Little help with the hood please....

[FILICE72C10]

I am about to re-paint my underhood and needed a few questions answered.

First of all, should I paint it black or orange?

I ordered the hood brace pads from LMC but they are so thin they do nothing to support the hood. Should I buy others and should I glue them in and paint over them?

Here is a picture so you can see what i am working with.

Thanks,