Headlight replate?

hank

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I don't need to repeat the issues with gen 1 headlights. I am looking for a solution beside applying reflective tape to the housings. I think I'd like to try REPLATING the original housings with chrome, silver,rhodium or what? There
must be companies that replate plastics, as they were done by somebody-somewhere originally. Does any one know of a company presently in the business of replating plastic headlights? Which material is the best to replate with?
Thanks. Hank.
 
Likely for the cost to replate a single pair, you could buy a new set of housings from Five Star Ford.
 
did you try a repair yourself because i restore them and havent had a set go bad yet using trimbrite. driller is right, for what it would cost to replate you could buy a new pair.
 
did you try a repair yourself because i restore them and havent had a set go bad yet using trimbrite. driller is right, for what it would cost to replate you could buy a new pair.

I had a friend who had plastic body parts of his Harley chrome plated...something like $35 for each piece. Definitely worth a try if you can find someone who will do it. Most shops are too big to do just single items (for a decent price), so you may have to find one by word of mouth.

Or you can do it yourself with a chrome plating kit. I browsed through and found a base paint and kit that will plate plastic for around $100 at this site:

http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/#

They say complete novices can do it. They have a web-tool that helps you decide on a product, but the plastic is tricky, so I would give them a call and ask if I was doing it myself.
 
I've had some experience with rechroming plastic parts.

I build model cars and often have to have parts rechromed. Here's an example of their work on an 1/8th scale Monogram "Big T" I built for a client:

Side_Top-vi.jpg


Engine-vi.jpg




I'm not sure that the chrome "process" used would stand up to the heat and elements the lights would be subjected to.

Your welcome to contact them about redoing the lights. He could give you the best idea if they would work.

Little Motor Kar Co.
203 Linda Lane
Reading, PA 19606
Phone/FAX (610) 779-1462
E Mail <littlemotorkarco@talon.net>
 
Headlight Rechrome

Headlight Rechrome

did you try a repair yourself because i restore them and havent had a set go bad yet using trimbrite. driller is right, for what it would cost to replate you could buy a new pair.

Jamie, do you restore units for other people? If so how much could I expect to pay for a set of '95's? Any need to change bulbs or modify the beam block on the dims? Have you found a good way vent off heat? Thanks ,Hank
 
hank i will restore any 93-96 headlights for anyone. i charge $100 dollars for a pair to restore them in and out. 9 times out of 10 when the customers get the lights back from me they invest in a set of aftermarket hid headlights off ebay for under $100 bucks. i have done this to 4 of my own mark VIII's and for 6 local customers, its the best 200 bucks you'll spend on a 1st generation mark VIII. you will wonder why you waited so long to see!!!!! normally the customer sends me their housings, and i restore them and send them back, my turn around is a week or less from the day i get them in the mail. i am trying to build up a core set up right now, if i can get a few old housings that i can restore and put on the shelf, i will sell them all ready to go, and refund a percentage back to the customer if they ship me back their old housings, but i need a few more people to send me headlights before i can get this going the way i'd like. if you want some pictures just give me your email and i will send you a bunch of pics of some of the housings i have redone. i have done at least 20 pairs in the past year.
 
Get all us Gen 1 guys looking

Get all us Gen 1 guys looking

I wish there was a way to permanently plate them with real metal chrome that does not burn and use real glass or Pyrex heat resistant lenses like they make chemical mixing stuff out of with UV inhibitors, but there isnt any out there i know of other than the modeling kits and thin copper plated and then nickel plating electralisis sp? methods.
There was a post a while back of someone was working on getting a japan headlight manufacturer to make us some small runs of high heat resistant backings in chrome and real glass lenses, but i never heard of any advancements and the thread died. They were looking for donor lenses to make molds of for the run. I told them id send them a set if i could get one of the runs prototypes, but never got an anwser back. I was really excited abut that one for a bit.
We can only hope for a retrofit company to make us some, sure theyll be pricey, but if they can make them any cheaper than NOS HID's, then im sure they will sell. Well see.

Tim sweet job on the models! Love seeing them. Detail is king and the extra time shows. Great job.
 
Thanks Jamie! I am strongly leanin' to having you reTAPE my 95 lenses. Do you have a recommendation for better bulbs/light systems that will not cause a re-creation of the factory problem? What about that reflector in front of the low beam bulb? Seems like it may be a big part of the problem. Hank
 
the refractor must stay inside or you will get an erratic light pattern. i install HID headlights into all the housings i redo. you can buy them really cheap off ebay. 9005 based hid's plug and play and the light is out of this world. no more candles like what you have now. i have never had a set of my headlights i have done burn after i restore them. hid's are cooler than incandecent bulbs anyway. you will not get fade with the stuff i put inside and they will not burn, the car will most likely die before the headlights do.
 
I wish there was a way to permanently plate them with real metal chrome that does not burn and use real glass or Pyrex heat resistant lenses like they make chemical mixing stuff out of with UV inhibitors, but there isnt any out there i know of other than the modeling kits and thin copper plated and then nickel plating electralisis sp? methods.
There was a post a while back of someone was working on getting a japan headlight manufacturer to make us some small runs of high heat resistant backings in chrome and real glass lenses, but i never heard of any advancements and the thread died. They were looking for donor lenses to make molds of for the run. I told them id send them a set if i could get one of the runs prototypes, but never got an anwser back. I was really excited abut that one for a bit.
We can only hope for a retrofit company to make us some, sure theyll be pricey, but if they can make them any cheaper than NOS HID's, then im sure they will sell. Well see.

Tim sweet job on the models! Love seeing them. Detail is king and the extra time shows. Great job.


What Jamie said...but if you really like the incandescent look and don't want to burn the lamps, you can get HIR bulbs...half the heat and twice the light for around $25 per bulb.
 
I bought 2 brand new sets of lights from Max a couple years ago. Thank goodness I don't run Whiner much at night because the chrome is already burnt (less than 8 hours driving time on my DD). Wish I would have kept the old ones and shipped to Jamie. That's what I am going to do for the future as I am not pleased at all with the new FOMOCO units.
 
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