Rear Reflector Paint - Revisited

[KingSalmon911SC]

Hello Everyone;
It seems that there are alot of us who would touch -up our rear reflectors if we could "Crack" Porsches paint process. I know I would! I've read many/most of the previous threads & I'm curious about the following. I won't be able to try this approach until late May, when I finally get to go to the lower48 & free my 911SC from the shackles of winter storage.

In as much as the paint process appears to be a two step approach; the first reflective and the second, a covering base coat; I'm going to the cosmetics section of a Ladies store & pick out several glittery and/or pearlescent nail polishes. I've seen many a Lady with sparkly fingers & I'm hopeful that one of the polishes will emulate the reflective properties of the Porsche first coat. I am concerned however that the nail polish may react to the plastic lens material. I believe nail polish is lacquer based; however, I never use the stuff. It may also react to the base overcoat. Fortunately, I have a spare reflector to practice on. If it works, I'll post pics.

Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions?

Richard

[snbush67]

Mirrors are manufactured by applying a reflective coating to a suitable substrate. The most common such substrate is glass, due to its ease of fabrication, its rigidity, and its ability to take a smooth finish. The reflective coating ("silver") is typically applied to the back surface of the glass, so that it is protected from corrosion and accidental damage. (Glass is much more scratch-resistant than most substrates.)

Historically, mirrors in the classical antiquity were made of solid metal (bronze, later silver) and they were too expensive for widespread use as well as being prone to corrosion. Due to polished metal's low emissivity, antique mirrors also gave a darker picture compared to modern ones, making them unsuitable for indoor use with artificial lighting (candles or lanterns at the time).

The method of making mirrors out of ordinary glass was discovered by 16th-century Venetian glassmakers on the island of Murano, who covered the backside of plate glass with mercury, obtaining near-perfect reflection and imaging qualities. For over one hundred years Venetian mirrors installed in richly decorated frames served as luxury decoration for palaces throughout Europe, but the secret of mercury process eventually arrived to London and Paris during the 17th century, due to industrial espionage. French workshops succeeded in large scale industrialization of the process, eventually making mirrors affordable to the masses, although mercury's toxicity remained a problem.

In modern times the mirror substrate is shaped, polished and cleaned, and is then coated. Glass mirrors are most often coated with non-toxic silver or aluminium, implemented by a series of coatings:

tin
silver
chemical activator
copper
paint
The tin is applied because silver will not bond with the glass. The activator causes the tin/silver to harden. Copper is added for long-term durability.[13] The paint protects the coating on the back of the mirror from scratches and other accidental damage.

In some applications, generally those that are cost-sensitive or that require great durability, mirrors are instead made from a single, bulk material such as polished metal.

For technical applications such as laser mirrors, the reflective coating is typically applied by vacuum deposition on the front surface of the substrate. This eliminates double reflections and reduces absorption of light in the mirror. Cheaper technical mirrors use a silver, aluminium, or gold coating (the latter typically for infrared mirrors), and achieve reflectivities of 90–95% when new. A protective overcoat may be applied to prevent oxidation of the reflective layer. Applications requiring higher reflectivity or greater durability use dielectric coatings, which can achieve reflectivities as high as 99.999% over a narrow range of wavelengths.

[KingSalmon911SC]

snbush67
Wouldn't it be nice if it is that simple! Thin foils are cheap & apply easy.
Richard