Photos of your zinc plated or black phosphate hardware and such on your truck

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

I'm pondering black phosphate coating Vs black zinc plating - for nuts, screws and bolts to hood hinges.

For appearances, I may like the phosphate better. I believe it was factory, for most pieces anyway. From what I've read, they use magnesium to blacken it. I believe it should be oiled,lacquered or waxed. Can't say if that's part of a phosphate service.

Not that I need it, but zinc provides more better resistance to the elements. The bonus of zinc is I can have it done locally, and I'm A LITTLE nervous about sending this stuff out for phosphate. I'd assume take a road trip then mail it.

At any rate, I've seen the results of both off the truck. Pics. of these or other finishes on your trucks welcome and appreciated.

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Breaking my own "rules".......Here's a comparison of the two finishes.

[Jason Banks]

I am about to have a bunch of mine done in Black Zinc. At work I have some things done in Black Zinc and prefer it to any other black finish.

[suville]

Check out lauerweaponry.com lots of good products there that lend themselves to automotive application

[Classic v6 GMC's]

I would do the black zinc.

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by suville

Check out lauerweaponry.com lots of good products there that lend themselves to automotive application

Interesting. I wonder how durability compares with the industrial process?

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Can't tell for sure, but for the black zinc fans, the sheen appears satin to me. GM's undercarriage was satin. Perhaps the core support as well.

[James the III]

What one holds off rust longer?

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by James the III

What one holds off rust longer?

Zinc.

Zinc plating comes in all kinds of colors. One is "clear", though I'm not sure clear is really clear. From what I gather it's the common unpainted metal color.


The "receptionist" said in her experience most people have restoration parts done in clear, and nobody had run with black. But she likes the idea a lot. Apparently mods / restores run in the family.

Here's a link to the place. They anodize as well............Hello outer grille. http://apexanodizing.com/service-det...c-plating.html

[sduckworth13]

Here is post #265 from Vic1947 build thread. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...nc#post6246012

"As you probably know, very few coatings stand up to Mother Nature over time. I've had better luck with cad plating than zinc, so I specified yellow cad for this batch. I have several buckets of hardware that I had done at Del's Plating in Houston in the 80's that still look pretty good. The coatings (some zinc, some cad) have dulled a little, but no rust. However, when you put the fasteners into service, typically the corners where the wrench makes contact is where the problems start. Putting them thru several cycles of assembly and disassembly will quickly remove the sacrificial coating at the pinch points and cause the onset of oxidation. My expectation is 3-5 years of service for these fasteners. If I were to drive the truck on salted roads in winter, I'd be lucky to get 1-2 years. You shouldn't have that problem in El Campo. "

"Not all plating companies are created equal so you can't assume their process will give great results if you take them junk. I spent a lot of time prepping the fasteners by first soaking them in muriatic acid then neutralizing the acidic reaction with a baking soda and warm water rinse. After thoroughly drying them, I cleaned the remaining light surface rust in a glass bead cabinet. Doing this gave me the best shot at a nice finish. Just remember GIGO (garbage in, garbage out). One last thing about cadmium. Most plating companies have small tanks that won't accept really large items. For the big stuff you'll have to live with zinc. Both coatings are available in clear (silver) and yellow. However yellow cad has a very pleasing variegated finish with red and green highlights which is another reason I prefer it."

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by sduckworth13

Here is post #265 from Vic1947 build thread. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...nc#post6246012

"As you probably know, very few coatings stand up to Mother Nature over time. I've had better luck with cad plating than zinc, so I specified yellow cad for this batch. I have several buckets of hardware that I had done at Del's Plating in Houston in the 80's that still look pretty good. The coatings (some zinc, some cad) have dulled a little, but no rust. However, when you put the fasteners into service, typically the corners where the wrench makes contact is where the problems start. Putting them thru several cycles of assembly and disassembly will quickly remove the sacrificial coating at the pinch points and cause the onset of oxidation. My expectation is 3-5 years of service for these fasteners. If I were to drive the truck on salted roads in winter, I'd be lucky to get 1-2 years. You shouldn't have that problem in El Campo. "

"Not all plating companies are created equal so you can't assume their process will give great results if you take them junk. I spent a lot of time prepping the fasteners by first soaking them in muriatic acid then neutralizing the acidic reaction with a baking soda and warm water rinse. After thoroughly drying them, I cleaned the remaining light surface rust in a glass bead cabinet. Doing this gave me the best shot at a nice finish. Just remember GIGO (garbage in, garbage out). One last thing about cadmium. Most plating companies have small tanks that won't accept really large items. For the big stuff you'll have to live with zinc. Both coatings are available in clear (silver) and yellow. However yellow cad has a very pleasing variegated finish with red and green highlights which is another reason I prefer it."

That's real informative. I've got the prep part covered using white vinegar, a soak in WD-40 and lots of brushing. They come out nice. He makes a good point about parts in service, but wouldn't you have the same issue with the original parts from factory?

[RPOZ11]

I've done some of this on one of my Camaros.
Over time moisture in the air seems to affect the finish.
Have to check some of mine to offer you what I'm experiencing.
Mine was done over 20 years ago.
I'll post something as soon as I can