JOURNAL UPDATE

The whole bird cage on C2 Corvettes was painted in green zinc chromate primer. St Louis bodied cars then had the area under the glove box (where the trim and vin tag are located) blacked out, whereas A.O. Smith bodied cars (of which the Red Rocket is one) had body colour overspray in that area. St Louis cars had under-body reinforcement steel parts painted black while A.O Smith cars were in green zinc chromate. Green zinc chromate primer can also be found on the door inspection panels (behind the door trims) and the core support area behind the headlights.

Zinc chromate's main use is as a coating over iron or aluminium materials. It was used extensively on aircraft by the US military, especially during the 1930s and 1940s. It is also used in a variety of paint coatings for the aerospace and automotive industries. Because of its toxicity, zinc chromate paint has been banned in many countries, including Australia.