[Sirrotica]

Having worked in a Pontiac dealership in 1970 on the grease rack, the stripe on the hood, or insulation pad under the hood from the compressor weeping is completely normal. I was working on cars that were new, or less than 5 years old for the most part, they all wept from that seal. If they didn't leak, the person either wasn't using the A/C, or it was out of R12.

The shield was implemented to stop that stripe, because customers that actually got under the hood would see it, and surmise that something was wrong with the A/C compressor. The service manager would then attempt to explain that it was a normal occurrence, which wasn't particularly easy to explain to someone that was still making payments on their car with a factory warranty still in effect.