Superformance aluminium firewall

[madmaxx]

Anybody know of a simple solution for a dull superformance aluminium firewall? I say aluminium but I think it is just like a thin sticker? If it were aluminium (thick) I would just polish it out. Has anyone made one from polished stainless?

Thanks

[Sawdust]

Try a product called "Autosol" it's made in Germany. It's a polish for all types of metals and it works great. I did the firewall on my SPF and the difference was night and day

[VintageUpgrades]

It is just a thin sheet of aluminum. It is stuck to the firewall with a few rivets and a bit of urethane. I have had them engine turned, painted, and polished. I had a few done with hydro graphics. I even made a carbon fiber replacement.

[STL Mark]

You want WHITE DIAMOND Metal Polish.
Stuff is amazing.
Best metal polish I have found.
I've tried them all.

They have it at Advance Auto Parts.
Autozone and NAPA don't carry it.

Love this stuff.
It will take your firewall to an almost chrome appearance.
I use it with a high speed drill and a small Mother's Powerball.

[madmaxx]

Cool! This one is pretty nasty. I will try some recommended polish but am skeptical due to its condition and will probably need to replace. The exhaust surrounds must be stainless as they cleaned up super easy and look great. I wasted 6 hrs polishing the wheels got them pretty good then took them to a wheel place and in 45 minutes they had them looking like mirrors. Nothing beats the right tools and compounds but I wouldn't trust them with the firewall.


QUOTE=VintageUpgrades;1280942]It is just a thin sheet of aluminum. It is stuck to the firewall with a few rivets and a bit of urethane. I have had them engine turned, painted, and polished. I had a few done with hydro graphics. I even made a carbon fiber replacement.[/quote]

[KevinW]

If you want a Kirkham-like mirror finish, there is no alternative to rubbing down through al the wet'n'dry grades and then mopping several times with metal polish - it will take several hours to complete for a good job.

But if you just want it to look a little smarter then a few goes with the above products will get rid of the dull look and it will have a shinier lustre.

I dont know the shape of a SPF firewall, but im guessing it wouldnt be that hard to cut one out of .5mm or 0.7mm stainless if you want a long-lasting shiny finish.

[blown871]

YOUR elbow grease.
MY CAR

Win/win

[madmaxx]

replacing with stainless would be perfect. getting the firewall out would require some work. after laying upside down on my neck to fish the new oil temp sending unit through the firewall i quickly realized i have no desire to do that again. i will probably throw some polish on it and that should be good enough as i do not want to spend days removing all the hole throughs in the existing.

I am a little bewildered why spf used beautiful stainless panels for heat sheds around the side pipes but not the firewall. that is one area where bdr has them beat.

[KevinW]

..... maybe to try and make the car look more original?

[Blas]

Originally, the early SPF cars did not comre with an aluminum firewall, just black fiberglass. The aluminum skin was later added as standard equipment.

Rearding the SS heat shields in the lower areas under the hood, I believe the SS material was used because it does not transfer heat a readily as aluminum does, so it makes a better heatshield material down near where the headers are. I don't think there is as much direct heat in the area of the firewall so aluminum was used there. I'm sure the aluminum also supports the throttle linkage better than the fiberglass alone did.
I have seen a few SPF's that have had the aluminum firewall polished-up quite nicely. Quite labor intensive to do with all the items mounted on it. And while the stainless firewall would look more mirror-like than the aluminum is, it might appear a bit "Blingy" to some....

Don't use anything to polish the aluminum that has an oily residue because the oily surface will pick up and hold road dust like a magnet.

[madmaxx]

thanks for info, now that my polished engine looks like a mirror it has alot of blingy. It can probably be seen from space when the sun hits it right , LOL!!

[motordean]

Originally Posted by madmaxx

thanks for info, now that my polished engine looks like a mirror it has alot of blingy. It can probably be seen from space when the sun hits it right , LOL!!

Pics please....... and which solution did you go with?

[madmaxx]

I havent done the firewall yet. The intake manifold, timing cover, water pump (backing plate chromed), alternator (chromed), pulley and brackets, fuel pump (chromed) valve covers, all manifold fittings (chromed) polished to a mirror finish. They had been polished previously but allowed to tarnish over time.

Slave cylinder and bracket painted black. I used the correct lenght hose this time, it looks much better and have slave cylinder perfectly perpindicular to clutch fork. Drive shaft removed and painted black, (found drive shaft bolts loose. Transmission fluid changed to synchromesh. Ebrake working perfect. All gauges working. Installed convex mirror on side mirror it is now functional. Splitting hairs but i would like to remount the rearview mirror to the dash. Carburator adjusted correctly. Ride height adjusted correctly. Correct motor mounts installed. Phenolic spacer between carb and manifold (no more vapor lock). Replaced distributor cap since rotor tab not bent up touching button and ate the old button away. I also pressure washed the chassis, that was a cold miserable job on my back, i am so fuked up i then went jet sking, by the way that was like December 27th? i started loosing dexterity in my fingers after 3 hours on the lake. My jet ski is fast!!!!! and small, 65 mph Kawasaki forever!!!

Remaining work is header and sidepipes recoated and a little more polishing on the wheels.

In the end the best improvement so far has been the ebrake, no more 2X4's when I back it out of the garage to let it warm up followed by the phenolic spacer between carb and manifold.

As you can see by the aforementioned getting burned out, if not I would remove the firewall and polish to mirror finish but enough. By the way all was accomplishe in the last 7 weeks.


After I get the headers and sidepipes redone I would put it up against any superformance out there. The only thing that pisssssssssses me off is the pasenger side, side pipe opening, bottom has been deformed due to installer not using the correct mounts.

There is a Kirkham on ebay right now fully polished, how the heck would one ever keep it from tarnishing living on the gulf coast. I would love to have it...

Keep forgetting wired tachometer correctly and switched to wooden steering wheel for classic look.

Originally Posted by motordean

Pics please....... and which solution did you go with?

[madmaxx]

I forgot has the original tires, I can spin the tires at will up to 70 mph, that novelty is growing old. Dont know the path forward there yet. I love the BFGTA look but they are no match for this powetrain. If I get the kirkham the next guy can decide. Car is too polished for the GY billboards in my opinion. With all the polishing its a gentleman racer and I am no gentleman.


I bet superformance would be happy with me getting into a Kirkham I would stop ripping their assssses and start on the Kirkham, its all fair in love and war!!

[scootter]

I use Zephyr on my wheels, firewall, oil cooler cover, side pipes. Works great with little effort. I use to use What-A-Shine that was excellent, but no longer exist. I was replaced by the second one which I have not tried yet.

Zephyr Pro-40 Perfection Metal Polish - 16oz - 4 State Trucks
JING! Superior Truck/Metal Polish

[madmaxx]

You are my sunshine my only sunshine!!!! WOW!!!!! Holy sheet. I got some white diamond, and the results are stunning. I do not think my results would have been better if I removed the firewall and sanded. It removed all the water spots etc. I did it 3 times over an hour and I bet it is nicer than when it was new. This firewall hadn't been touched in 5 years, i thought it was scrap. It is 98% of perfect. WTF is wrong with me all that mothers sheet and it can't hold a candle to the white diamond. I also did the gas cap and once again great results. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by STL Mark

You want WHITE DIAMOND Metal Polish.
Stuff is amazing.
Best metal polish I have found.
I've tried them all.

They have it at Advance Auto Parts.
Autozone and NAPA don't carry it.

Love this stuff.
It will take your firewall to an almost chrome appearance.
I use it with a high speed drill and a small Mother's Powerball.

[madmaxx]

Don't know what happened to my post. The white diamond is incredible!!!!!!! It looks better than new, The firewall hadn't been touched in 5 years. I did it 3 times over an hour and the results were spectacular. I can't believe I was using mothers, pure crap. I couldn't have gotten better results if I removed the dash and sanded. Did the gas cap too!!! Great stuff White Diamond!!! Thanks STL Mark!!!! Got the water spots outs, heck got everything out but a gouge. Incredible stuff. Has the consistency of Milk.

Originally Posted by STL Mark

You want WHITE DIAMOND Metal Polish.
Stuff is amazing.
Best metal polish I have found.
I've tried them all.

They have it at Advance Auto Parts.
Autozone and NAPA don't carry it.

Love this stuff.
It will take your firewall to an almost chrome appearance.
I use it with a high speed drill and a small Mother's Powerball.

[PANAVIA]

My Personal favorite is ;

Amazon.com: flitz metal

FLITZ - that stuff works great -

[ajracing]

Originally Posted by madmaxx

You are my sunshine my only sunshine!!!! WOW!!!!! Holy sheet. I got some white diamond, and the results are stunning. I do not think my results would have been better if I removed the firewall and sanded. It removed all the water spots etc. I did it 3 times over an hour and I bet it is nicer than when it was new. This firewall hadn't been touched in 5 years, i thought it was scrap. It is 98% of perfect. WTF is wrong with me all that mothers sheet and it can't hold a candle to the white diamond. I also did the gas cap and once again great results. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have some stuff I got from my brother, who is a truck driver. he got this polish from a guy at a truck stop. He makes it up himself. the best I have ever seen. i'll give you some should we meet.

[madmaxx]

Cool!!!!