How does one replate the inside reflective part of the buckets, to get anything approaching NOS....and what is used.

And on that note...the exterior of the buckets....how does one get them appearing close to NOS.

Thanks

I wire brushed them and painted them with chrome rattle can.

Here is the before and after:

Click to view attachment

That's what I did to my front and rear buckets/ retainers. 2 years later of daily driving through all sorts of weather, the paint has held up surprisingly well.

It's a cheap way to get nicely reflective buckets.

That actually looks remarkably good , especially for something one can do at home...

Any suggestions on how to replicate the finish on the outside of the bucket?

You can follow this 914World link of mine that covers the restoration/creation process,

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...=174156&hl=


I ended up landing an engineering job 3 days after graduation and hence haven't had a chance to finish perfecting my PVD setup. Right now I'm hoping to get back to it around Christmas,... and to be honest I really hate the idea of putting in all that effort just to let my machine sit, lol.


Mike

I just did the exteriors in black. My car is not concours and is a daily driver. There is going to be water and dirt slung all around those signal buckets.

Click to view attachment

I did the chrome plate paint and also lined the back area with that chrome tape...shinier than the paint.

Well
Congrats on the job!
I'd say you have a fairly captive, and attentive market, if you decide to get back into the game.
Perhaps let me/us know when you assess your status...Christmas is knocking at the door....kind of scary.
Paul

Has anyone fitted Led lights into the front buckets? They seem much brighter in my opinion and could help with the reflectivity. If you did, which LEDs did you use, and have you been happy with the results?

From what I've heard LED's have a different impedance. This screws stuff up IIRC. I think there is a thread about it.

Nice job Mike. Those look really nice. I used a chrome spray and it wasn't as shiney as yours but interestingly enough, I cannot see any difference between the 2 sides at night . Oh, the other side is shiny OG chrome and obviously not a satin finish like the one I sprayed. Go figure.

I sprayed the front and rear buckets on the 'BB' with silver 'chrome' rattle-can too. They are definitely more reflective than when I first got the car.

The car has pretty much been sitting outside for a few years and the buckets still look good.