This is a subject dear to my heart. My perspective is to restore parts to as close to the original look as possible given the available resources of today. For me, the challenge is the factory correct surface finish vs. factory correct appearance. I use a lot of cadmium plating for my customers in place of zinc because it looks closer to original zinc when processed using various techniques. I use Cerakote or 2-part paint instead of powder coating which can go on too thick and give a jell bean look...engine tin is famous for this. I try to source the correct bolts with appropriate head markings for customers with hardware that is too far gone.
MFI lines remain a challenge but I am getting closer to the original factory look. They were clear zinc chromate which was a light silver grey originally, and trended toward satin more than gloss. Today, clear zinc is rather blue and bright. Instead of satin, it trends toward frosted. I've been working on getting the the color and finish for months now.
Typical lines off a car. Highly oxidized, the chromate is pretty much gone. There's even a little rust here and there.
Stripped and processed, ready for plating
Done in clear cadmium. Pretty, but overall too silver and too bright.
Latest testing and comparison, top is zinc, middle is cadmium and bottom is a custom plating process. the color is correct, I now need to get more of a satin finish.
