Question about changing hoods.
 

Quick question. Looking for opinions on the most economical route to getting what i want. I know its my car and its ultimately up to me, but opinions are good never the less. I really like the black style hood that comes on the 1LE and a black hood would look real good on Bee. I could get a Carbon fiber hood or even a plain black hood from some kind of aftermarket site. Or could i just use the hood I already have and just take it to a paint shop and have em just strip the paint of and just paint it black? I can only assume a paint shop could do that, i see no reason why they cant. But, in terms of fit, finish and look, which route would you recommend?

Wrap your existing hood matte black.

The 1LE good is just a big vinyl wrap. Go for it. It looks great with rally yellow.

What do you mean by wrap?

I found this, which looks pretty sweet.

http://www.rvinyl.com/carbon-fiber-v...er-4D-001.html

If i put it on, will it harm the paint if i remove it later? Since i already have the vinyl that came with the car, would i also have to worry about removing them as well?

Id be skeptical of carbon fiber hood. Some have had it crack on them just driving down the road.

Are you looking for a gloss or a matte black? if just a matte you can get yourself some plasti dip and do it yourself. Much cheaper than taking it to a paint shop or buying a new hood. And if you get tired of the look you can just peel it off.

I was thinking of plasti dip, but on the vids i've seen on youtube, they've all used a paint gun/ I dont have the ability to use that and would be a little hesitant to do it with a spray paint bottle. I like the wrap idea, but I'm not sure if it would harm the paint if left on for a while (i have no plans on taking it off) and the same with the vinyl stripes that are already on there. As far at either matte or gloss, i would probably say gloss, because when i get the rocker panels and splitter, I'm pretty sure they'd be gloss.

Wrap is like a sticker. It's like how the stripes come on the car, just bigger for the hood. If you get chance to open the hood of a 1LE you'll see it the wrap ends around the edges of it on the inside, and rest is car paint.

It's cheapest route, clean, looks nice and easy to replace if you get sick of it. It'll protect the paint under it too so that's a plus

Cool beans. I want the appearance on mine like you have on yours, just gloss so it'll match the other pieces I'm going to buy. Anyone know the dimensions of the hood? I cant find them and want to make sure i buy the correct size so i can cover the hood with one piece.

Go to a vinyl shop and have a professional install it. I think the matte wrap, like on the 1LE may be easier to maintain. But if you don't like it after a year, remove the wrap and put something else on.

this

I plan on doing it at the end of this month after I get back from vacation.

get a 5x7 foot sheet of 3m's 1080 wrap vinyl in either satin black or flat black (or whatever color you want, really, your choice). It's temporary, looks great, is easy to apply, and can be done for under 100 bucks if you know what you're doing. I recommend either buying a second smaller sheet and trying to wrap something else on the car (a fender, maybe) or a second big sheet so you have either a practice run to get it right, or if you get it right the first time then you have an extra sheet should something happen.

ALSO: remember to remove your black hood stripes, unless you want a "ghosted" effect on the vinyl, which could also be cool
Links:

Vinyl: http://www.ebay.com/itm/3M-1080-Scot...21a492&vxp=mtr

Install video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zv7-X8pMwMw

So something like this isnt what one would say is a DIY?

its totally a DIY. I plan on doing it myself. the vinyl was about 70 bucks and the how to videos are free.