To paint the bonnet or hood of your car, you must mask off the rest of the car.
To paint the bonnet or hood of your Honda Civic, there are a few rules to follow which will make the project successful. The first includes not being in a hurry to get the job done. When painting outside, give the paint adequate time to cure before adding another coat or spraying on the final clear coat. The second is to work as smoothly as possible. You must put yourself into a smooth mindset. If you feel jittery or nervous, it will show in the finish.
Instructions
1. Open the bonnet or hood of the car and support it with the bonnet prop rod. Drape masking paper over the car's front fenders with the top edge of the masking paper inside the engine compartment of the car. Secure the masking paper into place with masking tape. When the fenders are covered, run the masking paper between the hinges of the bonnet so that a long piece of masking paper covers the front bumper and headlights, engine, windscreen and roof of the car. When these are covered, lower the bonnet from its support rod, but do not close it all the way. Use masking tape to join the sections of masking paper around the front of the car so that the entire front end of the car is masked off.
2. Drape masking paper from the roof of the car over the doors to prevent overspray on the rest of the car and secure it in place with masking tape. Finally, cover the rest of the car with masking paper. You should not be able to see any of the original body of the car except for the bonnet.
3. Wet one of the clean dry rags with wax and grease remover and hold it in your right hand. Take the dry rag in your left hand. Use the wet rag to clean off the bonnet of the car, immediately following behind to dry the wax and grease remover with the dry rag. This removes all the leftover sediment, wax and grime from the bonnet before painting. From this point, try not to touch the bonnet with your bare hands, as oils from your hands can contaminate the area designated for paint.
4. Scratch the surface of the bonnet's original paint with the gray automotive scouring pad. There are only two types available: red and gray. Red scouring pads are a much heavier grit than gray and not suitable for this work. Scratch the entire surface of the hood until there is no gloss left on the hood at all. When finished, wipe the hood again with wax and grease remover as you did in the previous step.
5. Insert the air line from the air compressor into the paint gun and then fill the paint gun's cup with paint and close the lid securely to avoid spilling paint onto the car. Make a test pass on the masking paper to ensure the spray pattern on the gun is triangular and straight up and down, then position yourself beside the bonnet with the spray gun positioned near the windshield, approximately 12 inches from the surface to be painted and at the middle point of the car.
6. Pull the trigger of the spray gun, then begin to paint the bonnet by smoothly moving from the back of the bonnet to the front of the bonnet, overlapping your last pass each time as you move toward the fender of the car. When you get to the fender, move to the opposite side of the car and do the same, starting from the back center of the bonnet and spraying in steady lines, overlapping each pass by half.
7. Allow the paint to dry according to the package instructions and then clean out the spray gun of any remaining paint. After it's clean, mix the appropriate amount of clear topcoat and load it into the gun. Only after the recommended paint drying time as is listed on the paint can has elapsed, spray the clear coat onto the bonnet in exactly the same fashion as you sprayed the paint. Once the clear top coat has dried sufficiently according to its instructions, remove the masking tape and paper.
