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The hood is actually fiberglass and it was well wiped down with mineral spirits. The next panel I paint I'll go for as thin a coat as possible. thanks for the feedback





Hmmmm... the hood on my McLaren is all fiberglass also... Now that raises some additional questions..

a ) was your hood primered or unprimered plain gelcoat ?

If the fiberglass wa primered... than we can rule that out as a suspect for the orange peel effect.

BUT if the hood was in its native gelcoat, I don't think a simple wipe down with mineral spirits would be able to remove the chemicals that the manufacturers use to keep the part from sticking to the mold. And also... if the hood was in its native gelcoat format... it is possible that a wipedown of mineral spirits would need extra time to evaporate the 'carrier' in the mineral spirit.

In my case, the fiberglass ( although incredibly well finished from the factory ) was primered and allowed to thoroughly dry out. I then did a light sanding to smooth out the primer, blew off the dust, wiped it down with mineral spirits and then let it sit for a couple of days. Prior to laying down the first coat of paint I gave it a quick wipe with a TACK cloth to pick up any crap that might have landed on the hood.

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