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The only portion that is typically the gold chromate is the dicast vacuum tree portion and not the lower fitting portion. The NOS one from the ebay auction shows this difference...
...I still hold out the possibility of the base section originally having the dichromate dye coating over the zinc but will wait and watch for new examples to show up if they do in the future
Would you like images of the one I removed from my engine last week? It is zinc plated, no signs of dichromate in any of the areas protected by paint. It had been repainted but the zinc areas that were protected are silver in color, not gold.
IMHO, I doubt you would find any original (assemblyline) examples that are overall "all gold" in appearance though I have found Service Replacement examples that have been.
We are of the same belief. The one from eBay looks to have been stored in a manner that preserved the original finishes very well. I intend to restore mine to look as it does (before painting the lower areas when engine gets shot engine color).IMHO, I doubt you would find any original (assemblyline) examples that are overall "all gold" in appearance though I have found Service Replacement examples that have been.
Since the Topic of this thread doesn't specifically state "Finish" (although that is primarily what has been discussed), I thought that since this thread was current, that I would Post the attached that I ran across today in the March 1967 Shop Tips.Bob
Recall seeing that page - just don't know where my copy is. Like so many
The only portion that is typically the gold chromate is the dicast vacuum tree portion and not the lower fitting portion. The NOS one from the ebay auction shows this difference. FYI the 68.69.70 and later vacuum trees are also the gold chromate which would indicate a pattern. This same gold chromate process has been used to protect diecast carb parts (same material as vacuum tree)since the early 60's .
Along the understanding that the lower portion is a silver (zinc) not gold,...
If your referring to refinishing or trying to reproduce the original finish of the top die cast section...
Re-Read what I asked.
Per my image, the TOP looks fine (to me anyways) but the LOWER is also gold so was asking of any way to strip off the GOLD without removing the underlying zinc or if I should just leave it alone since we are not absolute originals didn't have the (gold) dichromate on them. Maybe just treating the heater hose nipple since it will be masked...answers along those lines of questioning.
Thank you Jeff. That makes sense now. Regarding the heater hose bib, would the typical mask be about an inch, more or less?