Anthony Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 I've taken my rear lights apartThe big metal piece is tarnished and the chrome is coming offI assume these need rechroming?You can't polish them up can you?Also, the reflector pieces have a different finishOne set are just plastic, and the others seem to be a chromed plasticI don't think I'm really making much sense, so here's a picture...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyb Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 Chrome lookalike spray paint, "scrapman" has tested them extensively, can't remember which one he said was best :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted January 9, 2011 Author Share Posted January 9, 2011 Scrapmaaaaannn!!!!!!!!Is this what people do with the sidelights/indicator surrounds too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willcolumbine Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 When I did my rear lights I used Plasticote chrome effect paint quite sucessfully on the plastic reflectors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted January 9, 2011 Author Share Posted January 9, 2011 Did you do all the metal parts, or just the reflectors inside? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willcolumbine Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 Just the reflectors. The actual surrounds on mine were still in good condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrapman Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 willcolumbine wrote:When I did my rear lights I used Plasticote chrome effect paint quite sucessfully on the plastic reflectors.I think that might be the one I used.On the lights I cleaned off all the loose paint, masked the black parts that are outside the lenses (they went in teh dish washer) roughed up the reflector area with sandpaper for increased adhesion and then sprayed everything else. Good coat all around the bulb indentations.Have done Mk1 2000 and Mk2 2000 rear ones so far.On the Mk1 2000 ones I fitted new gaskets and also ran a thing bead of Tigerseal round the edge of teh lens to ensure the water stayed out. The design is a bit poor.Mk4 spit ought to be possible as well, though that would just be teh reflector area as they are Maxak castings.You need some better housings to start off with I suspect.Where-abouts are you?Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted January 9, 2011 Author Share Posted January 9, 2011 Maxak? What's that then?I've taken the rear lights right down to their component partsThe metal pieces don't have any pitting in themI thought they were chromed steel?Will they just polish up, or is there more to it than that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willcolumbine Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 1903 wrote:Maxak? What's that then?Mazak is the same as Zamak. It's basically the metal equivalent of chipboard...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZAMAK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted January 9, 2011 Author Share Posted January 9, 2011 Good info,Should I just polish it up then, or will it dull after timeIs chroming, or even chrome painting the best bet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrapman Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 1903 wrote:Good info,Should I just polish it up then, or will it dull after timeIs chroming, or even chrome painting the best bet?to look good they will need rechroming, the chrome effect paint is only any good for the light reflectors.If perfect, then get them rechromed. Unless doing a big batch, it will be cheaper to get a better set though.CheersColin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted January 9, 2011 Author Share Posted January 9, 2011 I've got bumpers in good condition but with bad chromeGuess I could get them all done together Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpitNoir Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 I did some similar playing around to what you're talking about. Tried it with with aluminum paint, chrome paint, reflective adhesive tape, and simple white paint. In my case, I had the best luck with a bright gloss-white paint on my old Ford reflectors. Didn't get to try the Plasti-Kote brand specifically though, but after reading your recommendation, I'm going to try that on my other set.So if you're ever playing around and just aren't happy with the results of whatever "shiny" coatings you're using, try the gloss-white route and see how it works for you. In my case at least, the gloss white did the best for both standard 1157 bulbs and L.E.D. types as well. Might have a lot to do with the design of the reflector and the relative opaqueness of the lens though, as my lenses were pretty old, and the white just seemed to disperse the light more evenly around the entire lens.Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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