Building a Prat a Whitney Wasp Williams Bros 1 1/2 scale kit . Now heres my question ,What color would the engine mount be ? Also the color of the fire wall? any ideas or photos would be great.
Firewalls are almost always unpainted stainless steel for fire protection, in any mid thirties airplane and beyond the stainless material is required in the US, and there is no need to paint it, it is pretty much corrosion free. Engine mounts were most always painted with a corrosion resistant primer like zinc chromate green. They can be overcoated with other colors.
John is correct, the fire walls behind radial engines are unpainted stainless steel. However, they aren’t shiny, rather a dull darkish silver gray. Plus, if the aircraft has been operated a few hrs, the color can range from the origional color to an almost black semigloss color. Radials tend to leak oil (leak might be an understatement - rule of thumb is “if you ain’t leaking oil, you’re out of oil!”). Most of that oil is blown back on the firewall, where it gathers dirt and grime over time.