Chrome spray

raveboy · Aug 12, 2024

I'm thinking of retaining the old rear light reflectors which are by now a dull green and aluminium colour with various shades of mould and corrosion on them. If I media blast them, has anyone had any experience or favourable outcome with the chrome sprays that are on the market these days ? With regards to their reflectivity ?

Cheers
Rave

sparkywig · Aug 13, 2024

I tried it quite a few years ago, and ended up buying new high quality repro light units from C&C.

Elibomrod68 · Sep 4, 2024

I ended up using this on mine. Did clean and prime first:

Hycote aluminium spray paint
400ml can.

Not as gloss as they say but made a big improvement on the corroded parts I had

Elibomrod68 · Sep 4, 2024

https://www.mymotorworld.com/hycote...Qlj7O59pqt3NiswTHPnLNJqy3NwN020waAtxOEALw_wcB

Kramsharp · Sep 5, 2024

I’ve tried it a few times in the past and chrome type spray paint out of the can just doesn’t work , well not to a good standard anyway .. if it’s a part you simply can not replace , probably best to send it away to a professional to re-chrome , but it’s quite an expensive process as they will have to strip your part back to the nickel, re-nickel it and then chrome it .

If you have the option to replace it with a new quality part , that will probably be cheaper and quicker than re plating your existing part .

pgtips · Sep 5, 2024

What I found with chrome sprays is that they look great but you can't touch the surface or it comes off so I tried a clear lacquer and they went dull grey.
I tried several but same result.

It turns out (I read at the time anyway) that chrome sprays are made up of lots of tiny metallic bits that reflect to get that chrome look but as soon as you surface coat with a lacquer to make it durable then it's gone, stops reflecting, which is a shame.

So as mentioned already above, get chromed or possibly settle for silver (which is durable) until you can buy a replacement.

I even tried chrome wrapping foil but it was useless.

ozziedog · Sep 5, 2024

A couple of years back, one of my pals was going bananas about this different product but I haven’t seen him much to catch up with him. He was using chromed effect sticky back plastic for a few different things like light fittings etc. You can buy it in sheets like you buy paper. The other thing I’ve tried is reflective silver / chrome tape like they used for insulation. Gotta be better than grey paint and easily replaceable I should think.

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,only just thought of it.

andrewblackwell · Sep 16, 2024

This chrome marker pen by Molotow is worth knowing about, for localised touching up of chrome. I did a very dull patch to the left of the bulb holder. This was one coat. Next day i did a second coat plus the little odd marks around it to seal the surface & stop further oxidising.
The reflectors are mega shiny so don't do the pen justice, making it look closer to the galvanised finish.
In close proximity to less shiny metal or paint it does look very good though, & was easy to apply.

ozziedog · Sep 16, 2024

andrewblackwell said:
This chrome marker pen by Molotow is worth knowing about, for localised touching up of chrome. I did a very dull patch to the left of the bulb holder. This was one coat. Next day i did a second coat plus the little odd marks around it to seal the surface & stop further oxidising.
The reflectors are mega shiny so don't do the pen justice, making it look closer to the galvanised finish.
In close proximity to less shiny metal or paint it does look very good though, & was easy to apply.
View attachment 9511

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,That looks about the best I’ve seen I reckon for small repairs

james_stan · Sep 16, 2024

I tried teh Hycote chrome spray headlight rims once. Takes eons to dry and still remains soft - scratches itself if you look at it, so bad I binned the wretched can.

ozziedog · Sep 16, 2024

This stuff might be worth a try. I sortof knew I had some somewhere in the garage but couldn’t think where until just now. Found it in between some 3m styled gaffer tape.

Now this stuff is proper shiny and self adhesive too, and more importantly it conforms with all existing plumbing regs. I’ve absolutely no idea of where I got it, but probably from a clearance area once the retailer has stopped stocking it and who knows if it’s still available. I’ve never even opened it.

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,Like mission impossible open the packet and whoooofff

Chrome spray

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