Axle bolts and spacer finish

[ktheake]

I have been noticing the large round heads on the axle bolts and spacers look to be painted . Am I correct ?
At first I thought that someone before my ownership was just painting these and it really should be stripped off and zinc plated but after 3 or 4 of these , I am tending to think they were zinc plated then quickly sprayed a bit of case silver laquer due to the faint look of what I think is paint when I clean and inspect .
Or am I just seeing a zinc patina that has broken down to the point of looking painted .
The majority of my examples being cleaned have been k1 - k2 and showing the remnants as stated above -
I ask also if the k0 s also show or of the same finish as the k1 and so on - I am about to start into some k0s and should know what was the finish - thanks in advance

 

[Old Guy Too Many Bikes]

I think it's just zinc patina. I have this grinding wheel that's soft and made of what looks like to be very very dense gray felt. It works wonders on bolt heads, surface rust, and zinc plated hardware. It came on my 4" Harbor Freight mini bench grinder. Replacement wheels are available and I've gone through dozens of them.

 

[Robert thran]

I’m 99% sure it should all be zinked.

 

[kirrbby]

Yes...zinc...never painted.

 

[ktheake]

Thanks men appreciate the response to the matter