36 head light reflectors

[36 CS]

I am rebuilding head lights on my 36. I need your opinion, are the Vintique chrome reflectors any good? Should I have reflectors restored as the original gold color? Who does a good job to bring back to original? Thanks in advance.

[Bursonaw]

I have the Vintique reflectors with halogen bulbs in my 36 roadster. They work very well. A big improvement to the originals. The lenses defuse the light as you expect on low beams. On High beams the beam could be a little better, but certainly is acceptable.


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[Kurt in NJ]

Most aftermarket reflectors are not made the correct shape to have good focused light

the original reflectors were silver placed on the brass, i suspect the "gold" color is because all the silver is gone, yes they can be re silver plated

the ones on my model a were done by a place that re did the silver plating on teapots

chrome is not good for reflectors, look on the model A side, there is a listing in the first post listing websites at the top

[Terry,OH]

I purchased the 34 Dlx. reflectors from Vintique at Mac's. The outer lip was too tall this prevented the reflector gasket from even touching the glass lens, plus additional alignment problems. I brought this to the attention of Vintique they asked ME to contact their Rep. and let him know. I did so but never heard a reply. All this gave me the impression Vintique could care less. They should have contacted their own Rep. Mac's took the reflectors back for credit.

[41PICUP]

I used Drakes kit for my 36, no problems, works good.

[J Witt]

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The visible light reflectivity of silver is way better than chrome. Chrome is roughly 50% reflective in the middle of the visible light wavelengths, while silver is as much as 88%.

There being no free lunches, silver will tarnish faster and is much softer than chrome. My car has silver and the original reflectors, which are in very good shape and the headlights work fairly well (standard bulbs, 6V).

However since the system is positive ground the headlights collect photons instead of emitting them, which makes driving in the daytime harder.

John

[Detonator]

Originally Posted by J Witt

The visible light reflectivity of silver is way better than chrome. There being no free lunches, silver will tarnish faster and is much softer than chrome. -- John

What would you recommend we use for polishing original silvered reflectors??
Thanks.

[Kurt in NJ]

from the old "Gus" mechanic storys on popular mechanics
"You're not supposed to touch them with your fingers," agreed Gus. "But that doesn't stop you from using a piece of cotton or a soft cloth. A trick that I find works well to dip an old handkerchief in alcohol and then in lamp black. The combination makes a swell cleaner and polish. Don't rub the reflectors too hard, just enough to bring back some of the original silver finish. Of course, if they're too far gone, you can have them re-silvered in almost any large city.

rubber gaskets can cause tarnishing of silver too

[Ken/Alabama]

Find an old pair or NOS if you can . I found NOS pair for my 39 Zephyr (same as Ford) and the first step is to have them Nickle plated. I then sent them to a company in the northwest called Uvira Inc. they do optical coatings and do antique auto reflectors also. Their coating is as good or better than silver and way more durable. Got both reflectors done for less than $100. That's not including the cost to have them Nickle plated prior to sending them. They shine bright white and I'm very pleased with the results.

[terry]

I went with Uvira as well. and used Ron francis "brite lites" in front of the newly done reflectors and it made a big difference. The lites were made to replace the original 36 Ford double filament headlights are much better than the originals. Terry

[J Witt]

Originally Posted by Detonator

What would you recommend we use for polishing original silvered reflectors??
Thanks.

I use Happich Semichrome on mine, applied and polished out with a very clean flannel rag and light pressure. Do a little at a time. This stuff contains diatomaceous earth which is an extremely mild abrasive and also has a chemical compound to neutralize the tarnish.

Been using this for polishing metal for maybe 40 years.

John

[Capsacto]

Originally Posted by terry

I went with Uvira as well. and used Ron francis "brite lites" in front of the newly done reflectors and it made a big difference. The lites were made to replace the original 36 Ford double filament headlights are much better than the originals. Terry

Terry, are you running 6-volt or 12-volt headlights?