Painting a Hoodpad

[LifeIsGood]

Painting the hoodpad for a GEN II

Parts:

• Plastic sheeting/drop cloths
• Rustoleum Universal – Canary Yellow
• Rustoleum Universal – Cardinal Red
• Rustoleum Universal – Gloss Black
• Rustoleum Universal – Satin Black
• Rustoleum Universal – Flat Black
• New hood insulation retainers (19 for the hoodpad and 7 for the sidepad)
• Painter’s tape (blue)
• Masking tape
• Paper Towels and water
• Viper logo vinyl decal (20” wide and 5” tall)

Tools:

• Channel lock pliers (for hood insulation retainer removal)
• 1/2” wrench (hood insulation ground)
• Exacto knife

First, we’ll tackle the Sneaky Pete logo. Then we’ll do the Viper logo.

Remove the hoodpad.

Cover the engine with a piece of the plastic sheeting. This will keep any debris from getting into the nooks and crevices in and around the engine.



Remove each of the tree fasteners holding the 2 ground straps. The tree fasteners may or may not come loose from the hoodpad. There is an internal tooth lock washer on the back of the hoodpad keeping the fastener, hoodpad and strap together. Be careful as the hoodpad around these fasteners can be crushed during the removal process. Try to get a flat tool between the hood and the washer. I broke one of my tree fasteners which forced me to remove the strap from the hoodpad. I left the other ground strap attached to the hoodpad while painting it.



My plan was to replace all of the hood insulation retainers, so I didn’t try to baby them.
Remove each of the plastic hood insulation retainers (19). I did this project during the winter. Heating the retainers with a blow dryer will make them more pliable and less prone to breaking off and staying inside the hood…ask me how I know. Really…use a blow dryer…you will thank me for this tip.



The lower part of the hoopad will catch on the hood springs and not drop on the engine. I used some painters tape to keep the upper part of the hoodpad from dropping down until I had all of the retainers removed.

Pull the hoodpad out and away from the hinges. You’ll have to remove the painters tape from the top. A helper at this point will come in handy, but I was able to remove it by myself. The lower section of the hoodpad won’t come between the hinges easily. It will need to be finessed. You will hear some cracking/tearing/ripping noises as you pull the hoodpad from between the hinges.



Wash the hoodpad.

I washed the hoodpad using water and paper towels. Let the hoodpad dry completely.



Paint the Sneaky Pete logo.

Paint the Base layer Gloss Black.

Mask off everything except the Sneaky Pete logo. Use the tape to outline the entire Sneaky Pete logo. Cover the rest of the hoodpad with plastic sheeting. Tape the plastic sheeting off around the logo. Apply multiple layers of the Gloss Black paint following the manufacturer’s directions. Once the paint is thoroughly dry, remove the tape layers and plastic sheeting.



Paint the 2nd layer Cardinal Red.

Mask off the black and the area to be painted yellow. Cover the rest of the hoodpad with plastic sheeting. Tape the plastic sheeting off around the logo. Apply multiple layers of the Cardinal Red paint following the manufacturer’s directions. Once the paint is thoroughly dry, remove the tape layers and plastic sheeting.



Paint the 3rd layer Canary Yellow.

Mask off the black and red areas. Use a thin layer of the blue painters tape so that it can be bent around the edges of the logo. Finish up with the masking tape. Cover the rest of the hoodpad with plastic sheeting. Tape the plastic sheeting off around the logo. Apply multiple layers of the Canary Yellow paint following the manufacturer’s directions. Once the paint is thoroughly dry, remove the tape layers and plastic sheeting.



Touch up the edges with a paint brush and trim any uneven edges with an exacto knife.



Paint the Last layer Satin Black.

Mask off the entire Sneaky Pete logo and ground wire(s) with plastic sheeting covered with painters/masking tape. Apply multiple layers of the Satin Black paint following the manufacturer’s directions. Once the paint is thoroughly dry, remove the tape layers and plastic sheeting.



Perform any final touch-ups required.


Paint the Viper logo.

Prepare the Viper graphic.

I had my local graphics shop make a viper logo (Viper) that was 20” x 5”. The color doesn’t matter as it will only be used as a template. Tell them not to ‘weed’ it. You will be using the part that is normally weeded out as your template. Remove the Viper letters from the graphic. The white in this picture is where the lettering was removed. I traced the outline approximately 1/2” around the perimeter. I used an exacto knife to cut the graphic into 2 pieces, the Viper graphic and the background graphic.



Paint the Viper background graphic Flat Black.

Apply the background graphic to the upper section of the hoodpad. The vinyl graphic doesn’t tightly adhere to the painted surface so I masked off the background graphic with tape so it will stay in place. Cover the rest of the hoodpad with plastic sheeting. Tape the plastic sheeting off around the graphic. Apply multiple layers of the Flat Black paint following the manufacturer’s directions. Once the paint is thoroughly dry, remove the tape layers, graphic and plastic sheeting.



Paint the Viper graphic Canary Yellow.

Apply the viper graphic onto the newly painted section. It should match perfectly. Mask off the viper graphic with tape so it will stay in place. Cover the rest of the hoodpad with plastic sheeting. Tape the plastic sheeting off around the logo. Apply multiple layers of the Canary Yellow paint following the manufacturer’s directions. Once the paint is thoroughly dry, remove the tape layers, graphic and plastic sheeting.



Touch up the edges with a paint brush and trim any uneven edges with an exacto knife.





I also painted the sidepad (located on the driver’s side of the hood) Satin Black. There are 7 plastic hood insulation retainers holding it to the hood.



Install the hoodpad and sidepad.

As info, I did this mod over 4 years ago and the paint hasn’t deteriorated at all. I clean it from time to time by wiping it with a damp microfiber towel.

[City]

WOW! Thanks LIG! Great to see that yellow again.

[Viper Girl]

This is a great first post in the How to section!

[ViperGuy]

Super detailed how to - great job. Did my Gen 3 very much the same way. They come out looking real sharp making it all worthwhile.

[Ricketts]

Great DIY thread!!

[hawk02]

That is sick, nice write up and painting..........

[rgb125]

Excellent write up! Thanks...

[JonB ~ PartsRack]

Very nice job.....

We used to sell this pad in colors as finished product for 3 years. We had so many FEDEX claims that we quit. The dimentions are such that the package could NOT be made larger without having to be trucked. S/H/i costs made it a no-sale. DIY is the way to go, or a body-shop.

NOTE: You can also CLEAR COAT the finished project so that it can be cleaned-waxed just like the rest of the Viper.

Again, GREAT show-n-tell

[Torquemonster06]

Nice write up. Ive been wanting to do this on ours. Sounds like a great winter project.

[Sam Goldfarb]

What JonB said! S/H is impossible. I have about 10-12 Gen II pads sitting in one of my buildings. If somebody is ever close to Columbus Ohio and wants to pick one out! I can also haul them to events that I go to like Mopar Nats?