Chromed Parts

[bosque]

Also brushed metal is the horn ring trim on some chrome on others. I thought it was painted grey but pretty sure it is brushed.

[RMP&O]

Wiper arms, horn trim, gas cap and items like this use a non-glare chrome.

Outside mirror head was chromed but then painted black leaving only a small chrome ring around the outside edge. Inside mirror is painted grey, similar to the grey used on the seat belt latches.

Every single item on a Patrol was zinced from Nissan. Every single bolt and nut on these trucks, even if painted over. All the throttle linkage was zinc plated. All the door latches/catches and so forth was zinc plated. All hood hardware was zinced, latch, dovetail, catch, springs and so forth. And much more.

Valve cover nuts are chromed, got some NOS ones here I verified this by.

Kick vent hardware is zinc plated, the levers. Same goes for the early wind shield vent hardware but only on early trucks. Screws for kick vent screens were left plain zinc.

Heater blower motor was zinc plated.

Clutch and brake rods were left in plain zinc with the caps painted. This being the rods that hold the pedal assemblies in place, the ones you are supposed to oil.

All clamps were zinc plated.

Band on starter and generator were zinc with yellow chromate. Most of your electrical items like volt reg and horn relay had zinc plating, most I have seen are zinc with yellow chromate.

Dash panel screws are chromed.

Seat belts hardware was chromed but the pull handle was painted grey.

Start sand blasting all things Patrol and it quickly becomes obvious how Nissan did it. Things removed regularly, like soft top bows and frame or trans skid plate, hardware was left plain zinc. Things Nissan didn't think would get a wrench on them anytime soon, were painted. Chrome is a three stage process, copper plating, then nickle and finally the chrome. When you sand blast a chromed item you see the layers as they come off.

FYI, zinc come in a variety of finishes. Plain zinc = silver. Zinc with yellow chromate = yellow. Zinc with black chromate = black. Nissan pretty much used just plain zinc but a few things definitely got zinc with yellow chromate. The yellow is often confused as "cadmium" but cadmium is not the same kind of finish. It has a dry powdery look rather than shiny. Cadmium is superior for rust protection but it scratches easier so is not very common at all on any vehicles.

Cheers

[RiverPatrol]

I have a buddy that is heavy into restoring Datsuns. We've had several discussions about the metal treatment of engine parts, and he has restored many to original condition.

The 'yellow' parts, like the blower motor housing, generator strap, voltage regulator, etc including the housing of individual instruments, are actually anodized. It's not a coating, it is a process that modifies the surface of the metal.

Having original parts that still have the anodizing is huge to the Datsun fanatics. My buddy preserves his by applying diesel fuel to all of the anodized surfaces. He has an '81 280ZX that has won 1st place at the National Z Convention twice. Needless to say all of the factory anodized parts are immaculate.

[moore_rb]

Hmmmm....

I'm reasonably certain that native steel can't be anodized - it can only be electroplated.

If the Datsun restoration guy is using this process on aluminum parts, then yes- I can see where anodizing would achieve the desired finish. But it won't work on steel...

http://www.globalmetalfinishing.com/anodizing-faqs

Can steel and/or stainless steel be anodized?

Steel and stainless steel can’t be anodized; the process baths used to anodize aluminum will attack and dissolve steel parts. Your parts need to be completely stripped of any steel otherwise the steel will be damaged during the process.

[RiverPatrol]

You're right, I am mis-remembering. He called it cad plating - gold cadmium. Yellow zinc is an alternative to gold cadmium, but the original parts were gold cadmium plated.

[RMP&O]

All cadmium is gold in color, deeper and darker than zinc with yellow chromate.

I will have to try that diesel method out, I have got a few items I can try it on that would be better to restore than have plated again. I do agree, if you can restore an item do it over fresh plating but I think that applies more to a "re-furbish" of a very good condition original rather than a full on resto. So many Patrols out there are just beat down and most of the finishes used up after 50 or so years.

Here is a whole bunch on plating from the company I use exclusively,
http://www.qualityplating.com/#et_page_17

They have done everything to date for me besides chrome which is everything on a Patrol (the 64) plus a bit of spare parts. Should be sending them everything on the 67 I am doing now before to long.

I use these guys for all my chroming,
http://saltlakechrome.com/

Main reason I use these two vendors is because they are close to me and I have had good results with their services and customer service.

Cheers

[moore_rb]

I would rather restore than re-plate, simply because I hate the thought of spending all that time stripping off perfectly good plating, just so I can PAY somebody to put it all back... Call me cheap

regarding cadmium versus Zinc chromate - Find me one person in a thousand who can tell the difference between the two with the naked eye, and I'll show you a person with one SERIOUS case of OCD...

Cadmium is deeper gold, and has a fuller "rainbow" hue to it - zinc chromate is more dull, otherwise, I think both are acceptable visual substitutes for each other... JMHO So again, just go with what's cheapest

[RMP&O]

I will just post pictures of the different finishes....


cadmium on left and zinc with yellow chromate on the right


plain zinc



"show" chrome


NOS zinc



fresh zinc with yellow chromate on the starter

and on the trans dip stick



load of fresh zinc with yellow chromate


load of plain but fresh zinc


dip stick has fresh zinc with yellow chromate, fuel pump is NOS and has factory zinc with yellow chromate


this is fresh zinc with black chromate, I like it a lot


fresh plain zinc



Platers actually don't want you to sand blast any of it before sending off to them. Chrome is bad to sand blast off if it is on an item that has a smooth finish like a door handle. Things like the dash screws doesn't matter as much. I don't sand blast chrome parts except for those dash screws and only if needed. I do sand blast all the nuts & bolts even if they don't want me to. I kind of have to to determine condition, clean up and re-fresh before selecting what is even worth getting plated and what is trashed and junk. You don't really want to send off bad hardware to be plated as it is wasting money.

Cheers

[RiverPatrol]

Cadmium is deeper gold, and has a fuller "rainbow" hue to it - zinc chromate is more dull, otherwise, I think both are acceptable visual substitutes for each other...

It's that rainbow that makes the difference to the Datsun guys. There were some guys that tried to cheat using splashes of different colored paints - it didn't fly. This is just the kind of stuff they pick out and talk about at car shows.

I will have to try that diesel method out...

The diesel fuel is only used for preserving the plating, not restoring it. Another note - steam cleaning and solvents on an engine will ruin the plating.

[jwgreen]

Ian,

Where did you get those rubber plugs for the Mag Switch on the starter??