How NOT to fix a flimsy hood

[zzebby]

Daily is a 71 Ford short box styleside, yes AZ virgin sheetmetal. Nice driver, 5.0 HO Mustang engine with AOD.
Anyway, I was always annoyed by the wavey woopy hood, assumed that someone had sat on it at one time in the flat area.  So when the local pick a part got in a long bed with mint hood, I was all over it. $25 and perfect, original paint.  Removed the trim and emblems, welded up the holes,  blocked it out.  Wow this was looking great.  Should clean and paint the underside too.  Now really looked nice........but noticed it had a kinda flimsy feel to it.  Oh look .....there is some of that foam insulation in a spray can stuff.  You know ....for filling cracks in houses around the doors & windows.  Yea,  that'll give the hood some "body".  Five cans later I had a really solid hood and a foot of the lightweight "balls"  on the floor.  Carved the excess bulges off with a hacksaw blade.  Nice......sit  back with a cold one and admire it.....
Next day, flip it over to block it out one more time..........and you know the rest of the story...........wavey like a rolling sea.......Bulged up wherever there was a filled web in the hood.
 Now how does one remove that stuff??? Torch and burn it out .....blister that nice paint?  Or add 1/4 inch of bondo and block it some more......cracks later from the heat ?
Or paint it and install it and say ....oh well it is just an old truck?  What would you do ?

[wayne petty]

since it is on the inside...   you might try some gasoline...    take some of the carved scraps if you still have some and try various solvents ...

any  solvents like MEK, acetone, lacquer thinner ... will probably melt the paint also...    dad worked at a paint store... he needed to clean a spot of paint off the formica counter..   there were usually paper cups around..    he grabbed a cup from the trash without thinking and poured some acetone in it...   he was kinda stunned when the bottom fell out..  then he realized .. it was a foam cup...

what ever you do its going to make a mess...

gasoline is a almost safe bet... except for the flammability part

[WZ JUNK]

Or add 1/4 inch of bondo and block it some more......cracks later from the heat ?
Or paint it and install it and say ....oh well it is just an old truck?  What would you do ?

Every time it is out in the sun or heat it will expand again.  I know.  I wish you would have asked before you did it, but I know that it seemed like a good idea at the time.  You must remove it or get another hood.

John

[Beck]

I don't think the gas will attack that type of foam, but try it. I think you will need to blast it. It should come off easily down to the hood. Then it will get hard. DON'T get carried away with the pressure and don't try to take go to bare metal or again you will have waves. This foam cuts easily with sandpaper. The coarser the better. Put a coarse disc on a sander and have at it. The hard part with either of these methods is getting under the braces.
Note; if you have cuts and scrapes you will find that this foam often causes irritation or infection. Clean up well after working, showering is best. The foam dust will penetrate your clothing so scratches on your legs are susceptible too.

[papastoyss]

Don't feel so bad about your screw up. A good friend works at the Nissan plant about 25 miles from here. A few years back some engineer changed suppliers for the sealer that sticks the hood webbing to the hood skin. After the paint was baked you could see the outline of every glob of sealer on the outside of the hood panel. Made a lot of business for the scrap metal men.