All,
I ran into and met DaveK at the Camaro Nationals this year. We discussed the process how we applied (reworked) the correct paint color on the orange RS vacuum feed hose between the head light switch and the RS relay switch mounted to the reserve vacuum tank on a ’69 Camaro. I need to give credit to Edgemontvillage (Lloyd Crosley) over on Camaros.net and is Brooklyn Project, an outstanding restoration on this '69 RS Z28. I copied his process to prep and paint the hose.
Since my RS feed hoses were already cut to length and installed, I had to remove them from the firewall along with the firewall grommet as an assembly. That allowed me to measure how long to the two vacuum hoses extend from the grommet and then reinstall them to the same length after painting the orange stripe hose.
Steps:
1.) Cleaned the hose with Xylol Xylene, an enamel paint thinner that is milder than lacquer thinner and does not harm the rubber hose.
2.) Stretched the hose along a 2x4 and clamped it on both end using a Philips screwdriver in both ends of the hose. As shown below, I clamped the screw drivers to the board to hold the hose in place and straight along the board. Don’t over stretch the hose but pull it snug to keep in place without rolling to the side.
3.) I had leftover pin stripping tape that had the approximate correct gap width as the existing stripe on the hole. I applied the pin stripe tape along the entire length of hose.
4.) Used making tape to hold the hose down to the board and mask the hose from paint except the gap between the pin stripe tape.
5.) I used the same Liquitex paint DaveK shows above in Reply #6. I purchased it from a local Hobby Lobby Store.
6.) Placed a small dab of paint on cardboard and ran a foam paint roller (1" dia. x 4" long) thru the paint. The goal is to get enough paint in the roller to apply several light coats but not apply the paint too thick. Apply enough coats of paint to get good coverage.
7.) The Liquitex paint skins (dries) quickly. While the paint is still tacky to the touch, peel the tape from the hole so dry paint does not chip away from the edges of the masking tape. Paint that is still lightly wet will leave a crisp clean paint line (an old painter's tip...I used to paint residentially!)
8.) Allow the color paint stripe to fully dry and cure over night before installing (or reinstalling) the hose in the grommet and into the car.
9.) Carefully insert the grommet, with both hose pre-installed in the grommet, through the firewall. Carefully work one lip around the grommet into the hole in the firewall. Patience is key for this task! You can work from under the dash into the engine bay or vice versa depending on the state of the build of the car. It’s a real "bi%*H*" to work from the engine bay if the brake booster and master cylinder is installed. If they are installed, you can remove the brake booter mounting nuts, pull and tie the booster/master cylinder forward to gain access down along the firewall.
The pics attached are in the sequence I did the work.
Good Luck!
I hope I never need to do this task again…LOL!
