The center molding on this hood is held in place with tabs, which go through narrow slots in the hood. This month we’ll describe a way to make those slots in a filled-in hood. The challenge is to do this without disturbing the finish on a hood that is already painted.
Q. Professor Hammer, I hope you can help. I recently purchased a 1953 Chevrolet 3100 pickup. The truck is totally complete, but it has no hood emblems and the center hood molding is missing. I have no problem with adding the emblems, as they use studs and speed nuts for the attachment. The center molding has tabs that fit into slots in the hood, and they are held in place by folding the tabs over. The problem is that the slots have been filled in. How can I cut the slots without damaging the paint? Or is there another way to adhere this molding?
Guy F.
New Hampshire
Via the Internet
A. Well, that’s a challenge I’ve never had to face. I’m a bit leery about using any sort of adhesive for bonding the molding into place. Certainly, most moldings on modern cars and trucks ARE bonded with a pressure-sensitive adhesive, but these moldings have a solid, flat backing, so there is a lot of surface area for the adhesive to grip. Your molding is hollow, so only the tiny rolled edges make contact with the hood.
There are lots of ways to cut slots in metal, but the challenge with your particular situation is preventing damage to the paint. I’ve had to really scratch my head on this one, but I do have a solution in mind.
First, you’ll need to carefully lay out the location of the slots you need. These have to be accurately positioned, both front-to-back and right-to-left. The tabs on the molding will provide the reference you need to do this layout. You can use the center seam on the hood as a reference, too, since the tabs are spaced an equal distance from this seam, on both sides. I would use masking tape to lay out the location of the slots, using the edge of the tape as your reference for the distance away from the center seam. Next, you can hold the molding close to the hood, and make marks on the tape showing the front-to-back location of each slot. Fortunately, reproduction hood moldings are available from aftermarket suppliers.
I’d suggest using an abrasive cut-off wheel to do the cutting. The smallest ones that I am aware of are made by the Dremel Company, and of course they make a small, controllable, handheld electric tool to spin the disks. I don’t have one of these Dremel tools, so I would do the job with a 2-inch diameter 0.032-inch thickness cut-off wheel in a pneumatic die grinder. Actually, the smaller the diameter the better, since a larger wheel will have a longer run-in and run-out ramp. Either one of these tools will do a good job of cutting the metal, but the heat they generate will certainly burn the paint.
My idea for protecting the paint is to use a garden hose, positioned to flow a thin sheet of water over the areas you are cutting. The water will keep the metal cool next to the cut, without defeating the cutting action. You could also set up a water-spraying device inside the hood (like a garden sprinkler), which would greatly reduce the amount of water on the top of the hood, making the job less messy. If you have a friend who can work with you, they could probably use a handheld mister, which would confine the water to a much smaller area. If you use the electric Dremel tool, you will want to be especially careful to keep water away from the motor.
Last, be sure to touch up the paint in the areas where you did your cutting, to prevent rusting. Let me know how this works for you.
You can email your questions to Professor Hammer – covell@cruzio.com – or mail a letter to Covell Creative Metalworking, 106 Airport Blvd., Suite 105, Freedom, CA 95019. You will receive a personal reply. Ron Covell has made many videos on metalworking, and they can now be STREAMED or DOWNLOADED from his website! Check these out at covell.biz, along with his ongoing series of workshops held across the nation, or call for a current schedule of workshops and a free catalog of DVDs. Phone (831) 768-0705. Also, check out Ron’s YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/covellron.
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