Has anyone else had this happen to them?

[Ray W.]

I received my Mk 4 kit in Dec. 2014, and had it on the road in gel coat about seven months later. Not long after that I noticed a distortion in my abs plastic hood scoop, a spot that looked melted. I couldn't figure out what had happened, and the only reason I could fathom for it happening was that I had it parked out in the sun, and that the back of the mirror (which is mounted at the top of the windshield) had somehow formed a focal point through the windshield on the black abs scoop and melted it. My Grandmother's house almost burned once from a similar occurrence, where the sunshine coming through a window was hitting a beveled mirror, which formed a focal point on a walnut china cabinet. We smelled smoke, and luckily found the cause before the smoke became flames.

So, I painted the back of the mirror flat black, and then drove the car in gel coat for 3000 miles-with no further damage to the hood scoop. Flash forward to about four months ago, when I took the body off and began the body work and paint process. While doing the body work, I used abs glue to build up the low, melted place on the hood scoop, and then sanded it level. It still wasn't great, so I used some rage gold to get it more level before priming.

After sealing, I custom mixed blue pearl and silver alloy pearl into a gallon of clear and sprayed it over the gray urethane sealer. Then I mixed .004 sky blue micro flake into some thinned clear and sprayed it. I buried that in three coats of clear, then waited a week before I sanded it all level and cleared it again with three more coats. (acrylic lacquer) Then I waited two weeks before wet sanding and buffing-as you should with lacquer.

For as much as I tried, the distortion in the hood scoop did not disappear as well as I'd hoped, but it wasn't so bad that I couldn't live with it. When you aligned your eye with the glossy finish, you could see that it was wavy.

The car is back together now , and I've driven it about 200 miles. I haven't posted graduation pictures, because I haven't gotten around to taking the car somewhere with a decent background. Today, I drove the car about 20 miles, and during the drive I noticed that the distortion in the hood scoop looked worse that it had earlier. I even pulled over once and looked at it to see if it was my imagination. It wasn't.

By the time I got home, the distortion was even worse. I now have a new spot on the scoop that looks melted. (and it's not the spot where I put the plastic filler!) Needless to say, I'm heartbroken about it. This paint will not only be hard to match, but it will be very expensive to buy yet another gallon of clear and the pearls needed to paint another scoop-which leads me to another dilemma. Where do I get a hood scoop that is not abs, with the same footprint as the one from Factory Five?

Has anyone else had this happen to them? I have 5/8" clearance between my air cleaner and the hood scoop, and I don't understand how this can even happen. I tried to take a picture of it to post, but it's very hard to photograph. It would be easier outside with a cloudless sky.

[GoDadGo]

Check out the following thread:

Sunlight Reflection Warning that was posted by Jeff Kleiner.

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?21852-Sunlight-reflection-warning&highlight=sunlight+reflection

Also, Finish Line Accessories has two aluminum replacements that I come in different sizes.

[Ray W.]

After reading that thread, I realized that I had the hood up in the sun while refilling the radiator, after installing a thermostatic fan switch where the drain petcock was. It was up for a while, because I had to wait for the thermostat to open, so I could add more coolant. I have a feeling that was when the damage occurred, and then the distortion became worse after the engine heated it while driving. I have hood clearance issues that adversely effect my air cleaner choices, and I've been planning to make one with a dropped base that will allow for a taller oval shaped air filter element. Now I have a good reason to make the top of it either brushed or bead blasted aluminum. It's likely that the first damage to the scoop was caused by the same thing… I'm surprised that I never ran across that thread on the forum before. If I had, I might have been paying attention and avoided the damage today. Thanks for the heads up on the finish line scoops, Steve.

[michael everson]

You might want to contact FFR and see if they have any glass ones left.
Mike

[KDubU]

Sorry to read about your hood. Hope you can match the paint as it looks beautiful. Post some pics of your car when you can as it would be great to see it in totality.

[CraigS]

It may be time for FFR to go back to fiberglass for the scoop!

[Ray W.]

I agree, craig. I have to admit that when I unpacked the kit and saw the ABS scoop, My first thought was "This is crap, something with a much lower melting temperature exposed to all that engine heat. After seeing that everyone else was using it without problems (or so I thought, I should have researched more) I decided to use it and not look for another alternative. I regret that now. My paint isn't damaged, but I can't think of another thing right off the top of my head that would make my car look more like a cheap, low quality replica than it does right now. I was planning to go to a cruise-in on Saturday, but I don't think I will now. I can imagine the faces of those who ask why my scoop is screwed up, when I explain that its ABS plastic and the reflected rays of the sun melted it… I'm going to check the measurements of the finish line fiberglass scoop and if it will work, I'll order it. I'm wondering how it would look painted with wrinkle finish black, so I don't have to spend more money on paint. Another option would be to go with the same shade of silver that I used to airbrush the badges on the front and the trunk lid. (now buried in the clear) I hope to get some graduation pics up soon, but right now I'm trying to play catch-up and a lot of things I set aside to get the car painted.

[Gumball]

Another alternative would be to go with one of the aluminum scoops that are available - I think Kirkham sells one - and leave it unpainted in scuffed or polished finish.

[GoDadGo]

After seeing not one, but two melted scoops I'll be blowing it off all together and going for a smooth hood look.
Since my car will be RED, the plan is to somewhat mimic the look of CSX-3178, minus the interesting roll bar and automatic transmission.

I still can't believe that the kit came with a plastic scoop.

[Ray W.]

I doubt that I could afford a scoop made by Kirkham, but I bravely took a look at their website and didn't see anything about them being available. Who else might have an aluminum scoop available? I'll google it, but someone on the forum might know something a search engine doesn't.

[CraigS]

If you find a glass or aluminum one, I'd paint it. Either the silver you mentioned or get as close to your color as possible. A different paint brand may be available in smaller quantities. To me a slight mismatch is one of those things that you may be the only one who notices.

[skullandbones]

Hi Ray W,

I agree with Craig S. The separation of the scoop edges and hood will help to hid the slight mismatch a little. I bet you could match it well enough. BTW: have you thought of using the old scoop to mold a new fiberglass one. That's one way to save a few bucks. I think you have the skills. Time vs Money: it's a balancing act. Good luck.

Also, I like your paint scheme. How did you come up with that combination?

Thanks,

WEK.

[DadofThree]

I was planning to go to a cruise-in on Saturday, but I don't think I will now.

From one who is still building, go to the cruise in.

From your own (and very well done) build thread - Entry #20, last sentence "Not really show quality, but that's not what I'm after. It will be a driver."

Ray-W-Roadster-Build-Thread (http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?16628-Ray-W-Roadster-Build-Thread&p=191207&viewfull=1#post191207)

[RRussellTx]

Who else might have an aluminum scoop available?

Will either one of the OCP Aluminum Hood Scoops on the ********** site work - or are those made by Kirkham?
https://www.**********accessories.com/search.aspx?searchterm=hood%20scoop

[AC Bill]

It may be time for FFR to go back to fiberglass for the scoop!

For shame..I didn't know they switched them to plastic, so I would agree 100%.

[Jeff Kleiner]

For shame..I didn't know they switched them to plastic, so I would agree 100%.

The 'glass scoops had their own set of problems and just as an FYI a tightly focused reflection will booger up paint on fiberglass too.

Jeff

[Ray W.]

Will either one of the OCP Aluminum Hood Scoops on the ********** site work - or are those made by Kirkham?
https://www.**********accessories.com/search.aspx?searchterm=hood%20scoop

For some reason, I found the fiberglass scoops and didn't see the aluminum ones when I looked at the Finish Line site. The price is a little up there, but by the time I buy more paint and pearls to try and match the paint, I'll spend more than $255+shipping. Has anyone here ever sprayed polished aluminum with diamond clear, and if so, how did it hold up? I'm not sure if I would be happy with the polished aluminum look, it might look more mismatched than black wrinkle finish would, but maybe not… I can't really picture that in my head.

I called Factory Five today and asked about a fiberglass scoop. They only have ABS now, but are willing to replace my scoop with another at no cost. I'm supposed to call back Monday and talk to Tony, to see if he knows of any other options. I have until then to decide if I want to go that route. If I do, I'll probably go with either black wrinkle finish or rattle can silver/clear-since it could happen again. Another FF ABS scoop would be easier to deal with, since the measurements on the scoops that are available vary slightly, and the descriptions are vague about the width (or how it's measured) of the rear portion. I saved a small amount of clear/pearl mixture to use for touching up rock chips, etc. and that's it. The clear lacquer I mixed the pearls in only comes in gallons, and to make the paint match, I will have to spray that same exact mixture over the same gray urethane sealer.

[Ray W.]

I considered making one, using the old one as a plug, but its so wavy that it would make a low quality part that would require a lot of rage gold to get straight. Another problem might be the heat resulting from the cure of fiberglass resin. It might go a little crazy. I don't think epoxy gets as hot as the fiberglass resin when curing, so I could use that. I could use the replacement scoop from Factory Five as a plug to make a fiberglass mold, provided its jigged up properly to account for the "pinch" you have to put in the scoop when mounting to keep the center of the opening from drooping.

I came up with the paint scheme after watching one too many "Dip Your Car" videos on YouTube. They're doing all these crazy things with powdered pearl pigments, but putting it over a rubberized coating that is removable. I thought putting those same pearls in a quality clear with plenty of UV protection added would really have a lot of flip-flop, and adding the metal flake would give it some extra pop. I did a little experimenting with good results, so I moved forward with the idea. I first mixed the blue pearl into the clear, then used the micro flake as a guide when adding the sterling silver pearl. I added silver until the color, while being stirred with a mixer in a drill, matched the color of the metal flake. The flake is almost completely hidden until the sun hits it. If the sun goes behind a cloud, it looks like a different car. Here is a high resolution picture of the car, and the melted scoop that I took this morning. It's hard to get a picture that shows just how bad the warpage looks to the naked eye, but you can see some of it. Sorry for the size of the pictures, but in a low res pic you can't see the metal flake.

58424
58425

[Ray W.]

Dad of Three, Yes, I said that, and I definitely meant that it wouldn't ever be a trailer queen, but I'd take a few well earned rock chips over the warped hood scoop any day. It looks like the worst auto-body tech in the world went at it with a gallon of bondo and a putty knife, and didn't know what a sanding block is. In my attempt to do a decent job on the body work and paint, one that I wouldn't be embarrassed to say "I did it", it has become a very nice driver-until the hood scoop problem, that is. I've decided to go to the cruise in. Its for a good cause, to raise money for a local woman battling cancer, so I'll just take any comments about the hood scoop on the chin.

As a side note, no car I have ever driven has made me smile like this one does when I'm behind the wheel.

[WIS89]

Ray-

Perhaps you might consider having FFR send you a replacement. Then, you could try the crinkle black on it to see if you like it. If so, go with it. If not, then get the ********** (or similar) and go forward with a different plan. Getting a replacement from FFR is a low risk/cost option that gives you some room to try something a little outside the box.

Just a thought. I am very sorry about the scoop, and look forward to seeing your finished pics. Your car looks great!

Regards,

Steve

[skullandbones]

Thanks for the explanation. If you don't mind, where are you sourcing your product? BTW: since you probably have done some extensive research on paint products, have you seen diamond dust? I used to see it used but it was many years ago. There was a guy in our car club with a 41 Buick with a color similar to your roadster but besides the metallic it had some industrial diamond dust in the clear between the base and top coats. It was one of the most eye catching things I had ever seen depending on what kind of light you saw the car. It looked like tiny LEDs were flashing sort of randomly from under the paint.

Thanks

WEK.

[Ray W.]

Thanks for the explanation. If you don't mind, where are you sourcing your product? BTW: since you probably have done some extensive research on paint products, have you seen diamond dust? I used to see it used but it was many years ago. There was a guy in our car club with a 41 Buick with a color similar to your roadster but besides the metallic it had some industrial diamond dust in the clear between the base and top coats. It was one of the most eye catching things I had ever seen depending on what kind of light you saw the car. It looked like tiny LEDs were flashing sort of randomly from under the paint.

Thanks
WEK.

WEK, I purchased the pearls from dipyourcar.com, and the metal flake from didspade.com, another site that sells a line of pearls, including color shifting ones. One of my reasons for choosing the path I did was cost. I felt I could do something that stepped things up a notch without spending anywhere near what it would cost to paint my car with house of color paint, or similar paints. I wanted to use acrylic lacquer because of the conditions I had to paint in, i.e. a steel garage style building that leaves a lot to be desired in the cleanliness department. Though less durable than urethane, acrylic lacquer is very forgiving in dealing with trash that sometimes gets into the paint. For health reasons, I didn't want to spray urethane paint without a downdraft spray booth. I ended up spraying a urethane sealer because I felt it was necessary, but when I did I used a brand new organic vapor blocking respirator and kept the doors open and fans running for that step. I threw that mask away afterward. Since I wasn't spraying urethane paint over the sealer, I couldn't jump right to that step. I had to let it cure, then wet sand it before applying paint-not knowing how lacquer thinner would effect it if it wasn't fully cured. I got my acrylic lacquer from Tamcopaint.com. Its economically priced, and sprayed very well for me, in spite of the fact I was using a very cheap gravity fed HVLP gun. I did use a cheap siphon feed gun to lay down the metal flake.

I'm not familiar with diamond dust, but it sounds like it has much the same effect as what I was trying to achieve. The pictures I've taken can't capture the flash you see when looking the car over in the sun with the naked eye.

[cnutting]

Another source for an aluminum scoop might be Acton Cobra. They have a section on their site for aluminum body panels, but no prices. You would need to call Nick for price and lead time. I purchased a splash guard from Nick for my 289, nice looking part and good customer service.

Chris

[bobl]

I'm at the point of installing my scoop, so I can get a fiberglass one if necessary, is going to fiberglass just trading problems? I do live in Texas so it will get lots of heat. I'm nervous now. So, "what would Jeff do"?

Bob


The 'glass scoops had their own set of problems and just as an FYI a tightly focused reflection will booger up paint on fiberglass too.

Jeff

[Ray W.]

I'm at the point of installing my scoop, so I can get a fiberglass one if necessary, is going to fiberglass just trading problems? I do live in Texas so it will get lots of heat. I'm nervous now. So, "what would Jeff do"?

Bob

I think the melting temp of fiberglass is higher than ABS. In my case, the paint is fine, but the scoop is badly distorted. If it had been fiberglass, I don't think I would have any damage, other than a slightly funny looking spot in the paint on the bottom of the scoop. IMHO, fiberglass is better than ABS.

[Ray W.]

Thanks to all who replied to this thread, and for the suggestions. My wife and I went to the cruise in, which ended up being a car show. The event planners made some changes at the last minute. The cruise in was scheduled for 11 a.m. until 4p.m. I was only planning to spend a couple of hours there and go back home, but my wife and I were asked to enter our car in the show and stay until 3p.m. Because the event was for charity, to raise money for a local woman with terminal cancer, we couldn't in good conscience say no. The event was held at a local church, and I think there were about 45 cars and trucks on display. It was sponsored by the Florence Mustang club, so there were a lot of late model mustangs, mostly Shelby and Roush, but there were two classics, a 64 1/2 coupe, and a 66 convertible.

I've been to lots of car shows in the past, but this was the first time I've ever shown a car that I own. All it all, it was a good experience. People were respectful and I didn't see a single person actually touch anyone else's car. But, it was very hot and sunny, my wife and I got sunburned. The worst thing was that just as I parked the car and shut off the engine, someone started talking to me before I could even unfasten the seat belts. Normally, I always tell my passenger at that moment to remember the hot side pipe, and this time my attention was pulled elsewhere. My wife burned her leg. Thankfully, not as badly as it could have been, but bad enough to make a quarter sized fluid blister. It will definitely leave a scar. She says it doesn't really hurt, and I'm thankful about that.

A couple of people asked about the towel laying on the air cleaner, and I explained about the hood scoop damage. One was surprised something like that could happen, another told me about a similar incident. With the hood up, I don't think many people noticed it, or if they did they didn't say anything. I took a few pictures with my wife's phone, so I'll post them later. The car got lots of great comments, and I think I may have sold one for Factory Five. The guy was on the phone with his wife, who was telling him to ask me how long it took me to build it, so he seemed serious about ordering a kit. He had that same look in his eye that I used to have, and he came back to look at the car three times, each time asking me more questions.

[Jeff Kleiner]

How about this Ray?

http://www.backdraftparts.com/products/exterior-parts/body-parts/carbon-fiber-hood-scoop.html

Jeff

[Ray W.]

How about this Ray?

http://www.backdraftparts.com/products/exterior-parts/body-parts/carbon-fiber-hood-scoop.html

Jeff

That scoop looks great, and I considered making one out of carbon fiber, since I have some cloth and epoxy left over from the carbon fiber top and back arch top guitar I made a few years ago. The mould would have to be very well made, because the carbon is much stiffer, and the scoop wouldn't have much flex when conforming to the hood. Unfortunately, the carbon doesn't really fit with the "theme" I had in mind for my car, of a guy who drove past a used car lot in the early 70's and saw a cobra, then decided to buy it and customize it with wider 5 lug wheels and paint. Obviously my theme didn't extend to under the hood, as much as I would have liked to do that, and the 17" wheels were a compromise. If I throw away the "theme" and made some carbon fiber spats to match, or used carbon-look vinyl for spats, it would probably look okay. Yet another option to consider, which is a good thing. It's always good to have options. Thanks, Jeff.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Don't know about the '70s used car lot thing but it would look kinda' like one of the Shelby 40th anniversary edition cars:

http://ir.ebaystatic.com/rs/v/se1uysvchuzwtjlqmnnh2nejieg.jpg

:)

Jeff

[Ray W.]

Thanks, Jeff. After seeing that picture, I'm leaning more toward an aluminum scoop with a brushed, then cleared finish. Factory Five is sending me another ABS scoop, and I think I might try some of that new Rustoleum peel off paint in a silver, just to get an idea of what it would look like if I painted it, which won't be that far off from a brushed aluminum finish. That way there won't be any paint that might cause problems with using it as a plug, if I end up going that route.



Don't know about the '70s used car lot thing but it would look kinda' like one of the Shelby 40th anniversary edition cars:

http://ir.ebaystatic.com/rs/v/se1uysvchuzwtjlqmnnh2nejieg.jpg

:)

Jeff