Correct Hood Hinge Finish

[Mark's 68 L78 RS SS]

Sorry if this is a repeat.  I think I have seen this info somewhere but can't find it.  What is the correct finish for the hood hinges on a 68 396 L78 RS SS car?  There has been some input that it is supposed to be a semi gloss black and some that it is supposed to be like a silver plate.   They are about to go back on the car and I want to make sure we get them correct.

Thanks

[firstgenaddict]

Grey Phosphate...
Try this guy I know that some of the Yenko guys use his stuff. 
Vernon Owens # is 864-246-3836.

[RamAirDave]

Ive used the Palmetto product (Vernon) http://www.palmetto-omnitek.com/Palmetto/techniques.htm quite a bit.  Pretty good product, and a relatively small learning curve.  I usually use it for hardware and some small parts, havent done anything the size of a hood hinge yet.  I did a hood latch, and the results were very similar side-by-side to one done by Gregori at http://www.brakeboosters.com/services.htm , who is a good alternative if you dont care to phosphate the parts yourself.

dave

[deejaygee]

Dave, I think that's a different Palmetto than the one that sells the zinc phosphate (hood hinges and latch) and manganese (bolts) plating solutions.

Contact info is:

  PALMETTO Enterprises
  2311 A Old Parker Road
  Greenville,SC 29609
  864 246 3836

The Palmetto plating solutions consist of a gallon-size jug of nasty chemical that you mix 32:1 with water, heat to 200 degrees farenheit in an aluminum or ceramic pot, then dip your freshly stripped and cleaned parts in for a few minutes. Results are well worth the effort.

[Mark's 68 L78 RS SS]

Guys:

Thanks for the input.  I have looked for pictures and have seen pics that look almost like a gun metal blue and pics where the hinges look lighter gray.  Which is correct?  I have a call in with Palmetto Enterprises and hope to hear back fro them tomorrow.  Are the chemicals expensive?

I may have to wait until over the winter to get the hinges right.  If I do this myself I am assuming I bead blast the hinges down to bare metal correct?

Mark

[RamAirDave]

Dave, I think that's a different Palmetto than the one that sells the zinc phosphate (hood hinges and latch) and manganese (bolts) plating solutions.

The contact info is different, but I think Vernon just might be part of a different subdvision of Palmetto?  Doubt that there would be two, seperate Palmetto plating co.s in the Greenville SC area.  I dont really know for sure though, you might be correct.


Mark:  Yes, bead blasting is probably the best method of prep for ph plating.  The Zinc Phosphate is a lighter gray, but the coloring can differ a little in relation to how stout you mix the solution.  Not too expensive, around $20/qt which will last a while, assuming not too many large parts.

I actually use the Manganese Phosphate more.  Its the same procedure (the mixing ratio is a little stronger), but a darker color which I prefer for hardware.


dave

[hotrod68]

If yours are worn out you can still get the gray phosphate hinges from GM, but the supply is running low. More and more are coming through painted black.

[Mark's 68 L78 RS SS]

The hinges are in good shape, I just want to get everything to as close to factory correct or original as possible.  I did talk to Vernon at Palmetto Enterprises and the process seems simple enough.  He said just sand blast the parts clean, heat the solution to 180 F and dip the parts until the solution stops bubbling, then wash two or three times with WD-40.  The solution is mixed 1:32 like the earlier post states.

Now I have to get my new bride to let me use one of her stainless steel pots to cook some parts in lol  Might as well do all of them while I am at it.  Can anyone point me toward a resource for determining what the factory correct finishes are on which parts?

Thanks

[RamAirDave]

The process is pretty simple, but might want to do a few test runs first to get the hang of it.  I had consistency issues at first.  The tap water around here is pretty harsh, so after swiitching to distilled water, no problems.  Also keep in mind that WD40 is good for the initial wash off, but not a good protectant in the long run.  I'm using www.boeshield.com right now, but not long enough to have any long term results yet.

I would also suggest getting some of the Manganese Phosphate from them while youre at it (if youre wanting to do more than latches/hinges).  Same process, but a 20:1 (from memory) solution.

Gonna need a pretty big container for hinges.  I havent tried hinges yet for the reason that I havent hunted down a container yet.

Heres a couple hood latches, Gregori on the L, and Palmetto on the R:




dave

[Mark's 68 L78 RS SS]

Dave:

Thanks for the pics, those look great.  That gives me incentive for a winter weekend project.  I am still trying to figure out where to go for a reference for all brackets and parts to determine what the correct finish, plating, paint etc is.  I am still trying to decipher the AIM to see if the information is in there.  Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks

Mark

[deejaygee]

This'll get you going:

http://67z28.com/finishes.htm

[Mark's 68 L78 RS SS]

Cool and thanks

[sam]

Call Jerry MacNeish. His work looks great.  Sam

[Rich]

Os-pho (a rust remover) also works.  Removes light rust and leaves a light phosphate finish. Also, remember that the factory finishes were not as repeatible as what you commonly see on show cars.

Note that the spring itself needs to be gloss (or near gloss) black.

[RamAirDave]

Note that the spring itself needs to be gloss (or near gloss) black.

I would be interested if you have an example of this.  Myself, I've never found a trace of black paint on an original hood latch spring.


dave