These steering head parts were zinc plated (I think) with slight yellow tinge, most of which has eroded away. Can/should parts like these be re-plated, and if so, would it cost much less than just ordering new parts from Ducati? Any alternative approaches, i.e just sand down to bare metal and polish?
You’re better off getting a bucket full of parts and taking them all for re zincing at the same time. The replacement parts from Ducati don’t come with the yellow zinc coating anymore because of the European laws. They just have a silver zinc coating.
The yellow/green tinge means it’s cadmium plated. Not now generally available as it’s a pretty poisonous process which is now only allowed for military and aerospace use. You can get a yellow tint for zinc plating, though not all platers use it.
