Firewall Finish

I am thinking about painting the stainless steel on the cabin side of the firewall. Has anyone done so with good results or does everyone just leave it unfinished. Any other ideas to dress it up a bit and give it more finished look.

I plan on putting insulation matting on the inside of the firewall on my project plane. This would leave the engine side bare stainless.

Painting that stainless would wind up (IMO) being more trouble than it's worth. You'd need to etch and scuff the surface, find and apply a suitable primer then paint. Adhesion of paint to stainless can be very tricky.

Tom,

Larry's comments about trying to make paint stick to SS are right on.....Another point to consider...The purpose of a firewall in the first place....A coat of paint, in itself can burn and fume in the event a firewall is needed for the purpose of its namesake.

Another option for SS firewall finishing is engine turning.....a little tedious, but an incredible appearance.

Sincerely,

Dave S

KF7 Trigear
912ULS Warp Drive
St Paul, MM

A friend of mine cut a welding blanket to fit on the back of his firewall, and it looked really good. It also was certainly good for fire, realtively inexpensive, and he said it didn't weigh much because the piece is relatively small.

So there's another option for you.

Thanks Dave and c402 for the cautions regarding paint on firewalls.
Thanks kitfoxers for ideas to make the firewall more functional and pretty it up a bit to.