1960 Eldorado Biarritz paint questions

[Whit]

Put the body onto the frame yesterday. As I prepare to have my '60 Eldorado Biarritz painted, several questions arise about where to paint what. By that, I mean that certain areas appear to have been painted body color and others black or red-oxide. Since my car has been repainted by a previous owner, I don't know what the right colors are for several areas. My questions are:

1) Interior fire wall and floor pans...red-oxide (seems to be original)...?
2) Underside of the hood...black or body color...(seems to have been black originally)?
3) Underside of trunk...black or body color...(also seems to have been black originally)?
4) Trunk floor...red-oxide...or body color  
5) Area behind rear seat where hydraulic pump is located...red-oxide...or...body color...?
6) Is it correct that all sheet metal (splash shields, etc.) under the hood should be black, except the body color fire wall?

All this may sound trivial to some, but I'm trying to do it right and I can't find information on how these came from the factory.
Any knowledgeable input greatly appreciated.

Thanks  Whit    whitmcfarlin@msn.com

[76eldo]

Whit,

I am no expert and there are many people that know more about this than I do.

I have an original paint 60 Eldo Seville torn apart right now.
The car is black.

I can tell you for sure that the inside of the trunk lid is body color and the inside of the hood is black.

When I took out my gas tank I was surprised at all of the red oxide primer in that area so the bottom of the car is mainly red oxide with a lot of body color overspray.

The firewall is body color and I can't really tell how far into the Trans tunnel the color goes because my car is black and was undercoated.

I can snap pics of any area that I have apart for you as the car is on a life and I can get to almost everything.

I am also going to do a full paint because the paint on the car is too far gone to keep it original.

I'm going to paint the front splash aprons and inner fenders with a satin or low gloss black and would like some suggestions on that.  Powder coating may be a good option here too.

Good luck

Brian

[Whit]

Brian:

I do know that the car came from the factory with the underside painted red-oxide...there were remnants in the wheel wells and a few other places. It looks like the floor pans and interior of the car was also red-oxide, at least where it wasn't visible.

As I said, I have not found and documentation that states what these other places were painted. Could have varied over time...don't know.

Whit

[JoeKarasinski]

underside is red oxide. fire wall is body color sprayed just past where it rolls under the car. inside of fenders, hood radiator support and splash shields semi gloss or satin black. On the underside just above the trans and in the rear wheel wells is something similar to rubberized undercoat. inside the trunk under carpet and the inside of the quarters is red oxide and inside of trunk lid and hinges are body color.

Body is painted before it was mounted to the chassis so you'll find body color over spray under the car too the under coat appears to have been sprayed on after the body is painted but before its put on the chassis.

Any how that's what I found on my 6239 and by what others have posted here before.

[quadfins]

I concur with Joe and Brian, based on the research I conducted for the '61/62 Authenticity Manual. From what I have seen, 1960 methods were similar.

Jim

[Whit]

Thanks to all...that is the way it will be.

Whit

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

Agreed with all that has been posted.

One minor point: On the inside of decklid is cardboard-like insulation sandwiched between decklid itself and the reinforcement panel. On Cadillacs of this era, it appears that while the reinforcement (skeleton) was painted body color, the insulation had gotten overspray only - to the best of my knowledge - not full coverage as is sometimes done in restorations.     

Body is painted before it was mounted to the chassis so you'll find body color over spray under the car too the under coat appears to have been sprayed on after the body is painted but before its put on the chassis.

Joe, regarding 59/60 as originally manufactured, could you clarify a couple points?

Where would body color appear on the undercarriage?

Body color overspray should never appear on undercoating. Is that correct?

What about brake lines that run below the rocker panels on cars without undercoating? Should they be oversprayed in body color?   

Thanks.



   

[Dan LeBlanc]

In that day and age, when bodies were still painted by a human with a spray gun, anything that was attached to the body before lowering onto the frame would have had overspray on it.  The painter would shoot the underside of the rocker area so whatever would fly out beyond the gun in that area would have overspray.  There's no exact science to recreating it.

There was undercoating applied in select areas as a sound deadening material prior to paint.  Usually above the rear axle, at certain predetermined points inside the trunk and inside the car.  This was done after the car was primed but before paint.

A car with dealer applied undercoating would've had it applied to the whole underside except the exhaust and slight overspray on shocks and springs.

[76eldo]

The lines are actually the fuel and return line.

They are bolted to the body but they run from the tank to the engine bay. Question is when are they installed. Before paint, or after paint?  That would be the deciding factor as far as if they should be bare steel, or have body color on them.

I'd like to know too.
Brian

[Dan LeBlanc]

All of my cars have had the dealer applied undercoat, so I have no way to tell.

Eric - what about your '59?  Is it undercoated or no?

[JoeKarasinski]

Fuel lines are installed after paint, sound deadening undercoat is also applied after paint. I have pictures but they need to be re sized before I can post.

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

Dan - Yes, undercoated.

Undercoat on fuel lines as well.

[JoeKarasinski]

Hard to see in the picture but here's what mine looks like. Red Primer then paint then under coat.

[Whit]

Interesting discussion. I had not planned to undercoat the car, given the Florida environment. On other cars I have used Dyna-Mat or Fat Mat on the interior floors for sound deadening and sealing. What are the prevailing thoughts on this approach?

Whit