1st Gen hood hinge refinishing

[riv2x4]

I know there has been some debate on this.  After looking at several NOS era hood hinges I am of the belief that they were finished with Zinc Phosphate. Also some clean used originals show the same finish.  What has anybody used to refinish theirs or have you just gone with under hood black? Eastwood has a Zinc Phosphate aerosol product that may or may not accurately reproduce the original finish depending on who you talk to.

 

 

[Seafoam65]

            The original hinges on my car are a dark gray color, a lot grayer than the zinc phosphate paint that Eastwood sells. The closest

thing to the way my hinges look would be a  dark cast iron gray finish. In this pic at the very top you can see my unmolested hinges.

Edited June 23, 2017 by Seafoam65 (see edit history)

[JZRIV]

Yes definitely gray phosphate. There is medium gray phosphate and darker gray phosphate. The darker is more common to fasteners. Medium more common to other brackets. Certainly a paint close in color/shade would be fine but if your car is a cut above, find a plating place that does gray phosphate, remove the springs and have them done. You will need to specify if you want the medium or dark gray phosphate.

 

2nd gens seem to be more to the medium gray but don't doubt for a second there was variation medium to dark in manufacturing. Phosphate was the least expensive plating and often did not last long on parts that had exposure to elements. This likely would not have been a process that had strict quality control and as we can imagine in mass plating production of the 60s, quality control for something like this was probably nil.

 

In the past I have simulated dark and medium gray phosphate with a combination of primers and base coats then flat or satin clear on top. Just takes a little experimenting to get the desired appearance.

 

Gold and zinc cadmium offered a step up in corrosion protection from phosphate.

Edited June 23, 2017 by JZRIV (see edit history)