Wiper Linkage Bars, Finish

Jules had it nailed....It was definitely black something.....I'll check my notes.

It was plated - not painted.

I thought Jules posted a picture before and it was black zinc. Then I looked at mine and saw it was the same. Since the E-body linkage is exposed to the elements, I would think a phosphate finish would rust pretty quickly. Even after years of Iowa winters, mine weren't rusted. If the car wasn't put away for the winter, I'd pull off the screens and take a picture.

Zinc phosphate , depending on bath strength, time in bat, and base material will produce a dark charcoal type color and is generally a fair rust inhibitor.

Manganese phosphate is a bit less effective than zinc (not much) but generally produces a darker charcoal to black finish and is often used on wear components.

Each make a good base for paint (less oil)

They also may be treated with a post oil treatment to enhance corrosion, generally what happens to these finishes.

Thanks for the help, sounds like manganese is the way I'll go, post oil treatment. Should hold up well as this car won't see daily driving or rain (if I can help it)

just came across this topic and i hope this helps. this is what what my original wiper linkage looked like before i sent it up to the late but great JULES.

this is what they looked like after plating and rebuild from JULES

Here is a close up pic of the black zinc and wash (rainbow hue) after resto. When i looked close at the original plating on the wiper it appeared to be a low quality black zinc and did not appear to have a phosphate finish. there was a lot of inconsistencies between original pieces in terms of finish quality. good luck

i might be starting a small operation redoing this stuff myself but i am still in the R&D stage. Stay tuned.... Dont want to rush into something without being able to give a high quality of work.

That's exactly how I remember mine. Mine was a dark gray and I didn't think it was black zinc. Then after Jules posted some pics, I looked at mine closer and saw the rainbow effect.

The rainbow effect you see is the black conversion coat. This is placed over electro deposited zinc and is by far a better protector than manganese (black) phosphate.

Considering it's what my friend Jules used, I feel very sure this is the road to travel.

Thanks to everyone who helped, Jules included who again aided even after his passing

We restore them with new correct factory type bushings installed the way the vendors did it
Had an NOS one & had finish analyzed . Found to be Black Zinc.
Can find them at our website. Bushings are usually worn & sloppy. bmcuda.com .