how to renovate headlamp reflectors
- Thread starter wallyvan
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hobbo
Well-known member
As far as I know there is no way you can renovate them yourself. You certainly cannot polish them it removes the thin layer of silvering, making them even worse, tried that many many years ago when I was young on a pair of spotlights. Most probable way is to have them re-silvered, finding someone to do this and the cost is the problem. Try a chromium plating company near you to ask their advice.
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I have to admit to thinking about doing the same thing, however have not got there yet.
What I did do was purchase a tin of spray chrome off fleabay cheaply and will at some point try it out.
Another of those ROUND TO IT jobs. :lol: :lol: :lol: The only down side is possibly the heat, so I won't
go out with them without trying it first. Hey you don't know till you try.
J & P
What I did do was purchase a tin of spray chrome off fleabay cheaply and will at some point try it out.
Another of those ROUND TO IT jobs. :lol: :lol: :lol: The only down side is possibly the heat, so I won't
go out with them without trying it first. Hey you don't know till you try.
J & P
I had a few offcuts that I gave to Nick for his LateBay, he said it transformed his headlights. These were vinyl wrap chrome plastic off cuts, I’ll have a scout about and see if I can track down some more for you bud, not sure how he curved them or if he just serrated bits to fit the bowl.
Ozziedog,,,,,,,,, be nice to see wouldn’t it :mrgreen:
Ozziedog,,,,,,,,, be nice to see wouldn’t it :mrgreen:
We had ours re-chromed (re-silvered?) by a chap on here who has a contact who does a lot of this type of work for him. Our reflector bowls were very tarnished, but rust free and no signs of pitting. As such, the beam pattern was barely enough to scrape a pass come MOT time.
I can’t remember what I paid for them, I want to say £50 (which was the actual cost, then I chucked in another £20 for helping out), but it was significantly cheaper than when I contacted a company in Essex who wanted just over £200 for the pair...
The difference is night and day, the main and full beams are now really bright and well-directed at night, and I took the option of buying some bulb adjusters from autocraftengineering so that I could run some brighter Osram bulbs, but with a yellow, retro tinge to them.
I chose to go down this route as the early reflectors are no longer available - I believe the ones you can purchase are actually Beetle ones, and they will require re-drilling to suit the mounting holes. I wasn’t happy having to drill a new item as I’m sure the chrome would start peeling eventually from this point, and I doubt the quality would be that great anyway. It’s much more satisfying having an original, quality item refurbished, even if it might cost an arm and a leg!
If you don’t choose to refurbish the originals and they are rust free, keep them to one side as I’m sure they’ll be sought after at some point.
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I can’t remember what I paid for them, I want to say £50 (which was the actual cost, then I chucked in another £20 for helping out), but it was significantly cheaper than when I contacted a company in Essex who wanted just over £200 for the pair...
The difference is night and day, the main and full beams are now really bright and well-directed at night, and I took the option of buying some bulb adjusters from autocraftengineering so that I could run some brighter Osram bulbs, but with a yellow, retro tinge to them.
I chose to go down this route as the early reflectors are no longer available - I believe the ones you can purchase are actually Beetle ones, and they will require re-drilling to suit the mounting holes. I wasn’t happy having to drill a new item as I’m sure the chrome would start peeling eventually from this point, and I doubt the quality would be that great anyway. It’s much more satisfying having an original, quality item refurbished, even if it might cost an arm and a leg!
If you don’t choose to refurbish the originals and they are rust free, keep them to one side as I’m sure they’ll be sought after at some point.
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Harlequin
Well-known member
Moseleys head lights before & after pics, good to hear they're still bright and shiny[emoji106]
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