Actually, the question at hand is the 'will you be driving it' question. If the answer is yes, then safety becomes a factor. Silver paint will NOT work for safe driving headlights. The silver tape may, but I don't think it is a 5 minute task either to cover enough area to be safe. Safety should be first, then budget. Well done, silvered headlights can be out run by a model A, so how fast are you gonna go with the make-shift version? Re-pops would probably be best for temporary budget issues. Just something to keep in mind. No attitudes in this post. Tom