hold tightly to the strut or the hood, depress the button and allow the outer tube of the strut to slide back down over itself to its normal lowered position (the hood will still be open like a normal car). there is no resistance, so if you depress the button without holding onto the strut the hood will fall rather quickly to the normally opened position. This is the point where the hydraulic strut holds the hood open. from here close the hood just like any other car.

cheers,
krzyfast