1951 Series 62 Headlight Surrounds not chromed?

[Eagan]

I recently purchased a very original 1951 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe and the headlight surrounds are painted black and not chromed.  The previous owner was adamant that the car came this way and all the paintwork is original except for one door.  I know there were reductions in the use of nickel chrome to support the Korean War effort and wondered if the car may have been shipped this way?  Appreciate any and all feedback on this topic before I take them off and have them chromed.

[signart]

Get out yer wallet

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

What color is the car?? I'm not a 51 expert, but I think they were SS. The Korean war crap was the worst in 1953 not 1951. Maybe an expert will chime in.
Bob

[wrench]

Don't remember if mine were polished stainless or chrome plated but they were definitely not painted.

I sold my 51 rings a while back and switched to chrome plated '53 rings with the visor...

[signart]

They are cast & chrome. AllCads has a nos bezel 51-52

[Caddieman53]

Egan, please post a photo. Are you talking about the inner ring the fits around the sealed beam itself or the large external trim piece? The inner is stainless and the outer trim  was chrome plated. NOT painted. For the Korean war effort, GM eliminated the nickel in the chrome plating process.

[Eagan]

Thanks to everyone for you comments and discussion.
I have attached two photos of the headlight surrounds and one shows that the metal around the attachment screw is slightly rusty, so I don't believe they are die-cast but rather pressed metal.  Appreciate any additional thoughts based on the photos?

[Eagan]

Second photo

[Joe G 12138]

Probably the result of someone even previous to the previous owner being too cheap to pay for chroming or new parts. When I got my '50, the hood ornament, hood center bar, engine, and other stuff was all painted black. Fortunately they didn't paint the bumpers as was in the 80's fashion; I guess they weren't as bad.    Joe Gibeault

[signart]

Stick a magnet to it. A magnet will stick to stainless sometimes, but will not stick at all to alloy. The rust is from the screw, which was chrome plated also at one time. The chrome plated screw is easily replaceable, if you decide to re-plate the bezels. If you are lucky the bezels would not have been pitted before painting, which would result in a better, longer lasting chrome finish.

[Eagan]

Thanks for the insights and I will test with a magner and try to determine the base!