Ah, here it is. Didn't come out too bad, but there is much to be improved on.

Firstly, this is a grey truck that I am slooooowly painting black. Maybe one body panel a year kind of slow. It was re-painted at some point due to a collision before I bought it three years ago, and the clear coat is both chipping and peeling off everywhere. The hood had the worst of it, so the worst became the best.

If the whole process had turned out right, this would be a %100 rattle can paint job (spray paint). The last phase, applying the clear coat, was horrific. I can only speculate, but the batch of cans I bought must not have had enough hardener mixed in. Whenever it was in direct sunlight, the clear would soften and practically absorb every single spec of dust that touched it. Fixed that by letting it sit overnight in a buddy's body shop and wet sanded the next morning with 1200 grit until most of it was removed. Crossed my fingers and mixed up a small batch of DuPont clear (Ford factory paint). It worked! The paint seems to be compatible. Only time will tell if there's a problem.

The Details (what was used and how it was done)

Phase one, Paint Removal and Prep. Removed the faulty paint with 220 grit sandpaper and a DA (dual action) sander down to the factory paint. Sanded down to the metal in some places to level out the surface (even very tiny, 1/2 millimeter imperfections will show up in black). Finished the rough sanding with 320 grit and the DA. Applied a lightweight body filler (Evercoat) to fill in some small dents and hand sanded with 320 on a soft sanding block (Motor Guard Soft Block). Cleaned the whole hood with grease and wax remover. Applied a very light coat (nearly see-through, doesn't need much) of etching primer to all the bare metal surfaces (etching primer helps the regular primer to adhere to metal). Two coats of primer followed by a dry sanding with 800 grit and soft block.

Phase two, ZE PAINTING! Five coats of an acrylic enamel gloss black were used (DuPlicolor). Lightly wet sanded with 800 grit between each coat, and a good sanding after the final coat to eliminate the "orange peel". Orange peel is a reference to what the surface looks like. An orange peel has a lot of small hills and valleys, not smooth at all.

Phase three, The Wolf. Decided on a two foot diameter saw blade and masked off the area. Taped the design over the masking an used a razor blade to cut out the saw blade. The masking of the blade was removed and painted with hot rod red (Kustom Shop). Removed all masking and taped on an outline stencil of the head inside the blade. Painted with triple deep black. Drew in the detail lines with a prism pencil (can be painted over). Airbrushed in the lines and sharpened them up with a couple pieces of curved paper used as a mask while alternating between red and black to give the lines the desired thickness. The airbrush paint is very thin, so no sanding here.

Phase four, Clear Coat (or, Disaster and Makeup). I explained above the faulty clear, so I won't repeat myself. However, AFTER the good clear was applied, I wet sanded with 800 grit, then 1200. Time wasn't on my side at that point, so that was as far as I got for about two weeks. The picture here is the current condition. Still has orange peel, but it's passable for now. Buffed it out with 3M medium cutting compound and a DeWalt buffer. In the next month (or six) I'll get back to it and have a nice glass finish.