foam underneath hood
 

The foam underneath my hood has started to disintegrate. Where do you find the replacement and what glue does on use to attach it?

Do a search for "hood pad".

3M sells a spray adhesive - use the high temperature version, pricey but good.

I would recommend you do your best to get ALL traces of the original foam and glue off before you start glueing the new one on. Spread an old sheet over the engine compartment before you start the job, use a glue remover and thank me 5 years down the road when your hood pad is still in place, or save half an hour today and spend another 2 hours re-doing the job next year!!!

I used the 3M Super spray adhesive and the MB adhesive. BE SURE TO COVER THE FENDERS AND ENGINE COMPARTMENT WITH A SHEET UNLESS YOU WANT TO SPEND HOURS GETTING THE OVERSPRAY OFF. 1 1/2 yrs later it is still tight.


1. Raise hood to full vertical position

2. Find junky sheet to cover whole front of car/engine compartment

3. Get hard plastic scraper (a windshield ice scraper does very well, and I have no current use for one where I live anyway!) and start scraping.

4. When you get the 3M Super Adhesive see if the supplier also has 3M Adhesive and Decal Remover. This is really nasty stuff but will not harm automotive finishes other than to strip the wax off. Very flammable as well, so don't do this around the water heater or enjoy a Macanudo while applying it. Soak a shop rag in the stuff and get it all over the remaining gook from the old pad. Since it's mostly naptha it does evaporate quickly, so work in small areas. Once the remains of the pad are softened up scrape away! Don't obsess about complete removal, as you won't get all of it off. Some people use metal scrapers such as putty knives which are pretty dull, but I prefer not to. My concerns are that scratches in the finish could possibly rust from moisture trapped in or under the pad. Certainly don't want my hood rusting from the inside out!

5. Try a dry fit of the pad first to give you an idea of how it lines up - a second set of hands will help.

6. Once all this is done carefully apply the adhesive. I say carefully since it will attack painted finishes on you car, so spray close to the hood and avoid any overspray. I like to spray a 4"-6" section across the top (front) of the hood with a corresponding application to the pad in the same area. Let the adhesive set up the prescribed amount of time.

7. Get the pad lined up and stick it on in one corner. Line it up on the other corner and make sure it's in place, then press it down. Now the pad will be hanging curtain-like from the leading edge of the hood.

8.Before you spray the adhesive - cover (engine compartment and fenders unless you want to spend hours getting the overspray off. !!!!!!!!!!!

9. Apply the remaining adhesive to the hood and pad and press it into place after it sets up. I have a brayer (a hard rubber roller used for laminating) that I like to use to go over all parts of the pad, making sure it's stuck on well. Leave it in the vertical position for an hour or so, then you're done!

just another .02$ worth

you can also look on ebay BUT and this is a big BUT. there are a number of pads available all different grades sooo do yourself a favor call phil and tell him you want an OEM quality pad. that means some kind of fiber material on one side. this will last much longer than simple foam. and do yourself a favor and buy the best glue and prefit prefit prefit.

i took the opportunity prior to putting the pad on to paint the edges of the underside of the hood. makes a big difference.