On the SS hardware I used that were painted, like bumper bolts, I had the advantage of a bead blaster at work. Just lightly hit them to rough up the surface and so far so good. When assembling I used flat and lock washers with the nylock nuts also in SS. I just blasted the heads or whatever would be taking paint and left the rest as is.
Bruce


Bruce
Old Toy: Ol' Betsy stock 59 Apache SB Stepside (Gone but not Forgotten)
New Toy: 1962 Impala SS Coupe
The Driver: 1990 Toyota truck