Cowl paint color on a 63

[petelempert]

They are wet sanding and buffing my 63 right now and the new paint looks great. I noticed my painter shot the cowl area (in front of the vents, on top of the firewall, area where the hood gasket and serial number sit) in body color. I think it should be satin black, just like under the hood. Is that right? Thx PRL

[Jim Cannon]

You are correct. It should be satin black. The piece that holds the vents should be sprayed body color while off the car. Same with the fenders and hood. Then add them later. If you do that, you can see where the sating black piece is.

They firewall itself was painted body color in '63 for much of the model year. Then they switched to satin black. If you are painting your 05E car, Pete, then the firewall should be satin black.

[petelempert]

Jim-Thanks, I was hoping that was the answer. The car is largely apart (fenders, doors, hood, decklid, all glass and of course the related trim and chrome are off the car). The company doing it is a first class shop and they are really doing it right. They are spendy, but the results are absolutely stunning. I had it repainted Silver Cloud poly and it is just unreal. That color is very refined and swanky. They are buffing it now and will re-asemble starting next week. I've had this car for almost a decade and have been gradually getting it right. All the while, it really looked terrible. When I saw it this week painted the new color, I could not believe the transformation. Thx PRL

[Guest Steeleco]

Pete, that sounds great. What color is the car going to be? Pictures ASAP please!!!!!!!!!

[Jim Cannon]

Here are a couple of pictures to use as reference.

[petelempert]

Jim-Thanks for the pics. Steeleco-It's Silver Cloud Poly. My painter found the original GM paint code. Apparently it was used on 63-65 Buicks and again in the mid 80's on a few Cadillacs. Unlike the early 60's applications, this will have a clear coat. To my eye, it's a pale gray silver with a very mild/fine flake. It was parked next to a Cortez Silver 69 Camaro and I was surprised how the Cortez Silver looked so metallic/bright/flakey compared to the Silver Cloud Poly. The Silver Cloud has a deeper, less reflective quality. The chrome seems to really jump off the Silver Cloud where the chrome seemed to blend on the Cortez Camaro. I'm really excited about the paint and color. I'll get pictures out there once it's further along. Thx PRL

[RivNut]

Here are a couple of pictures to use as reference.

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Jim,

On the two cars that I parted last summer (neither of which I got data plate info from - my bad) the paint under the grill cowl was the same as the body color, but the firewalls were also body color. I'm assuming these were older Rivieras and that's why everything was the same color. If so, wouldn't it be prudent to paint the firewall/cowl based on build date?

Ed

[Jim Cannon]

Jim,

On the two cars that I parted last summer (neither of which I got data plate info from - my bad) the paint under the grill cowl was the same as the body color, but the firewalls were also body color. I'm assuming these were older Rivieras and that's why everything was the same color. If so, wouldn't it be prudent to paint the firewall/cowl based on build date?

Ed

Yes on the firewall. They were body color up until about April of '63 (exact date still to be determined).

The cowl (under the grill piece) is satin black throughout, not body color. Perhaps someone sprayed yours at some point, thinking they were supposed to be body color. Do you have pictures?

[petelempert]

When I took my car apart last year to get it ready for paint, I recalled both the firewall and cowl being black. Last week, my painter thought it was supposed to be body color and sprayed it silver. I wanted to check my memory (not as sharp as in days past) before I had him correct it back to black. I'm going with black. Thx PRL

[RivNut]

Do you have pictures?

Jim, Sorry, I don't have any pictures that show the cowl. I'm just picturing it in my mind and trying to remember what I saw. The next time I'm at the body shop, I'll look at the '63 that's in there and see what it looks like. It's stripped to the bare essentials - body on frame. I do have a picture of the engine compartment that shows that the firewall was black so I was wrong about that; could be wrong about the cowl too. But I remember the cowls being white because of the big drop of blood - easy to see red on white - I left on it trying to remove the lower windshield garnish molding. :eek:

Ed