Hi Guys,

Can anybody recommend a firm that does headlight reflector re-silvering? I am sure I have seen a mention of it on the forum but for the life of me I cannot find it.

Thanks for any help/advice.

Mike

email (option): mike_yockney(at)yahoo.com

Hi Mike...I can get them done locally (Plymouth) and have a couple that need to be done at the moment...They have to be brass as the base material...

Contact me off forum if you want to make an arrangement to get it done....Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Silver platers are fairly common.
However very few of them advertise for obvious reasons.
If you pop down to your local trophy merchant they will usually either send it in for you or give you the revelant contact details.
There are a lot of them in Sydney but none in the phone book.
Silver platers usually do gold, & platinum as well.

email (option): wariron@tpg,com,au

I did a quick search on the net and asked one advertiser to quote to do 2 x 7" dia headlight reflectors from an old VW campervan I am restoring, they quoted me £88.00 each + vat + shipping!!

Whether its just me or not I dont know but it supprised me a bit, so I will try Trevor's advice and try a trophy merchant.

Cheers

Mike

email (option): mike_yockney(at)yahoo.com

I can vouch for the fact that Ian's contact does a very good job and when I had my 8 incher done, the price was nothing like £88 + VAT.

There are a couple of specialist headlamp companies in the UK who are at Beaulieu each year and they clearly aim at the veteran Rolls-Royce market where any bill that doesn't come to four figures makes the customer suspicious of the workmanship.

Hi Rik,
Ian did mention the fact that the base material for the reflector had to be brass for his contact to be able to do the job,the van reflectors are steel so I made the assumption that he wouldnt be able to do the job.

Mike

email (option): mike_yockney(at)yahoo.com

Mike, it didn't occur to me that they were steel. Can silver be plated effectively onto steel ? I'd always assumed that they had a chromium type of plating and that silvering didn't survive past the brass reflector era.

Isn't it normal with most 'modern' reflectors simply to replace the lamp unit ?

Rik,
My van is a 1969 model,the headlamps were made by Hella and they stopped making them years ago when the design changed, I can replace the complete headlight assembly (NOS) but the cost is around the £120 mark each, the whole VW parts supply scene is one big money making venture,there is nothing wrong with the rest of the light assembly, just the plating is fading/ tarnished.

Mike

email (option): mike_yockney(at)yahoo.com

The plater I use will (for whatever reason) only resilver brass reflectors..but I have only ever asked about resilvering them..

However, they are a chrome platers as well so I'll make an enquiry to see if they can chrome plate steel ones...

Generally their prices are fairly sensible...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

I had my brass reflector years ago chrome-plated over nickel, and there is hardly any degradation. Silver-plating turns black over time, especially in the muddy Low Countries...

email (option): viaconsu [at] planet [dot] nl

I had my XB31 reflector chrome plated decades ago and it's still as nice as when it was just done.

Henk

email (option): ahum@quicknet.nl

Ian,

Thanks for your offer, If you could enquire,it would be very much appreciated.

Mike

email (option): mike_yockney(at)yahoo.com

Hi Mike...I'll enquire early this week and let you know...I now have 3 to do myself...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Hi Ian,
Did you have a chance to enquire on whether your platers could replate my steel headlight reflectors.

Cheers

Mike

email (option): mike_yockney(at)yahoo.com

Hi Mike...I'm afraid they only do the brass ones...I did enquire about chrome plating them instead but they said they have had mixed results with that as the plating doesn't 'throw' into the dish of the reflector very well...

Saying that a number of forum users have said they have had them chromed with good results at other platers...Try Hockley Enterprises 01702 614067 with an enquiry...They are in Essex. I've found them helpful in the past....Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Hi Ian,

Many thanks for enquiring for me, I will have a word with the guys you mentioned and see what they have to say.

Cheers

Mike

email (option): mike_yockney(at)yahoo.com

Let us know how you get on...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Another place I know re-silvers lights is Marque Restore chrome plating Ltd, they're in Coventry. I haven't had one done there, but last time I was at there place they were doing some. I don't know about the brass/steel thing, but I was told when I was there that chrome doesn't reflect the same as silver.

http://www.marquerestore.co.uk/

email (option): horror@blueyonder.co.uk

A nice chap called Keith Ardley does re silvering in Ely, Cambridgeshire.
He charges £4 for each 1" of diameter across the reflector.
Tel 01353778493
email. keith@ardley8142.fsnet.co uk

Hi guys, thanks for the advice I will be making a few phone calls soon ,I did try Keith Ardley a couple of weeks ago but he said he could only plate onto brass reflectors.

Cheers
Mike

email (option): mike_yockney(at)yahoo.com