Bed bolt head colors

[David A.]

I am about ready to assemble the bed on my 1950 B2B, and had some questions about bolt head finishes. I’m trying to go back as close to original as possible. 

1. Should the bolts holding the bed front panel and rear Cross member be painted the bed color, or left unpainted?

2. Should the Phillips head bolts holding the rear fenders on be painted, or left unpainted?

3. Should the large and small carriage bolts  in the bed floor be painted black, or left unpainted?

 

Thanks for the help,

David A. 

[JBNeal]

Mick Jagger said it best:  paint them black

[ggdad1951]

The whole bed and all compnents should be black.

[David A.]

Ok, thank you. I know you could pay extra to have the bed painted the same color as the cab which this truck apparently was, because when I disassembled the bed I could tell the bed was painted blue from the factory before it was assembled. That’s why I was wondering if they took the time to paint the bolts, or just left them zinc plated. 

Since the bed was blue, would the carriage head bolts in the side shovel strips still be black or would they have been painted the bed color to match the shovel strips that are attached to the bed sides?

Sorry for all the questions, but I just want to make sure I get it as close to how it looked from the factory as possible. 

Thanks,

David A. 

[ggdad1951]

Stock beds were all black.  When paying the upcharge for a bed to be painted as the cab, I'd say it was all painted together.  My $.02.

[David A.]

I would have bet the same thing until I took the bed apart. Finding the factory blue between the assembled panels showed it was painted before it was assembled. 

[ggdad1951]

well there ya go then!  If they painted the bed parts separately, and then assembled, I'd still think they'd all be one color.  Otherwise the angle strips would be a different color than the rest of the bed parts.  And thinking of it, I'veneer seen a bolt head painted down to a bed strip/bed side.  So, yah, that makes sense.

[Dodgeb4ya]

Looks like in this 1953 sales training film the bed bolts are not painted...

[David A.]

Thank you for all of your responses. I’m really anxious to get this truck finished. Been working on it for 12 years now and I’m ready to drive it again!