So i picked up one of those 82-83 fiberglass hoods for free and im planning to do a little custom thing with it, but i thought i read somewhere that you have to use a special bondo or somthing, basically is there any special steps i need to know about before i start prepping this hood, what grit sand paper should i start with and finish with ? Thanks guys !

Well we need to know what your doing. Prepping for paint? Adding a scoop? Cutting it in half?

cutting it in half would be lots of fun, but basically just prepping it for paint......

I would try to help but mine was so far gone by the time I got it, no ammount of body work short of completely bondo'ing the entire thing was able to save it. So I cant say I know the best way to prep it. We said screw it and just painted it anyway because its for a drift car. Hopefully your hood is in better shape than mine was.

it's in pretty good shape but it's definatly going to need some work on one of the corners.....after i cut out the air ducts completely i plan to fab up some louvers for it......

van you get us a pic of the damage, then we might be able to tell you how to best go about it

Bondo + SMC (Sheet Molded Compound what the hood is actually made of) is not really the greatest idea... you will likely end up with hairline cracks all over the place.

I have used fiberglass for repairs on SMC before with good results... but I have read that this is not the best idea either as there is mold release in the SMC and it may cause bad adhesion to the hood.

The best thing to use is 'rigid plastic repair' epoxy.... this comes in two tubes... and you just mix it 1:1. 3M makes a version as do many others. Read the directions and you should be fine.