I just got a replacement tailgate for my 64 f100. My old tailgate the latch handle was painted tailgate color. The new one the handle is a natural metal color with some rust on the underside. Does anyone know if these are plated or should be painted truck color.

 

I haven't seen one yet that wasn't the truck color.

 

64-66 styleside tailgate handle and mounting plate were galvanized steel (as original). Not painted body color.

 

Hmm. Good to know.

 

Yeah Mine is Original 1964, and it is Galvanized... still looks like new too... pretty good for 47 years old! Gonna be a shame when I remote it into the bed later this year!

 

Yep there galvanized metal, no paint from factory.

 

Galvanized? Where did y'all come up with this hocus pocus, it's in-correct.

C4TZ-99431B82-A .. Tailgate Handle-Parts catalog sez: CADMIUM PLATED

Applications: 1964/66 F100/250 2WD / 1966 F100 4WD / 1967/72 F100/350.

And: C4TZ-99431C78-A .. Tailgate Release Handle Mounting Plate is also cadmium plated (same applications as the handle).

There was no galvanized sheet metal installed on F100/350's until 1973, and then only the inner fender aprons were galvanized.

 

I did a little studying on Cadmium plating versus galvanizing,,,, Yes ND is right about that, But the caveat is , that it is very difficult to tell the difference visually. The Plating process is very similar, One is Cad based, and the other is Zinc based. Cadmium plated items are now outlawed, and should be removed, from all vehicles... It seems that with age it puts off a highly poisoness substance aka residue that can cause problems with simple skin contact. Also Cad Plating has a protective life of about 50 years, where Galvanzing has a protective life of about 300 years...

Thanks Bill it is good to know Ford did me a favor and that my truck is slowly poisoning me. As far as appearance The Cadmium plating does not have a grained or flaked appearance where Galvanizing does.. but the color is very similar, especially with age. .

Not being expert metallurgist's we the uninformed didn't know the difference... our apologies to the great all knowing Numbers Dummy. We are humbled in the presence of the great know-it-all! Okay everybody Bow to Bill!

 

I asked "She, who must be obeyed" about galvanizing. It's a bath (the parts are dipped), not a plating process. "She" is a Corrosion Engineer.

I owned a '65 F100 from 3/1965 to 11/2009, also owned a coupla bumps. I'm a coupla weeks shy of my 67th birthday and haven't been poisoned yet.

 

It is not a matter of SNIFFING it is taken in externally through the Dermis aka skin... just touching is all it takes. So how do you open your tailgate if you don't touch the handle?


Plating whether it is chrome, nickle, cadmium, or zinc is all done in a bath! as is anodizing! Some are a hot bath, and some are cold bath! The Point Bill is not what or how it was done... but that from a visual aspect the difference between Galvanized, and Cadmium Plated is almost nil.

I guess it makes you feel important to be technically correct, As for me, it looks galvanized, and I am fine with calling it that... But now that I have studied , at the University of William and Merry ( the NumbersDummy twins), I am no longer ignorant of the difference. Which makes my life so much more fulfilled, now I can sleep at night knowing the difference.......

 

Hmmm...interesting...I dont want a garbage can appearing thing on my truck...IMO the galvanizing is a brighter end result and the OE handle is a darker coloring...Makes me wonder if down the road all the plastics in todays creations will be boo hoo hooed about over them passing or emitting some kind of poison....

- cs65

 

Remember the styrene plastic once used for model cars/boats/airplanes? That stuff smelled like a flickers nest!

Galvanizing tends to fade...peeps in the 1973/79 forum are always asking questions on how to improve the looks of the inner fender aprons.

The cad plated tailgate handle resembled chrome when new, but cad plating also tends to fade.

 

Waw, all that for that, I'll just pop the top of another beer, no wait I wonder if this can is galvanized?? Ow well cheers everyone.

 

No wait that beer can is Aluminum,, which can cause you problems too... I believe it starts with a bad case of beer nuts.. followed by the dreaded cotton *****, and finally leads to a severe case of needle dick. But not to worry, there is no surgery needed, as it will fall off on it's own in two or three weeks tops! But at least you don't have to worry about it being galvanized or Cadmium plated! Err uhh yeah!

 

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