Many thanks for the great replies. The consensus seems to be to go for it
with the chrome paint. I'll try that out and report back to the list once
I've had a chance to assess the results. One person also recommended some
"foil tape" used by heating workers to seal ductwork. Interesting idea, if
the paint fails I'll try that option.
Thanks again.
Peter Zaborski -- CF58310 UO
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Peter Zaborski
> Sent: Monday, August 01, 2005 10:38 PM
>
> Hi Listers,
>
> I recently noticed that one of my taillights is
> dimmer than the other one (left one is dimmer).
> Only the rear park light and brake light are dimmer,
> the rest of the lights are evenly bright. So I did
> the usual diagnostic process, swap left and right
> bulbs, swap left and right bulb holders, measure
> voltage, etc. No apparent faults, it's always the
> left light that's dimmer, voltage is the same at
> each light.
>
> Digging deeper, I eventually disassembled the light
> housings thinking perhaps the left side lens was more
> dirty or full of dust. Well it turns out that none of
> these are the problem. Rather, the left side reflector
> for the park/brake light is missing its chrome paint.
>
> For those who have had these assemblies apart, the
> reflector I'm referring to is plastic with what looks
> like chrome colored paint. Its definitely not metal.
> In fact the reflector is fixed to the main housing
> (which is metal) with two plastic pins. I put up a
> picture of the assembly and the reflector highlighted
> in yellow at <http://members.shaw.ca/plz/tail_light.jpg>.
> Of course this part doesn't appear to be available
> separately, not even in the TRF catalog.
>
> So, has anyone ever tried to paint one of these plastic
> parts with chrome paint? Any recommendations on paint? I
> assume the chrome will get hot due to the light bulb
> temperatures so the paint has to be somewhat temp
> resistant. Any paint techniques to get the best results
> for chrome paint on plastic in a high heat area?
>
> Ideally I'd like to find a spare reflector but I suspect
> the chances of that are close to 0. If anyone has any
> suggestions I'd love to hear them.
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