Headlamp Reflector Finish
Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 4:24 am
This is what the backside of my Dexta's headlamp reflectors looked like two weeks ago:
After lots of elbow grease, I got the reflectors to look like this:
Without going into a lot of detail, I discovered that the silvery finish on these reflectors is chrome plating. There is a local chrome shop in my area and their charge to re-chrome a headlamp reflector is $75. So, I bought this:
Upon spraying it onto the reflectors, they looked like this:
I wasn't sure how reflective the lamps would be, so I hooked one up to the battery under my forklift cover. This is what I saw:
When the spots disappeared from my eyes, I figured that the lamp was bright enough.
My question is, will the paint hold up, and is it a safe alternative to chrome? Keep in mind, the paint cost me $3.80. But, it is not recommended in situations where the heat will exceed 200 degrees F. My other thought was to replace the reflector with a new one, but I don't know if Butlers - or anyone else, still sells them - or, at what cost.
It's been an interesting journey. And may not be over yet.
Don
After lots of elbow grease, I got the reflectors to look like this:
Without going into a lot of detail, I discovered that the silvery finish on these reflectors is chrome plating. There is a local chrome shop in my area and their charge to re-chrome a headlamp reflector is $75. So, I bought this:
Upon spraying it onto the reflectors, they looked like this:
I wasn't sure how reflective the lamps would be, so I hooked one up to the battery under my forklift cover. This is what I saw:
When the spots disappeared from my eyes, I figured that the lamp was bright enough.
My question is, will the paint hold up, and is it a safe alternative to chrome? Keep in mind, the paint cost me $3.80. But, it is not recommended in situations where the heat will exceed 200 degrees F. My other thought was to replace the reflector with a new one, but I don't know if Butlers - or anyone else, still sells them - or, at what cost.
It's been an interesting journey. And may not be over yet.
Don