Are all hood louvers equal?

Your paint damage must be in the same place as mine, the center.
Most of it is. The PO didn't remove the Texas bug guts and the front end and windshield frame need painting. The hood has developed some Alien marks all over it. That's what I covered. I was quoted $600 to paint the grille, fenders, hood, windshield frame and cowl. I might do it next spring. They have painted a couple of things on my Jeeps and color match the old paint perfectly.
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That's exactly what my hood looks like, literally.

Must be an issue with the paint.
I thought I was the only one. It looked fine while the PO kept it in his garage the past two years. After I it got back and out in the hot sun, it started getting those on it. I thought he polished the clear coat off it. :(
 
I thought I was the only one. It looked fine while the PO kept it in his garage the past two years. After I it got back and out in the hot sun, it started getting those on it. I thought he polished the clear coat off it. :(

Yep, hence the decision to just put a hood louver over it.

Seems to be a common issue, as my last TJ had this same thing on the hood as well. My guess is it's due to the heat from the engine and outside.
 
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Reminds me of any first gen Dodge Ram with red or white paint. Guaranteed to peel all the way down to the metal. Mostly due to paint formula EPA regulations from the early 90's.
 
I wonder if the paint issue seems to be more common on flame red. That's my color, and I remember someone around here posting that they had tiny little cracks in the paint on their flame red TJ as well.

I recently got an extended recall notice for flaking paint for my wife's 10 year old, 140k mile Toyota, which has no signs of any paint problems. Not likely we could expect the same from FCA. :rolleyes:

I had some paint crazing on my black TJ (the front lip where it meets the grill, and the bulge area in the center) and had to repaint my hood. This was with just 60k miles :rolleyes: So it is not limited to flame red.
 
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Most of it is. The PO didn't remove the Texas bug guts and the front end and windshield frame need painting. The hood has developed some Alien marks all over it. That's what I covered. I was quoted $600 to paint the grille, fenders, hood, windshield frame and cowl. I might do it next spring. They have painted a couple of things on my Jeeps and color match the old paint perfectly.View attachment 203844View attachment 203845
$600 is a good price. With a Jeep you can waist $600 else where and not hardly notice it.
 
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I want to say genright has a bunch more facing forward compared to PS. @rasband can you show us your genright one?

The genright doesn’t have any that face forward. I’d have to see how air flows better; but to me it makes sense I want as much in the radiator and out the top as possible. Whether or not that actually works is probably up for debate.

I went for rivets, I already hacked up the hood so I figure there’s no reason to ever plan removal.

One tip I have is I would have painted the bits GR says to keep black so I can’t see them from inside while driving.

@Chris

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The paint on my hood looks like hell, so I don't care too much about cutting into it. I recently bought one on amazon simply because it didn't have a logo on it. I really hate that Poison Spider design, I won't buy anything with that logo on it. Same goes for Metal Cloak. Some of these companies need to learn the art of subtlety.
 
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The genright doesn’t have any that face forward. I’d have to see how air flows better; but to me it makes sense I want as much in the radiator and out the top as possible. Whether or not that actually works is probably up for debate.

I went for rivets, I already hacked up the hood so I figure there’s no reason to ever plan removal.

One tip I have is I would have painted the bits GR says to keep black so I can’t see them from inside while driving.

@Chris

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Makes me wonder what's up with the forward facing vents on some of the other ones.

I'm going to take it you spray painted that? :LOL:
 
Makes me wonder what's up with the forward facing vents on some of the other ones.

I'm going to take it you spray painted that? :LOL:

I only sprayed the hood cuts before putting on the louver to avoid too much rust. If you can get a nibbler, it’ll make cutting the hood easier and less jarring. The louver from GR can either come unfinished aluminum or his powder coat.
 
I only sprayed the hood cuts before putting on the louver to avoid too much rust. If you can get a nibbler, it’ll make cutting the hood easier and less jarring. The louver from GR can either come unfinished aluminum or his powder coat.

A nibbler? Haven’t heard of one before.

I was thinking I would just have the whole thing power coated before installing it.
 
Be careful with powder coat on aluminum. If water gets under it, its all over except the crying. It tends to thin out at the sharp edges, and let water in eventually. If it were me (and its not), I'd probably apply a good coat of paint over the powder coat - and seal all edges on installation with your favorite sealant.

Or look for a steel one, there's that whole dis-similar metals thing going on too.

Or take the hood off, and take it down to the local hot rod shop, and have louvers cut into it. I'm actually toying with that idea, I'd put them on the sides so the Florida rain won't get in, but the heat can get out.
 
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A nibbler? Haven’t heard of one before.

I was thinking I would just have the whole thing power coated before installing it.

I don't know this channel, but this is a link to when this dude is using the air nibbler. If you only need one for a single use - harbor freight has one for like $30. I wish I knew that before using a jigsaw.

 
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I don't know this channel, but this is a link to when this dude is using the air nibbler. If you only need one for a single use - harbor freight has one for like $30. I wish I knew that before using a jigsaw.

Did you get the stainless fasteners or did you rivet?
 
I don't know this channel, but this is a link to when this dude is using the air nibbler. If you only need one for a single use - harbor freight has one for like $30. I wish I knew that before using a jigsaw.

I have read other reviews that said the jigsaw was a better option. I've never used a nibbler but that one in the video sure seemed to work well.