Well my front and rear light fixtures have lost their silvery shine. Corrosion has taken over. Rathere than buy new everything, I tried painting the reflector surfaces with chrome paint. Kinda shiney but really no cigar.

What are my alternatives? Are they easily plated? Will white paint reflect better?

7TPorsh, Look for chrome adhesive-backed tape. Places like Checkers have it, but I'm kinda searching for "engine-turned" tape where it may throw off more light. Or polish/buff out, or chrome it, or buy good used.

good idea, didn't think of that.

hmm...I wonder how small they make those little mirror tiles for mosaics.

All your lights could shine like disco balls!

Eastwood has a reflective aluminum paint for this. Part # 100052. I have used it on my light housings and have been happy with the results. www.eastwood.com

Jerry

Anyone use this stuff? Looks promising but a bit pricey.

Chrome Anything

It wasnt untill I read this topic that I even considered redoing the buckets but I figured what the heck. I used steel wool on the inside to clean them out than masked off the surrounding are, Went to autozone and was stuck between aluminum tape or "Chrome" like spray paint. Guy behind the counter recomended the paint. Used about three coats and then a clear coat for good luck and then another coat of the chrome again and WOW big time difference in brightness. Thanks for the idea.

I do plastic models, and for a shiny metal finish, nothing beats this:

http://www.alclad2.com/alclad-home.html

If you want to try an adhesive product, this is VERY thin and will conform to everything:

http://www.bare-metal.com/bare-metal-foil.html

Neither would be durable enough to stand up if they were exposed, but in a light bucket, they should work fine.

Another method is using aluminum powder on fresh paint (silver, white, or surprisingly, black) that is dry but still soft. Buff it in to the paint until it shines.

Crude but effective - I used aluminum foil some years ago. Maybe with rubber cement. Memory is the 2nd thing to go.