flat black, and call it good. BTW, your pic sure looks like an homebrew acrylic job, I have never seen a base/clear like that.

 

Yes, quality varies quite a bit so it you definitely have to know what you're getting, it helps to have references from previous customers and/or see a vehicle they painted a couple years ago if you can.


Of course if you want a cheap paint job in every sense of the word just give this guy a call :