Process to fix road rash on front of hood

[HeavyB]

I am considering fixing up the appearance of our 120k+ mile 98 Subaru Outback. It needs to last us several more years, and I'm tired of having a shabby looking car, which actually runs quite well. Problem is, it spent most of its life shleping up and down the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and the hood is not looking too good from lots of road debris/gravel/pebble abrasion. The area where a clear bra would reside is really rough, although none of the nicks/chips are trough to the paint. Would some TLC from a rotary be able to smooth out this type of damage, or is a respray the only hope. I'll try and snap a picture of the area affected after work.



Cheers,

HeavyB

 

[Accumulator]

HeavyB- IMO the only real fix is a respray. Thinning the remaining paint (wetsanding, rotary, etc.) in an effort to smooth it out would only accellerate what's going on and speed up the eventual failure of the paint.



I'd either get it resprayed or just keep it waxed/sealed. FWIW, other than its looks, I bet it'll be OK if you simply keep it well-detailed, at least for a good long while. FWIW#2, I get the fronts of our drivers resprayed when the chips start to bug me...I consider it simply a part of keeping a daily driver for a long time, like replacing windshields when they get all chipped up.