Sirs ,

My corolla XE had a battery fire last oct '04. it seems that when the battery "clamp/holder" touches the positive terminal, it can produce enough heat to eventually burn the plastic body housing of the car battery.

I was driving to work then, when my electricals starting going bonkers on me. When I was in C5 near Outback, the car just went dead. then smoke was coming out of the hood. good thing that the guard in Outback was kind enough to provide me with a bucket full of water (gave the guard P200 as tip for saving my car).. To make a long story short, my battery caught fire and it left a very ugly scar on top of my hood (the paint was already bubling then). Now my hood looks like some one fried an egg on top of it (or gave a big dose of break fluid) .The actual metal of the hood is already exposed. Rust is already forming since it's been exposed for almost 2 years.

Questions:
o Is it possible to have only the hood repainted (strip down of paint)?
o Do detailing shops offer this kind of service?
o How many days does it ussualy take?
o It it adviseable for me to buy a new hood instead?

Actually, I want to have the entire car repainted but I cannot afford to go without a ride for 3-4 weeks since I live in Las Pinas and work in Eastwood.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks.