re-silvering the reflectors?

[mole42]

Hi,
The reflectors in my rear lamps have lost all their silvering. I'm going to try a spray silver or chrome paint.

Has anyone tried anything similar? Did it work? Any tips for instant success?

[pagan]

My reflectors in the rear tail and rear indicators, on one side, have the same problem.
What I tried was, on the side light lens was stick aluminum foil on the surface.
Worked better but unless the foil surface is really smoothed out, It gives a uneven patten.
Tried on the indicator reflector, to repaint it with silver paint, not as good as standard, and not as good as the aluminum foil.

Another thought I have is to use stick -on chrome that hobbyists use for model car detailing. ie bumper bars.
Haven't tried yet.

Allan

[milothedog]

Hi,
The reflectors in my rear lamps have lost all their silvering. I'm going to try a spray silver or chrome paint.

Has anyone tried anything similar? Did it work? Any tips for instant success?

I have 2 rolls of foil tape (used in industrial Air Con) if you pm me your details I will post you some if you want


Just thought I'd add the offer is open to All


Ian

[DJT]

Plastikote chrome paint does a good job.

[stagmuffin]

I overhauled mine two yrs back,total strip and hand paint with chrome paint then washed the reflector assemblys in warm soapy and the result was a huge transformation and still very good today.I also removed the resistors and night dimming relay this was part of the problem but in the main the reflector base was blackened not reflective so a good coat of paint done the trick and they look nice and bright even when not on.

[V Mad]

I used chrome aerosol paint which worked well enough.

[Mike Stevens]

I used chrome type EMC tape! That is self adhesive and so can easily be formed into the bowl shape. It made a vast improvement.

Cheers,
Mike.

[jakesmig]

Ditto V Mad, did mine 5 years ago, still good. Aerosol bought at halfords.

[Paul Goldsmith]

Putting all my clear plastic and colour lenses through the dishwasher brought them up a treat - the clear plastic which had yellowed became perfectly clear again !

I then washed the metal part and reflector bowls in hot soapy water, with some gentle rubbing most of the original reflector finish came away from the bowls.

After thoroughly drying, I tried sheets of chrome vinyl sheet but whilst an excellent bright finish I struggled to get it to mould and stick satisfactorily to the reflector bowls. I was trying a single piece of vinyl in each bowl and a hair dryer to stretch and shape but even with a few cuts to assist I wasn't happy with the end result. The chrome vinyl might work better if individual panels are cut to match the reflector bowl contours but I'd already run out of what I'd bought.

Next I researched various methods for applying chrome paint but most seem to be similar i.e. ;
1) Suitable primer
2) Satin black paint initial finish
3) Chrome paint finish built up in many thin coats

I used Halfords rattle cans simply as they're local to me and open on the Sunday, whilst not as bright as the chrome vinyl I'm still very happy with the much improved light output (using original bulbs). One thing I would say is that even using multiple light coats and allowing partial drying time between each, my chrome paint took ages to harden fully but after 48 hours or so on top of a radiator it appears to have baked quite nicely I'm still not convinced that the finish seems that robust but inside the plastic covers it should be fine for a good while but I guess only time will tell as to long term durability.

However, even when using the excellent new SOC gaskets and foam there seems to be opportunity for water and grime ingress - so one thing I am still considering is to run some silicon around the fit of the clear plastic cover and the chrome surround to prevent this. What have others done ? Also, I'm undecided whether black or clear silicon would look best

[mole42]

Thanks guys,
All this makes me think that the chrome paint is probably the easiest to get a reasonable finish.
I've just received the new gaskets from Rimmers so I'll be doing the dishwasher treatment to the lenses before reassembling my new, brighter lights!

BTW, my rear lamps have one earth connection to the metal lamp housing. I have a set of new bulb holders from Rimmers which have individual earth connections for each bulb. It took me ages to work out why the new bulb holders didn't work!