58 Engine compartment paint gloss / colour

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portugaiser
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Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2013 7:25 pm

58 Engine compartment paint gloss / colour

Post by portugaiser »

Looking for clarification on the disk information for 58's... believe the cowl, firewall, inner fenders and main crossmember should be body colour and same high gloss. Should the rails also be gloss as the body, or same as the underbody - Painting this week so any assistance would be greatly appreciated!
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Alan H. Tast
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Joined: Wed Aug 20, 2003 10:52 pm
Location: Omaha, NE

Post by Alan H. Tast »

When the '58-'66 T-birds were painted at Wixom Assembly, the engine bay was painted at the same time as the body using the same color. Prep work for the exterior surfaces was more meticulous than for the engine bay and trunk: sanding of primer/color coats and final buffing was done in several steps to get the gloss most people expected to see. The engine bay, trunk plus under the hood/deck lids had lower gloss levels than the exterior due to less prep and finish work being done in these areas, and if you look close you may see some drips, runs, etc.

Many people, when doing a full restoration and stripping the engine bay and trunk down to nothing, will spend more time to prep these areas so that the inside looks as good as the outside. To some that would be over-restoration, but it is accepted without penalty in VTCI judging. For ease of cleaning and appearance I wouldn't hesitate to respray the engine bay and trunk using the same procedure you'd use for the exterior, but be aware that you are doing a better job than what the people did that had one car a minute pass by them.
Alan H. Tast, AIA
Technical Director/Past President,
Vintage Thunderbird Club Int'l.
Author, "Thunderbird 1955-1966" & "Thunderbird 50 Years"
1963 Hardtop & 1963 Sports Roadster
portugaiser
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2013 7:25 pm

Post by portugaiser »

Thanks so much for the detailed response Alan - this really answers my question perfectly and after a bit more prep, should be painting today! I appreciate you taking the time to respond so thoroughly.
kind regards,
Rob
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