There have been discussions on this forum about the jacks supplied with the cars beginning in 1913. The observation has been made, initially I believe by Kim Dobbins, that many of these have traces of "silver" paint. It has been pointed out that paint with metallic flecks was not available that early, however, that being said, many of these jacks do appear to have been painted "silver". I have two. At present there is on eBay (although mistakenly being listed as a Model A jack) that has considerable traces of "silver".
I thought that the jacks like this were earlier than 1913.
According to the surviving tool roll pack lists, jacks weren't included until 1913.
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/411944/493686.html?1415983655
And here is an earlier thread where it was demonstrated silver paint indeed was available in 1909 and '13 (though metallic paint didn't show up until later): http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/331880/371967.html?1373247312
From an earlier post:
By John F. Regan on Sunday, March 16, 2014 - 12:38 pm:
There is an official letter I found that was sent to dealerships sometime shortly after the beginning of the 1913 Model year (October 1, 1912). That letter stated that Ford was going to BEGIN supplying top boots and a jack with the 1913 Model T Fords and that dealers could requisition the factory for a top boot for open cars and jacks for all cars so long as those cars were shipped on or after October 1, 1912 but they were emphatic that the dealer could NOT make requisition for those items for any car with a ship date before October 1, 1912 since it stated that "those cars are not 1913 models..". Thus no factory supplied jack or top boot before 1913 is the official word. I am sure that T owners before 1913 had a jack under the back seat but it didn't come from Ford factory as standard until 1913 model year.
Charles
Aluminum or "silver-looking" paint was around with the invention of the automobile.
Intro facts from 1936 book on aluminum powder and its use in paints:
The year 1936 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the invention first done by Hall in 1886, by
Charles Martin Hall, of the process in commercial use today for the
production of aluminum. By this process aluminum was promoted from
the laboratory to the rank of a work-a-day metal. Although aluminum
bronze powder has been commercially available for most of this period,
the extent of its usefulness had" not been realized until recent years.
Research and development, quickened in pace by the World War, created
the fundamental background of knowledge "and experience on which is
based the present extensive use of aluminum powder. This development
has been crowded into less than one-third of the commercial life of the
metal.
Horseless Age magazine letter to the editor Feb. 24, 1909:
So there is little doubt that silver residue finish on those early jacks certainly would be aluminum paint.