Headlight reflector plating

[Wallace White]

Any experience with replating headlight reflectors?

You may recall that I recently installed a set of 5k/100 non-turbo Euro
H4 headlights, which I found at the junkyard. And I wasn't real
impressed with the performance of them.

I'd noticed the the reflector plating wasn't great, but I hadn't
realized the extent of the problem. In the area of the reflector where
the low beam light hits, which is the upper half because of the half-cup
on the H4 bulb, the plating is really bad. The flat surface on top isn't
reflective at all where it gets illuminated most. The paraboloidical
surface right near the bulb is better but still leaves much to desired.
("Parabolic" isn't as much fun to say, though it is a real word...)

This explains why the high beams look much better than the lows. The
plating must have gone away with use; the high beam surfaces are much
better. And the lenses (one Bosch, one Hella) are in very good shape.

So...

- Al Powell mentioned that he's had reflectors replated. Anyone know a
place to have this done, or what type of plating company (I'd prefer to
do it locally, of course). What kind of plating do I need? 

- Is it just a bad idea to try a do-it-yourself fix? I can't help but
think of chrome spray paint... and I know Steve Jensen tried chrome tape
with surprisingly good results. I expect something like this would still
be a big improvement, if replating is too expensive/troublesome.

Thanks!

- Wallace
 '87 5kcstq 177k