Redoing my wiper linkage bars and it appears to be paint, but so thin, dull, and dry it almost appears that it could have been black oxide.

Anyone able to confirm the finish, while you can't see it I'd still like to get it correct.

Thanks as always for the help

What car and year?

1970 AAR

My Challenger linkage looked like it was originally black zinc.

Black Zinc would be a good corrosion protector but the finish I had just doesn't seem to match that of Zinc with a black conversion coat.

Considering it's location, while it looked a lot like black oxide (dried for 43 years), BO is such a poor corrosion inhibitor I can't imagine Chrysler would have used this for the finish.

Was hoping someone would have a "for sure" finish figured out for this part.

I believe it was black phosphate

Manganese phosphate may be correct, I figured for sure one of the experts would shout out on the subject to remove any doubt.

look on bmcuda site he does them the way they came out of the factory changes the end brass rings. Other wive call me he is good to deal with.

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 .