Jerry MacNeish's book lists the jack mast as 'gold or silver cadium dichromate' but I'm not sure if there is a timeframe or assembly plant that could indicate one or the other as more likely for your car (as you're obviously already thinking).
Personally, I would go with replating the mast, paint will just not look correct IMO.
Hopefully someone with an original NOR car (mid-production or later, since yours has an X-code) can confirm if theirs is gold or silver.