Refinishing rear light boxes 911

[Loz]

Hello everyone,

I'm pulling apart my rear light boxes. They're not good enough as they are so I was wondering what's the methods for refinishing them. I have a powder coat oven so was wondering how chrome or silver powder coat comes out. Any experiences? Or maybe a chrome paint? Any help or guidance appreciated. 👍🏼

[canamfan]

I was going to re-chrome mine, but it was very expensive, found a professional "chrome painter" who took into account the high temps & I prepped them myself, dropped them, off & he had them done in a few days, they came out perfect - that was approx. 4 years ago & they're still perfect. I've tried in the past on other projects to "paint" them myself but they never came out like actual chrome, the lights "pop" & have a factory "crystal" apperence (if that makes sense) when they're lit'up. Hope this helps if you're looking for a factory OE finish

[Loz]

Originally Posted by canamfan

I was going to re-chrome mine, but it was very expensive, found a professional "chrome painter" who took into account the high temps & I prepped them myself, dropped them, off & he had them done in a few days, they came out perfect - that was approx. 4 years ago & they're still perfect. I've tried in the past on other projects to "paint" them myself but they never came out like actual chrome, the lights "pop" & have a factory "crystal" apperence (if that makes sense) when they're lit'up. Hope this helps if you're looking for a factory OE finish

Thank you 👍🏼 how did you prep? Sandblast?

[Dpmulvan]

I blasted mine with 180 aluminum oxide and powder coated with all in one chrome,

[Loz]

Originally Posted by Dpmulvan

I blasted mine with 180 aluminum oxide and powder coated with all in one chrome,

Thank you 👍🏼

[Tom F2]

I don't see how to do this without removing the bulb sockets, considering the high heat needed for powder coating. The bulb sockets are crimped into place, making it a challenge to remove and reinstall them without ruining the housing. Can someone explain how they did this in more detail?

[canamfan]

I blasted them with crushed walnuts, the metal is a mix type (not pure aluminum or magnesium) sort of like a "pot" metal mix, soft....I made sure they were completely clean front & back (the backs I restored myself)

[Dpmulvan]

Originally Posted by Tom F2

I don't see how to do this without removing the bulb sockets, considering the high heat needed for powder coating. The bulb sockets are crimped into place, making it a challenge to remove and reinstall them without ruining the housing. Can someone explain how they did this in more detail?

I preheated housings to around a 150 silicone plugs in sockets shot them with Columbia coatings chrome powder, put them in the oven at 350 for a few minutes till powder flowed then removed and used an infrared lamp and a small heat gun ( the ones used to remove iPhone screens et).
Only reason I did powder was because I had it, spray on chrome paint will work too and less fuss. Several threads on taillight resto just do a Google search.

[Otter74]

Curious about the techniques mentioned, as I have a Saab with a headlamp bowl whose plating is flaking off (these are long-NLA Euro headlamps); the really correct method for those is an aluminum vacuum deposition process - I've found a place in MA that can do it for $$, or a guy in the UK for, surprisingly, less. But it's always kinda expensive.

Can any of you above show the results of your process?

[PeteKz]

Something else to consider: One of the members here makes LED replacements, and another makes 3D printed housings. The LEDs are made by "Spoke", and the housings are made by TopTuning. See this thread:

https://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/1092635-new-lightweight-3d-printed-tail-light-housings.html

The original die-cast metal housings are pretty brittle, especially after years of exposure and corrosion. If I have to replace my housings, that's the route I will go.

[Dpmulvan]

Originally Posted by Otter74

Curious about the techniques mentioned, as I have a Saab with a headlamp bowl whose plating is flaking off (these are long-NLA Euro headlamps); the really correct method for those is an aluminum vacuum deposition process - I've found a place in MA that can do it for $$, or a guy in the UK for, surprisingly, less. But it's always kinda expensive.

Can any of you above show the results of your process?

Try liquid mirror with a water base clear coat. Powders not reflective enough for headlights imho.

[Loz]

Thanks for all your help and advice guys.

I've been to look at a couple of powder coat finishes and I have to agree DP that the finish (at least the ones I saw) were a little dull. I'm gonna try something else and I'll post pics maybe tomorrow in the hope it helps others in a similar point of their restos.
Thanks again 👍🏼

[Hi_Fi_Guy]

If you use Spoke’s LED boards you don’t need to worry about a reflector ��

[Loz]

Here's a couple of pics of how my rear indicators came out. In the end I used 3M tape. Sounds like a naff idea I know but they're actually not too bad.

(The pen is just to show reflection)

[thetorch]

I have done powder coating with chrome powder and they are quite reflective. The issue is that the pot metal tends to have a lot of impurities that cause bubbles during the heat of curing of the powder. Even pre-heating multiple times did not prevent some tiny bubbles.

If I had to do it again, I would just go with the chrome rattle can paint. You can remove it later if you want. The powder -- that's another story.

[spoke]

A couple of alternatives to re-chroming the light reflectors:

This fixture is from a Triumph TR6. The owner placed reflective tape on existing fixture. Looking closely at the picture you can see reflections in the tape.



Another alternative is to go LED. Doesn't use the OEM reflector and turnsignal and brake LED power is 5W vs 21W bulb with 3x more light. Yeah, I know, a shameless plug.

[evan9eleven]

Originally Posted by Hi_Fi_Guy

If you use Spoke’s LED boards you don’t need to worry about a reflector ��

+1, Spoke's LED upgrades are excellent, as is the customer service.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by Hi_Fi_Guy

If you use Spoke’s LED boards you don’t need to worry about a reflector ��

Same here. I wanted MUCH brighter brake lights, and they have been in my car for severall years now. I have had other G model Porsche drivers comment on my bright brake lights, and I told them of Spoke.

[88911coupe]

I just looked at Spoke's site...installation seems pretty straight forward. My big issue is the backup lights on my '88 are pathetic and we have a narrow driveway so backing out at night is a PITA. I guess I should just to the brake lights as well since they aren't that good either. I still don't understand why Porsche decided brake lights need to be driven by hydraulics...I guess that's another discussion.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by 88911coupe

I just looked at Spoke's site...installation seems pretty straight forward. My big issue is the backup lights on my '88 are pathetic and we have a narrow driveway so backing out at night is a PITA. I guess I should just to the brake lights as well since they aren't that good either. I still don't understand why Porsche decided brake lights need to be driven by hydraulics...I guess that's another discussion.

The early 911s and the 914s all had one electrical switch on the brake pedal. They wanted a redundant system so two hydraulic switches were used.