Can anyone recommend, or advise to not bother, method to reestablish reasonable shine on old tired very dulled front light reflectors. Or better to simply buy new ones?
I have an extra pair of new repros I can swing you a deal on if you're interested, Daniel.
PM me if you are and I'll dig them out when I get home tonight and send you a note.
Most of the T vendors have replacements.
I bought a replacement and it would not fit! Couldn't get it installed so I could adjust it. A short survey indicated I was a "rare case" and it fact the vendor said I was the only one he had ever heard of having this problem.
I ended up having the original reflectors "re-silvered" which is cost-prohibitive. ($185)
Boy are they pretty though! Best and brightest T headlights I have seen!
There's a commercial product available that polishes and plates silver at the same time. It's useful for touching-up worn silver plate but due to the hazardous chemistry, they don't sell it to individuals. It works pretty good on old reflectors but it's not a replacement for vat plating since the silver is so thin. You also have to be able to spin the reflector for even coverage and shine. Trying to polish by hand doesn't produce a finish as good.
There's a less hazardous version available to the public but I haven't tried that so I can't comment on it.
An older post on shinning up reflectors
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/257047/280154.html
Keep your eye on eBay Daniel (geez, did I just say that?). Once in awhile NOS reflectors show up. I found a boxed set of Wizard reflectors for the Model T and they are as shiny as Day 1. I put them in my racer which has LED headlights and they are beautiful.
To re-plate them, many have gone to Uvira in Oregon to have an aluminum finish applied which is then polished. It's not cheap but it should last forever. Not sure if this contact info is still valid but it's a start:
His first name is Bill.
email: uvira@terragon.com
Uvira
PO Box 1137
Merlin, OR 97532
Phone: (541)474-5050
Regards,
Garnet
A few days ago I took 18 original, crudded-up, brass Model T reflectors to a reputable plater in Austin, TX for chrome plating. He first quoted me a $25 apiece price so I poor-boy presbyterianed him down to $20 each. Left 'em there and will pick 'em up in 3 weeks. Sure, I know they were originally silver plated and John used the operative phrase above - cost prohibitive. But neither Pebble Beach or the Montana 500 require you remove your lamp rims/lenses for inspection. PM me if you want the address of the plater.
Not wanting to deviate from original, I had my late reflectors plated at a silver plating shop, and the bill came to $280! I didn't like the cost, but they are nice.
From www.matweb.com,
Reflectivity of chromium is 70% while silver is 90%.
Neil
And $20 is 1/7 or 14% of $140. . . . Poor folks got poor ways :o(
You will be surprised how dulled out greenish reflectors can be polished out and look really nice.
Many a reflector has been tossed because of just 'looking bad'.
If the silver is still intact and not pitted or worn through they can be brought back to within 90% of new. Maybe more.
Dont use a SOS pad or any rough abrasive pad.
Using polishing cloths avaliable at Ace hardware and other stores can work wonders.
A simple fact is once you have the reflector polished out you cant tell any difference for sure once you put the lens on.
Most T's arent driven at night and the repolished reflectors look really nice in in the daytime after the lens is installed.
A repolished silver reflector is about 25% brighter in use than a new chrome reflector. Chrome is actually illegal in many states today--though I doubt anyone would pull you over for it. IF you drive at night, Chrome will not do the job! George, if you had the reflectors nickel plated, you could then send them to Uvira who will put on an aluminized coating that is then overcoated with a pyrex material. Should provide a permanent reflective surface that is as good, or better than a silver plated reflector after it has oxidized two weeks (the silver will still look shiny, but it has lost a percentage of its reflective qualities. I used to have the percentage figures, probably still do in a file somewhere. . . .
American Plating in St. Louis did my last pair of Ford reflectors. Nice job, re-silvered like original. Price was $59 each, took two weeks.
Price List: item is "headlamp reflector"
http://www.americanplatingcompany.com/residential-plating/silver-restoration/
Contact page:http://www.americanplatingcompany.com/contact-us/
These all seem like great alternatives to buying repros. As expensive as repros are, it's hard to imagine not going one of these routes instead.
I was told years ago that silver nitrate and mercury is how they did it originally, I have both so some day if I get bored I will try to figure out the HOW. Has any one out there tried it? It would be great to know how before I play with the two together, I know a good set of gloves will be used!