i wrecked my reflectors

[blunttech]

im bulding some smoked euro smilies and while dismantling everything i thought it would be a good idea to run the projectors thru the dishwasher. wrong.. it washed all the reflective chrome off the housings and they are now white plastic. has anyone ever sprayed these with chrome paint with good results?? ive done 02 tail lights with good results but i figure this is a little different. what say ye?

[stumble_t]

http://www.muellercorp.com/chromeplatingplastic.htm

[daniel]

as i understood it, the reflective chrome in the ellipsoid housing is just for looks (to make the headlight look the same size/color as the others when the headlights are off), rather than light output, since all the light is coming from the ellipsoid anyway. when hella or bosch smoke ellipsoids they just darken that reflector you washed off, not the ellipsoid and not the glass lens. for the high beam they use those cross-hair things, because the high beam bulbs do need the reflector.

that is how i understand it based on what i have read here on r3v. i could be wrong but i dont think i am.

if i'm right, then the reflective stuff doesnt matter for the low beams and you can "smoke" that part of the assembly by painting them or whatever.

as for the highbeams and fixing their reflector, i'm not sure.

[stumble_t]

the part that gets painted is the cover, not the reflector.
the reflector is chrome and the cover is silver.

[blunttech]

the part that gets painted is the cover, not the reflector.
the reflector is chrome and the cover is silver.

true. hella smokes or paints the outer cover to simulate a smoked look but the siver inside is still needed from what i can tell. fuck it, im going to paint them with chrome paint and see what happens with a set of HIDS

[Farbin Kaiber]

Make sure to shake the can to high heaven. I have had some lumpy chrome spray paint mishaps. Maybe also run it under hot water to heat the paintcan.

[stumble_t]

Blunt, before you spray them what about that chrome type sticker shit like you use on trim? Mylar maybe? Or do you think it might melt?

[blunttech]

Blunt, before you spray them what about that chrome type sticker shit like you use on trim? Mylar maybe? Or do you think it might melt?

not a bad idea, its probably more reflective. i dont know much about mylars ability to withstand heat. i suspect theres a fair amount inside with an HID bulb wouldnt you think?

[stumble_t]

"Operating temperature of Halogens typically range from 200-600C (or up to 1112F).
HIDs typically range from 40-120C (or up to 248F)."

I found that some where does it seem accurate?

if that's true then the mylar should definitely hold up

[Uber E30]

depends on the wattage

[nmlss2006]

That makes sense - HIDs do not heat a filament, they use arcing to produce light, so yes, they would put out a (lot) less heat. And indeed, if you think about it, you're getting a lot less current draw (35 vs. 55W) AND most of that draw is actually being dissipated, as heat, at the ballast. Add the fact that you have more lumens of output and, by definition, you'll have a lower temperature... I'd still be *very* careful with chrome paints though. While it is true that a lot of the exterior chrome on a car will get very hot, I do not know what most paints have in them and there's plenty of stuff that varies from 'nasty' to 'very nasty' out there.

[stumble_t]

^^^^ precisely why I'd recomend using a film or at least letting the paint outgass and completely cure before using them. A sealed envrionment with all those fumes + heat is a bomb waiting to explode. Well maybee not that extreme but you get the idea. The bulbs you're looking at using should have a heat range in their specs...

[NJGreenBudd]

I wouldn't bother too much other than for looks, the HID light does not need an actual reflector due to the projector lens. You could paint them any color you want and it shouldn't affect the light output.

[BrewCity11]

Had the same happen to me, only all i did was rinse them under cold water. The stuff still flaked off. I bought some "chrome" paint, and it just did not come close.

Try this. Take your washed dechromed housings in one hand, and a separate known good chrome housing in the other. Stick the HID bulb in each one and compare the output.

I'm going to guess by saying that without the chrome reflectors, not enough light will be diverted into the lens and thus projected.

[blunttech]

Had the same happen to me, only all i did was rinse them under cold water. The stuff still flaked off. I bought some "chrome" paint, and it just did not come close.

Try this. Take your washed dechromed housings in one hand, and a separate known good chrome housing in the other. Stick the HID bulb in each one and compare the output.

I'm going to guess by saying that without the chrome reflectors, not enough light will be diverted into the lens and thus projected.

thanks did you just scrap them and get others? or did you do the mylar thing??