[Entropy11]

I’m about to rehab and paint my firewall while the engine is out. I don’t need concours restoration but I’d like to clean up this horrible patch job. From some google image searches it appears like the patch I have covers a larger diameter grommet and it looks like some remnants patched in on mine. I’m planning to remove the seam-sealer looking stuff and possibly cut out/TIG a replacement piece in with the right sized hole and then blend it all in.

Any pics of this area would be greatly appreciated. Car is a ‘68 if that matters and non-air.

Also, does anyone happen to know the % gloss it should be? Likewise the % gloss of the frame and inner fender wells?

Thanks for any help!

[OG68]

I'm painting mine tomorrow. 68 with no power options.

[Greg Reid]

For the firewall I used Rustoleum gloss in the quart can. Reduced it with Acetone and sprayed. It's only about 60% gloss I would guess.

[dataway]

BTW you can mix Rustoleum flat black with the gloss to attain just about any level of gloss required.

[Entropy11]

Awesome guys thanks so much for the info. That pic is a big help OG68! Thanks.

Yep Rustoleum is my plan. Have a gallon of Gloss, a gallon of Flat, a pint of hardener, and quart of Rustoleum “special reducer”. I’ll do a few test areas and try to nail down 60°.

Thanks!

[Greg Reid]

I'll throw this out there just for kicks but I like to mix glosses under the hood. Looks better to me. I used the Rustoleum as mentioned on the firewall and used the same on the crossmember and frame.
For the inner fenders, core support and fan shroud, I went with a full gloss.. but in reality, it's probably about 75% or so if compared to a true gloss 2K paint.
Don't have any real good pics of the firewall but this gives you an idea of the gloss...

[dataway]

Yep, same here, I don't like seeing underhoods with exactly uniform gloss on every part, looks weird.

In actual use you will find that some of the gloss increases as time goes by with wiping and cleaning the parts, which is actually a slow "buffing" process. Like an original that was well maintained will have a glossier fan guard, inner fenders etc as those parts were commonly wiped down to keep them clean.

Greg, do you have something extra holding your battery tray? Mine is a bit questionable without the inner fender bolt in.

[rwfisher]

This is a short piece I pulled from:
How to Paint Your Chevy Camaro: Restoration Guide #9

Some helpful info. and agree with the paint used here is an excellent match. Obviously geared toward the F-body crowd but you get the jist.

"Firewall Paint
The factory painted the firewall semi-gloss black after the main body was painted. The amount of paint on the firewall depended on the factory, year, week, day, hour, and the worker who applied the firewall paint. Some firewalls were painted from the floor- pan to the top edge of the firewall and some were painted only about 2 inches from the top edge of the fire- wall. In rare cases, the firewall didn’t even get black paint, so it remained the body color. Some old photos of “press” cars (promotional vehicles for magazines) have the firewall painted over the top of the cowl, but this is not the norm. Each car was a little different because the factory worker simply sprayed the firewall by hand.




The factory semi-gloss black paint on the firewall does not reach the top edge of the cowl and does not have a defined tape line. Originally, the firewall was painted quickly on an assembly line after the body color was painted.



Dupli Color has a spray paint that best matches the factory finish. Professional restorers prefer it because it’s easy to control the factory finish with its runs and defects. Spraying the firewall with a spray gun is much harder to control the paint, especially the overspray so late in the project process. The paint is from Dupli Color’s Acrylic Enamel premium general purpose paint line. The part number is DA 1603. It’s the only paint sprayed from a can on Henderson’s restorations, and the results are award winning".

[69gtocv]

I did my 69 a little differently. I used semi-flat black on the firewall, then semi-gloss on the heater core cover, inner fenders, radiator support, etc to get that gloss difference look. I think the air cleaner might have been a little glossier yet than the semi-gloss.

[Entropy11]

Really awesome info from everyone. This forum never ceases to amaze me!

I removed a little of the way to glossy existing firewall paint and think I’m down to original. It appears to have a muted semi-gloss just like you guys mention. I may attempt to use that spot and try to color (gloss) match that spot.

I’m definitely in the camp of not having it all match gloss-wise. It never really looks right.

Rwfisher: Thanks for that excerpt, that info helps.

Another question, what would the cowl color be on an untouched car? The reading above references factory car color? Like I said, not a huge issue because my car would only ever touch a “concourse” if I drove it over a picture of one.

I removed the seam sealer from the cowl/firewall junction last night so I guess I’m painting the cowl area now too. Waiting on some Fusor 019 to come in for the re-seal.

Btw- thanks Greg for your pic from a distance showing all all the painted parts. I’m always happy to run across pics of your car on this forum. I prob have 90% of the ones you’ve posted over the years saved to my hard drive somewhere. It’s beautiful..

[OG68]

The cowl on my 68 (Fremont Build) has always been black.
Here are a few photos of the data plate and under the hood back in the early 80s.

[OG68]

When I was sanding down the firewall I found the original body color under the black.

[Greg Reid]

Originally Posted by dataway

Greg, do you have something extra holding your battery tray? Mine is a bit questionable without the inner fender bolt in.

Yeah, it definitely needs that rear support from the fender if you're going to be driving. The pic above is the way it was when I just needed to move it in and out of the garage. That pic was probably taken nearly 10 years ago. Time flies!

[Sidponcho]

I left what I believe are only the original factory holes for mounting things, firewall pad retainers etc.