Headlight reflector plating

[David Head]

You need vacuum metalizing - Al and I had them replated at a place in Toledo
Ohio to the tune of about 30.00 per side. You have to remove the reflector
and the assorted connectors and send it in. I found the place via Hemming
Motor News about 4-5 years back. Anyone who 'rechromes' plastic parts like
the 60s cars had in the interior pieces can do it...

Wallace White wrote:

> 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