Prepping for paint behind firewall on a 67 Cutlass

[67 Cutlass]

Looking for input and wondering what others have done in this spot.
What's the best way to prep this gold painted area behind the firewall and where the cowl/fenders cover for new primer and paint?
I was thinking scuff whatever the DA can hit with 80 grit then hit the other spots by hand, mask off firewall and whatnot, prime, block sand the outer visible panels then paint.

Any input is much appreciated
I'll do the firewall at a much later date.

[68Tom]

Are you talking about the side gold area of the cowl piece? If so, I think it depends if that's original lacquer or of it's a more modern acrylic? If it's acrylic, as long as there's no major chips or scratches you need to sand out, I'd say scuffing it is sufficient. Make sure it's really clean before painting. You should have no problems painting it over.

If it's original lacquer, I'd probably recommend doing as you state, and getting it down to bare metal. I'm not sure how good a bond might form when you mix the two different paint types.

If you're talking about the black firewall, I'd say simply clean real well and scuff. It's tough to paint the firewall when you have everything still connected to it.

Question, because I only know how it is on a '68, but is the upper cowl area where the windshield wipers holes are, etc. supposed to be painted body color? On a '68 it's black like the firewall. There's actually a dividing line that diagonally goes from the body color cowl sides up towards the top "shelf" of the upper cowl.

[67 Cutlass]

I am talking about the gold painted area. I pretty sure it's the OEM paint in this area. Also pretty sure the color scheme belongs this way for my year. I'm not doing the firewall for awhile and it will be stripped of parts before I repaint it.
I'll be going with urethane for the final finish.

[ent72olds]

Just keep in mind, lacquer is reversible...meaning it can lift or wrinkle when the new paint is applied. If you don't plan on stripping to metal, apply first coats of sealer very lightly and let flash so as to not "solvent soak" the old finish. Once "locked down" you may apply "wetter". Best result is to strip and avoid any issues.