Karl Townsend wrote:

A while back, I was dragging a culvert behind my tractor. It caught on a
concrete lip, stood straight up, then tipped over on my better half's car
hood.
She was not impressed.

OK, now I've bought a like new hood from the salvage yard, and she just got
a quote for $500 to paint it. That ain't gonna happen.

I'm pretty good at painting tractors and other equipment. Enough to know the
key is preparation. What steps should be taken to paint this hood? (I know
it has a clear coat over the white color, I need red with a clear coat) If I
don't get it right, the boss will just take it in.

Karl

Check with your local tech schools that have an auto body program, they
are known for doing affordable paint jobs so they have vehicles for the
students to practice on. I've seen a few vehicles painted this way and
the results were good.