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On the Packard Caribbean 55 the metal mesh that covers the front of the dash board is it plated brass, gold, yellow zinc or gold anodized plating. I also the would like to know the kind of plating the "Caribbean" and "Packard" name script have and the ring that that holds the "V" in the front grill. Also what other parts were plated in that tone.
Any help and advice is as usually appreciated.
Thanks Walter

I questioned this myself. The "O" rings on the grille and trunk and the script on the car are real gold. The mesh behind the grille is anodized aluminum as I believe the dash trim is also.

Wasn't 18 k gold plating mentioned here recently as the proper finish for the exterior script and other gold emblems. I thought that was too light and brassy looking for my taste so I elected for more carats and more gold looking but if you want original ----

I believe that the decorative screen for the instrument panel on the 55-56 Senior cars is gold anodized aluminum. However, I don't think the gold color comes from the precious metal, but rather some dye or other chemical additives used in the anodizing process.

On your '55 Caribbean, four script plates (that is, "Caribbean" on the front fenders and "Packard" on the rear fenders), the base (ring/circle) for the radiator grille emblem, and two "V" ornaments for the tail lights were plated in genuine gold, but no other such parts that I can recall for that model and year.

I don't know what karat level those parts were originally plated. I had previously only heard the plating step referred to, in hobby circles, as "gold wash" and that color/tone was controlled (roughly) by the level of power used in the electroplating process with a pure 24K gold solution. More recently, I learned that other karat levels could be achieved by adding other metal salts to create an alloy solution.

Yet, I've seen some gold replates that look damn near orange, which I don't believe is correct - based on an NOS 55 grille ring (P/N 466343) that I once had. I've attached an image from my files, but not sure how accurately the tone will display.

There was no screen used behind the radiator grille on the 55th Series cars that I know of.

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Thanks for the help so far.
I have one more question concerning this. Is the "V" with the long tail that goes on the dash board also plated in that gold? How about the the Packard emblem that goes above it?
Walter

Screens were different but the emblem, Vee and name were the same in 55 and 56 so here is a portion of a photo of the 5000 mile original 56 recently under discussion.

The Vee and name were chrome and emblem had a chrome base with the inset a golden color. I don't think I ever saw an emblem that didn't appear faded a little. Even with the different screen background, maybe you can get some idea from the photo how dark or golden the originals might have been. Max has an emblem on his site. No idea if NOS but if so, the price may be less than having one refinished.

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Well, this helps me to place an item I recently acquired in a box of Packard parts. Please see the attached photo. I also attached a photo of a different item that is either a charm or a necklace piece and a Hot Wheels Packard.

Thanks again for clarifying for me for the one piece was. Now I can continue to do research on the other pieces. Thanks for this post!
Gene

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