I quite agree, but it is referred to as a fire wall, and where I come from, a firewall is fireproof, either of stainless or galvanised steel. Its all a bit pointless if the 'firewall' catches fire on the side adjacent to the tank, due to the surface coating. Tony
I don't believe VW ever referred to it as a "firewall". It's one of those things that seems to have perpetuated itself in the kewl VW world. If anything, they probably put it in as (vague) protection in a rear-end collision.
We like Rust oleum apparently it goes on nice with a roller (got a ratty old T25 that might be getting a makeover with it in a couple of years )
Went with dove grey in the end and it shows off the nice repainted black tin wear really well . I may have colour coded it if I had a type four motor but very pleased with the result .
The parts fiches just call it a partition. http://www.ratwell.com/technical/Microfiche/t206400.gif. If anything, the panel in front of the tank, under the back seat, is the main firewall.