Firewall cleanup & paint prep, any tips?

[SmashBack]

Thought I'd spend a few days cleaning up the firewall and re-painting while I have the engine out. This is by far my least favorite part of any project I've done

I'm looking at that big brace piece and trying to figure out how I'm going to get all that rubbery sealant junk out of there before I paint. I'm thinking a wire wheel will get all but the bottom corners where it flattens out against the firewall. Looks like it has several spot welds and I don't think I want to drill them to pull it and then have to weld it back up but will if I really have to.

Looks like I'll need to pull that column back up inside the cab as well.

If anybody has tips tricks or industry secrets I'd like to hear them!

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[Josh Helm]

heat it up with a torch and use a putty knife it'll come right off ..well the rubbery parts ..the wire wheel and sand ..also I like to use cheap oven clean also ..does a fantastic job and cheaper then a good degreaser

 

[SmashBack]

Thanks for the input! I did torch it a bit but it gets messy for sure. I found this morning that Xylene works very well with some scrubbing, it seems to be taking everything off nicely. It is a bit hard to get in between that brace piece and the firewall but I'm determined to have this thing re-painted by the end of the weekend!

 

[dvdswan]

Seeing how you have it tore down that far. If you don't have A/C, you might think about adding it to the truck.

 

[Josh Helm]

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now this is cancer ..what my truck once was ..i would love to just have had a messy job...lol..but I hear you ..the more time you take in prep..the better the paint will be and last

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never know now lots of work

 

[SmashBack]

Yep, it had A/C. Converted to 134a and now I'm replacing that with a VA setup.

Yeah now I feel better about my truck although my 69 was as bad as that one, ended up replacing the cab!

 

[smoothandlow84]

Have you also considered covering up the existing firewall to smooth it out with panels? It is a lot more work, but it can be done with templates and some patience.

 

[smoothandlow84]

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[SmashBack]

Yes also! At least on this truck I wasn't wanting the full perfect smooth look but after seeing how the VA plate was going to look I decided to at least give that area some attention, going for a "cleaner factory-ish" look.

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[matkes77]

Yep, it had A/C. Converted to 134a and now I'm replacing that with a VA setup.

Yeah now I feel better about my truck although my 69 was as bad as that one, ended up replacing the cab!

What are you referring to "...a VA setup". I've never heard that term and I'm also a NEWB, not much work done on my truck yet.

thanks!

 

[Blue Ox]

Vintage Air?

 

[Crispy]

Pretty sure its Vintage Air.

 

[SmashBack]

Vintage Air is correct. Original AC worked ok once I converted to 134 but I wish I hadn't bothered.

 

[peats]

dont forget to reseal the wiper well if you want to have your firewall redo last. there is only a swipe of seam sealer and paint preventing water from getting to that spot welded seam. i use 2 coats of bed liner in that area when i re do them.

 

[SmashBack]

Yeah it's rusted already. Trying to clean out all that original sealer and will replace it with por15 topped by new seam sealer.