[911pcars]

I have been known to apply a coat of yellow zinc-colored spray paint to some brackets and/or fasteners. The color is often called "gold".

You're right. The cost to plate just a few fasteners isn't worth the min. charge most shops charge. An alternate method is to purchase a metric fastener kit, maybe two of them. They come with an assortment of popular nex bolts, nuts and washers. Use the ones in the kit to replace the worst of the existing hardware. Once you're replaced/accumulated a sufficient quantity of fasteners, maybe two sets worth, have the batch replated, then continue replacing, if that's what you want to do.

Sherwood