Hey guys.
Are there any known methods how to restore chroming on Gen1 fog lights?
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Hi vince
I found a company that can re-coat these. I believe the process is called vapour coating. A special frame has to be made to hold the lenses in the machine and this comes with a considerable cost. The machine can hold up to 20 lenses at a time and it is the same price for 1 or 20 pieces to be coated. I have paid for the frame to be made but I need some spare time to strip down 20 light units. It then takes about 1 hour per lense to clean and prep for re-coating. As soon as I have a big enough number ready, I will send them away and do a restoration video for the channel.
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Thanks Joe! I knew you’d have already something going on in that front 
Wonder… for that process by stripping means detaching the glass from the casing? Seems to be glued in. Heat gun? And on that chrome cone it’s not just chrome peeling off, it’s got some weird bubbling brownish residue… interesting what’s that? Then surely the surface needs to be cleaned and and smoothened as preparation.
Also wonder, is the cone a part of the glass or it is a separate item? If separate and you can then have access to the cone from the front - cleaning and sanding down inside of it should not be that difficult, and once cleaned, purely for home DIY attempt, a chrome spray might work?
The glass can be removed by putting the light unit in the oven. You can’t spray paint the backing because the bulb temperature is too high and it will burn off the paint in seconds. The reflective coating is not chrome as it is illegal to use chrome in the UK for this application except for antique cars. The bubbling is the primer for the reflective finnish I believe. All of the old coatings need to be completely removed using a series of sanding and polishing processes. Once I have had my first batch completed, I will authorise the free use of my mould to members of this forum.
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Many thanks Joe for explaining. Damn, I have not thought about high temp in there!
Looking forward to seeing results of your first batch!
Ps btw - what’s happened to the Joe’s Gems section? Seems to have disappeared…
about to restore my fogs in the next week or so what ever happened about the chroming?
The video for full restoration is available on YouTube but it is only viewable to top level patreons and more recently, to the people who made a donation to the go fund me. Selected videos are reserved as my way of thanking those that support me.
Hey Joe i got a link (i donated) somewhere and started watching it but had to stop and cant find it now , did it have links to where to get parts?
The link was sent via email address that you used on go fund me site. The video shows methods of restoring and original factory techniques for manufacturing. You will have to use Google to find local companies that can do specialised coating in your country.
you can buy a chrome ink refill off ebay for 20 quid .i stripped the fogs off my mk1 project and you sand them flat and paint black ,then i used my airbrush to spray a couple of coats on the reflectors turned out pretty good . Molotow Liquid Chrome™ Refill 30ml | eBay