I have thought about this a great deal over lots of time. Even if you use urethane paint, you WILL scar the head and even remove the paint if you use a wrench torqued to the proper spec. Urethane or powder coating is so tough, but doesn't matter, a wrench will destroy your work.
So, CAD plating is what was used originally. CAD is now against the law in the US by the EPA. You can still send out for CAD to other countries. Zinc is the standard plating used nowadays. CAD and Zinc do not look the same at all. Show judges will spot the difference right away. If you can site platers who do CAD in the U.S., they are doing it against the law.
I am not thrilled with using an out of country source, so my solution is Stainless Steel. It looks closer to period correct than Zinc does, yet not enough to fool anyone, and its way better since it will never rust. You can even get hardened stainless to completely resolve those issues. I do frame up restorations and NONE of the hardware is color. If it is hardware, its unpainted stainless.
More people than you know really appreciate the HONESTY of unpainted hardware. Painted hardware implies rusted hardware that was not properly addressed during the restoration. Even if it isn't true. Even if it isn't period correct.
I am sure I would be lost without Totally Stainless. You can order a single lockwasher from them and they will send it to you. Let alone kits for the whole truck.
Nice idea using newspaper. If I ever have a need for painted hardware, I will definitely do that! Thanks
