Hood latch phosphate color

[Steve D.]

The book says black. But in every pic I have seen, they look like zinc. Which is correct?

[Joe L.]

Re: Hood latch phosphate color

The book says black. But in every pic I have seen, they look like zinc. Which is correct?

Steve------


The 68-76 upper and lower latches/brackets were ALWAYS black phosphate, although the actual color varies from light gray to very dark gray. None were zinc plated. The only parts that were zinc plated were the spring retainers on the lower brackets.

[Terry B.]

Re: Hood latch phosphate color

Hi Joe,

On this same subject, what is the finish of the 2 nuts and washers that hold the bracket? Are they different?

Thanks,

Terry

[Alan S.]

Re: Hood latch phosphate color

Hi,
I believe SOME of the confusion about the plating might be because there are 2 phosphate plating solutions readily available. Manganese phosphate which is very dark gray and might be described as black; and zinc phosphate which is a medium gray. They both display the 'sparkle' and 'texture' that's typical of the phosphate finish.
Perhaps, since one has the word zinc in it's name, the confusion about the finish occurs.
Here's a picture of a female latch plated with the zinc phosphate plating. I used the zinc phosphate to plate the bolts, nuts, and washers too.
Regards,
Alan

I retrieved this picture from an earlier post

[Bill C.]

Re: Hood latch phosphate color

The parts were "parkerized"

the color is a dark gray with small glittery metalic in it.
If you put it in the sun, there will be a very subtle sparkle.
The magenese phoshate is correct (like Alan said) and there are kits available on the internet.

You may want to look up Grant Wong on NCRS TDB - he has all kinds of neat phosphating products...

It is a Hot water process - not cold like black phosphating.

[Joe L.]

Re: Hood latch phosphate color

Hi Joe,

On this same subject, what is the finish of the 2 nuts and washers that hold the bracket? Are they different?

Thanks,

Terry

Terry-----


The attaching nuts, bolts and washers were phosphate-finished, too.

[Terry M.]

Re: Hood latch phosphate color

It is truely strange that those finishes are exactly what is described in the TIM&JG.

[Rich C.]

Re: Hood latch phosphate color

That picture seems a LOT lighter than mine. Take no offense, I'm not saying those are wrong, just lighter. My car has not been restored yet, all latches (upper and lower) including the undersides have more of a black phosphate look, and no they have not been painted, they indeed have that sparkle to them.

'73 454 Coupe...don't knock it, 395 ft/lbs. torque!

[Alan S.]

Re: Hood latch phosphate color

Hi Rich,
Perhaps, since there's some sparkle in the plating, the angle of the light may affect the shade the camera picks up.
Also, I believe how much oil protectant, and how recently it was applied, affects the shade too.
Regards,
Alan

[Larry M.]

Re: Hood latch phosphate color

Does a hood latch (or for that matter, any assembly with moving parts) need to be disassembled into component pieces before plating?

[Bill C.]

Re: Hood latch phosphate color

Maybe when it was new and raw material parts before assembly - it made sense to plate all surface area.

But to take the latch apart and then replate would be a real PITA.

[Larry M.]

Re: Hood latch phosphate color

Bill,

Yes, I agree, it would be a large PITA. What I meant to question was if the plating process would interfere with the free movement of the moving parts. Would it somehow bind or freeze them together so that they no longer moved?

Larry

[Joe L.]

Re: Hood latch phosphate color

Bill,

Yes, I agree, it would be a large PITA. What I meant to question was if the plating process would interfere with the free movement of the moving parts. Would it somehow bind or freeze them together so that they no longer moved?

Larry

Larry------


There's usually no problem with the functionality of a part after plating if it's plated as an assembly.

As a matter of fact, I'm not so sure that these upper hood latches were originally phosphated as separate piece. That's because the rivet that retains the lever to the bracket looks to me like it's uniformly phosphated just like the rest of the assembly.

[Larry M.]

Re: Hood latch phosphate color

Joe,

Thanks for your info.

Larry

[Patrick H.]

Re: Hood latch phosphate color

Hi,
I believe SOME of the confusion about the plating might be because there are 2 phosphate plating solutions readily available. Manganese phosphate which is very dark gray and might be described as black; and zinc phosphate which is a medium gray. They both display the 'sparkle' and 'texture' that's typical of the phosphate finish.
Perhaps, since one has the word zinc in it's name, the confusion about the finish occurs.
Here's a picture of a female latch plated with the zinc phosphate plating. I used the zinc phosphate to plate the bolts, nuts, and washers too.
Regards,
Alan

I retrieved this picture from an earlier post

And, based on original cars, I believe that this is not the correct finish.



I believe that the darker version (manganese) is correct and generally deduct under the "Finish" axis if I see coloring as light as what I see depicted in your photo.

Feel free to disagree with me. Original lower latch in photo below (ignore the dirt; this is the orange car pre-cleaning).

Patrick