Cleaning Head Light Reflectors

E

Ed in Maine

Well-known member
I am refreshing my headlights and would like to clean up the reflectors. I think they are repros but they do look pretty good. They have some water stains, etc. but no corrosion or discoloration. The last time I tried doing this on a set of head lights, I couldn't get rid of a haze left by the polish. They were worse than when I started. Has anyone had good luck with a polish, windex or soapy water to clean reflectors? Thanks, Ed
 
Never have tried this. But sounds good!!
 

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i think that polishing formula is meant for tarnished silver. Do any of the repros come silver-plated?

Doug
 
It has been my experience that a fine silver polish works well. Follow the instructions. Of course, one must question if your reproduction reflectors are in fact silver plated. Most repos I have experience with are not silver plated. Years ago, I elected to have my original reflectors replated by a silver plating company in St. Louis. I prefer that method. Gar Williams
 
Gary,
Any chance u can make that attachment larger?
Even when I click on it my poor old eyes can't read it :-(

Thanks,

Manuel in Oz
 
I tried silver polish on my made in Argentina reflectors. Luckily, I did it in a small area because it removed the material. :eek:

There is a silver plating shop in St. Paul that I will try, since I haven't heard anything especially good about current repros. To be fair, I haven't looked for reviews lately.
 
How does one determine if they have the original silvered reflectors?

What are the repro's made of/from?

Sorry - still new to all this...
 
I used silver cleaner on my reflectors once and it removed both the tarnish and the silver. I think that is the goal of most silver polishes.

If your lens are silvered, I have found a product that adds silver rather than removes it. I found it at www.caswellplating.com it is called "silversmith". It cleans plates and restores and is made with pure silver in a sodium cyanide suspension. It works, it is expensive (silver) and it is poison. That said, it is far less expensive that resilvering your lens. I have even used it on my radiator emblem. I recoat once a year. I've also used it on some other silver items in our home with good results.

The before pic shows the brass undercoat showing (bottom of reflector) after the silver polish removed the tarnish and silver. The next pic shows an even, silver, shine after the "silversmith" was applied. It is not the "same" as a re-silvered lens, but pretty darn nice.
 

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hello I have used a polish that only removes the tarnish. Its called FLITZ the polish is a German formula but is manufactured and sold in america. It is located in Waterford Wisconsin. It is sold here in wis. True Value hardware stores. have used with good sucess, the only ones that showed brass were ones that were badly tarnished and the silver plating was already thin before polishing. workd on stainless & brass too! Its the best stuff I've ever used.
 
If an original reflector has started (or finished) to lose its silver, what sort of prep might it need before being re-plated? What would be the best way to buff or polish the underlying brass?

Thanks,
Doug
 
When I sent my reflectors our for plating, the only prep work was to carefully solder any cracks around the edge and remove any dents. The solder repair did leave small "bumps" which are covered by the outer trim ring and will not show. The plating company did the rest. They will only replate brass reflectors. Gar Williams
 
My old original headlight reflectors needed re-silvering. Last week I bought a new repro pair from Mac's. They were chrome plated, and the bulb sockets would not fit their holes in the reflectors. I had to swag the holes larger with a large drift punch to make the holes big enough to fit the bulb sockets. The reflectors do reflect light well now. Silver plate would have worked about 10 % better for light reflected. Would I buy new reflectors again? No. Get the old ones resilvered. Never use a brass polish like Brasso on silver plate. It will remove the silver plate in quick order. Only use a mild soap and water on silver plate, and finish up with using a silver polish.
 
I've seen chromed repros. I bought a pair of resilvered reflectors at Hershey and asked the guy how to keep them from tarnishing. He said simply to use Carnuba wax.
As soon as I got home I did just that and installed them.
FYI if you want replated ones Bert's in Denver sells them if you send in your orig. as cores. Silver relects a nicer color than chrome.
 
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