Advice and counsel - color of steam connector

[NW Modeling List]

Courtesy of a timely "what would you like for your birthday" question from  
my wife, I have recently become the proud owner of the MTH Powhatan Arrow 
train  set.  The first thing that leaped out at me was the bright silver 
color of  the steam connector assemblies, possibly emulating the asbestos (?) 
insulated  wrapping in its as-built state.  It just doesn't look right.
 
I've researched available color pictures, and not surprisingly any that  
even show the steam connector are in-service pictures, and everything down 
there  is a pretty uniform gray-brown-black color.
 
So, my question is, what was the actual as-delivered color of this  
assembly?  Obviously, they wouldn't have stayed that way long.  My  tentative 
thinking is to paint them Floquil grimy black, which is actually a  dark gray; 
any thoughts on that?
 
Thanks in advance,
 
Dave Phelps
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