The Ford Barn

29ModelA · 05-15-2012, 10:21 PM

My car originally had the 2 bulb reflectors, and the original headlights looked REALLY roached. The housings are solid rust, and the lens was broken out of one, and filled with coon crap, and the other the lens was intact but it was also full of dirt and coon crap.

I bought a set of 28/29 headlights from a member here that were the single bulb type, I planned on getting some different reflectors for them but thought I would try an experiment if my originals looked like they had a chance. I have a Mothers Powerball for my drill that I use on my Harley. I grabbed my silver polish I bought as well.

I opened up and cleaned up my old lights and yanked the reflectors. They looked really bad initially, but after some scrubbing looked like there was a chance. I did the worst one first. I only spent about 5 mins on each reflector as I really should have had a helper to hold them solidly.

The one on the left was initially much, much worse than the one on the right.

I think they turned out well considering the circumstances and will be using them after all. I think with just a little more time on them they will look even better. I thought I would pass this along and maybe save some guys time and effort!

ctlikon0712 · 05-15-2012, 10:31 PM

Nice job, that's great.

Tom Wesenberg · 05-16-2012, 12:45 AM

Yes, nice improvement!

juke joint johnny · 05-16-2012, 04:06 AM

They look fine now and the repro ones can rust out preety quick

Its often better to repair what you have than buy new

John Cochran

Doug in NJ · 05-16-2012, 05:43 AM

That "silver dip" tarnish remover worked well for me. You can apply it with a cotton ball. If you have lot of tarnish and try to get it all off with mechanical polishing, you can run the risk of overdoing it and polishing all the way down to the brass. Once the tarnish has been dissolved, you can polish gently.

Doug

Steve Wastler · 05-16-2012, 08:40 AM

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Also with mechanical polishing, you create a tremendous amount of fine scratches that will lessen the refectability a lot. Best to use a silver dip and no rubbing, if you must rub, do so from center to edge in a straight line, no circular motions.

sjessen · 05-18-2012, 03:15 PM

Here's a link that describes a non-mechanical soak to clean reflectors:

http://www.fordgarage.com/pages/reflectorcleaning.htm

I am going try it this summer when time permits.

Good Luck

Steve

29ModelA · 05-18-2012, 03:18 PM

I would probably have tried a dip, or by hand but these looked pretty bad. Much worse than they look in the pictures. They turned out very well and I look forward to lighting them up tonight and seeing how they do.

05-15-2012, 10:21 PM	#1
29ModelA Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Owosso, MI Posts: 673	Headlight reflectors + Mothers Powerball and silver polish My car originally had the 2 bulb reflectors, and the original headlights looked REALLY roached. The housings are solid rust, and the lens was broken out of one, and filled with coon crap, and the other the lens was intact but it was also full of dirt and coon crap. I bought a set of 28/29 headlights from a member here that were the single bulb type, I planned on getting some different reflectors for them but thought I would try an experiment if my originals looked like they had a chance. I have a Mothers Powerball for my drill that I use on my Harley. I grabbed my silver polish I bought as well. I opened up and cleaned up my old lights and yanked the reflectors. They looked really bad initially, but after some scrubbing looked like there was a chance. I did the worst one first. I only spent about 5 mins on each reflector as I really should have had a helper to hold them solidly. The one on the left was initially much, much worse than the one on the right. I think they turned out well considering the circumstances and will be using them after all. I think with just a little more time on them they will look even better. I thought I would pass this along and maybe save some guys time and effort! __________________ 1929 Model A Barn find. California car, just a few more parts to find. Interior, steering box (rebuild), and I am sure much more!

05-15-2012, 10:31 PM	#2
ctlikon0712 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Cocoa, Florida Posts: 1,609	Re: Headlight reflectors + Mothers Powerball and silver polish Nice job, that's great. __________________ Wanted: Simmons Super Power Head Craig Likon 1931 150B

05-16-2012, 12:45 AM	#3
Tom Wesenberg Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mpls, MN Posts: 27,582	Re: Headlight reflectors + Mothers Powerball and silver polish Yes, nice improvement!

05-16-2012, 04:06 AM	#4
juke joint johnny Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: London England Posts: 908	Re: Headlight reflectors + Mothers Powerball and silver polish They look fine now and the repro ones can rust out preety quick Its often better to repair what you have than buy new John Cochran

05-16-2012, 05:43 AM	#5
Doug in NJ Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Princeton, NJ Posts: 966	Re: Headlight reflectors + Mothers Powerball and silver polish That "silver dip" tarnish remover worked well for me. You can apply it with a cotton ball. If you have lot of tarnish and try to get it all off with mechanical polishing, you can run the risk of overdoing it and polishing all the way down to the brass. Once the tarnish has been dissolved, you can polish gently. Doug __________________ My '31 S/W sedan project:http://31ford.dougbraun.com My restoration diary: http://dougbraun.com/blog

05-16-2012, 08:40 AM	#6
Steve Wastler Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 1,987	Re: Headlight reflectors + Mothers Powerball and silver polish Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) Also with mechanical polishing, you create a tremendous amount of fine scratches that will lessen the refectability a lot. Best to use a silver dip and no rubbing, if you must rub, do so from center to edge in a straight line, no circular motions.

05-18-2012, 03:15 PM	#7
sjessen Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Montgomery, TX Posts: 29	Re: Headlight reflectors + Mothers Powerball and silver polish Here's a link that describes a non-mechanical soak to clean reflectors: http://www.fordgarage.com/pages/reflectorcleaning.htm I am going try it this summer when time permits. Good Luck Steve

05-18-2012, 03:18 PM	#8
29ModelA Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Owosso, MI Posts: 673	Re: Headlight reflectors + Mothers Powerball and silver polish I would probably have tried a dip, or by hand but these looked pretty bad. Much worse than they look in the pictures. They turned out very well and I look forward to lighting them up tonight and seeing how they do. __________________ 1929 Model A Barn find. California car, just a few more parts to find. Interior, steering box (rebuild), and I am sure much more!