I'm glad to know there are two different zinc processes. This is news to me.

Back in 1982, DT still had zinc plated spokes, and they were as Francis described. They started out shiny. I built a pair of wheels with them. Now the spokes are a very dark, almost black. I thought it a good choice for my street commuting bike. If I remember right, there was a substantial cost difference between zinc and stainless.