It's all about the DETAILS......

[CornDogsCharger]

On the 'Bird that I am restoring, I have been doing a lot of the small detail stuff here lately.  On the Wing Support brackets that are in the trunk.... I know the C-channel pieces are supposed to be gloss black, but what about the hardware?  This car has never been apart.  When I carefully looked at the nuts and bolts, they appear to have originally been black oxide.  Is that correct?  I don't know why, but it seems like every one that I can think of has natural colored hardware. 

Next is the rear side marker light housings.  On this car they appear to have been some sort of light green etch color.  It has a flat shine to it.  I have seen many cars with these painted body color or silver on the inside.  What is correct??  Please help.

Justin
"CornDog"

[Magnumcharger]

From Kori (a guy who knows!!)
"I would say 90% of all nuts/bolts/hardware IS Black....for the whole car.
The factory used a phosphate coating which was very cheap.....didn't last....needed to be oiled...wears off and may seem 'bare' in appearance.
Most people now do 'em Black Zinc, which is darker black that looks better and lasts longer.

These marker housings: yup, I've seen that recently on NOS ones used on a pink '70 RoadRunner.
Some people paint the backside of them which is incorrect....they might have got body color overspray back there..."

Consider yourself informed!

[CornDogsCharger]

Thanks for the info!  I went ahead and matched the green and got it prepared just in case.  The color on the housing looks lighter than the paint.  That is mostly due to it being exposed for 40 years.  I carefully removed the rubber seal that goes around the edge and it exposed a nice, un-weathered green.  I was able to match that.

Thanks

Justin
"CornDog"

[maxwellwedge]

I agree - Zinc Phosphate is the factory spec'd finish on most Mopar hardware. I agree that the black zinc is a lot darker (almost painted looking) and it will outlast zinc phos although Ma never really used it on our era stuff. Clear or silver cad is probably #2 on the most used plating list but again some people are using silver zinc on all the silver stuff instead because of the reasons already stated. Other platings include gold cad and gold zinc as well as galvanized and a few other whacky finishes such as used on horn bolts, strut rod washers, hood catches etc.

That finish on the inside markers is what is mostly seen on good original stuff that has not been played with too much.