As most if us 21t freaks know these lamps are no longer available from Renault, and even good 2nd ones are fast becoming rare to find now, and when you do find a good lamp you'll be paying a handsome price for it.
The problem with the lamps is over the years the silver plating either starts to breakdown or if that doesn't happen then the silver plating starts to lose its shine. Although there are no stories of it happening yet both will eventually become an MoT fail.
I decided to get abit Pro Active and see if there was something could be done with our existing lamps and get them looking good as new again, plus i fancied the challenge.
I have used http://www.ashfordchroming.com/headlamp-reflector-re-silvering-restoration. For £85 they will collect the items from your home, re-plate them and send them back. They can also strip the headlamp for you if you can't be bothered but they will charge extra for this service.
All you need is a craft knife, (maybe) a heat gun, flat head screwdriver, pliers and patience.
Breaking Glass
Remove the 4 stainless steel sliding clips from around the lamp.
The longest part of this task is getting the glass off without breaking it. The glass is pretty tough and won't break easily, however if you get impatient and try to prize the glass off the body without taking nearly all the sealant off first then there is a good chance you will shatter the glass, so take your time and be thorough when removing the sealant .... and the sealant is another story, it's the sealant that will decide how long this job takes. I done 2 headlamps and one was really easy to get the glass from as the sealant was sooo easy to cut away at, however the 2nd lamp was a different story, the sealant was a nightmare to break apart and i had to resort to bringing out the heat gun as the sealant on this lamp was really well applied on the inner section behind the glass and you can't get access to there with a knife, so you will have to use the heat gun to soften the sealant, although you will find this will soften the plastic edge on the main body but don't worry too much about that, just be careful what you're doing .... patience is the key. There is a ridge both on the body and the glass which helps when using a flat head screwdriver when gently prizing the glass away from the body, again go easy as you can risk chipping the edge of the glass, if you feel too much resistance then stop and carry on trying to get more sealant off.
Eventually you will be rewarded by the glass coming off, and you'll be glad to know that's the hardest part of the job over with, from now on its just a case of stripping all the parts away from the body. You will probably notice how the inside of the glass has a layer of dirty film and when washed it comes up like new.
Inside the Headlmap
Inside the lamp consists of a one piece plastic silver reflector, which is in front of 2 separate silver bowls, 1 bowl being the dip and the other bowl being the main beam. Both these bowls will most likely have a coating of dust on them, now if you're lucky then a really really really gentle wipe with warm soapy water will clean it up like new .... but probably not. Take real care with cleaning the bowl as the silver plating will come off really easily, if you have managed to get the dust off and not taken the silver with it then you will most likely find that the silver coating has lost all its sheen and has dulled away.
You now need to start stripping the bowls out, the one piece silver reflector just pulls out, and the bowls are held in place with black plastic clips, some of these clips are attached to the lamp adjuster screws which have a ball socket, just screw the adjuster in until the ball socket pops out,, with the other clips just a bit a force will remove them from the frame. On the main beam bowl you will see at the top its held on with 2 plastic lock clips, just turn them with pliers until they match up with the slots in the bowl body. Also on the main beam bowl you will find an earth wire connected to it, just cut it. You should now be left with the 2 bowls detached from the main body.
If you are sending the bowls away to be re-plated then they will be acid dipped so you will need to remove the black plastic clips from the bowls and keep them safe, with a bit of force they just slide off, keep them safe to one side as you will need them again obviously. Also remove the bulb holder metal clips.
Finished
You should now be left with all the headlamp(s) completely taken apart. Pack and send your 2 x bowls to be re-plated and keep the rest safe.
The silver one piece section cannot be acid dipped for obvious reasons and it's up to yourself to find out how to get this piece silver plated. It's clear to see on the piece that it was originally sprayed with its silver plating as you can clearly see the overspray, so i'm still looking into this.
Also, the headlamps and plastic section are silver plated and not chromed. Chrome gives off a different light, so make sure if you get this done its silver plating you get.
I am expecting the bowls back from being re-plated in approx 3 weeks so I'll post the photo's up of the results when i receive them back.
The problem with the lamps is over the years the silver plating either starts to breakdown or if that doesn't happen then the silver plating starts to lose its shine. Although there are no stories of it happening yet both will eventually become an MoT fail.
I decided to get abit Pro Active and see if there was something could be done with our existing lamps and get them looking good as new again, plus i fancied the challenge.
I have used http://www.ashfordchroming.com/headlamp-reflector-re-silvering-restoration. For £85 they will collect the items from your home, re-plate them and send them back. They can also strip the headlamp for you if you can't be bothered but they will charge extra for this service.
All you need is a craft knife, (maybe) a heat gun, flat head screwdriver, pliers and patience.
Breaking Glass
Remove the 4 stainless steel sliding clips from around the lamp.
The longest part of this task is getting the glass off without breaking it. The glass is pretty tough and won't break easily, however if you get impatient and try to prize the glass off the body without taking nearly all the sealant off first then there is a good chance you will shatter the glass, so take your time and be thorough when removing the sealant .... and the sealant is another story, it's the sealant that will decide how long this job takes. I done 2 headlamps and one was really easy to get the glass from as the sealant was sooo easy to cut away at, however the 2nd lamp was a different story, the sealant was a nightmare to break apart and i had to resort to bringing out the heat gun as the sealant on this lamp was really well applied on the inner section behind the glass and you can't get access to there with a knife, so you will have to use the heat gun to soften the sealant, although you will find this will soften the plastic edge on the main body but don't worry too much about that, just be careful what you're doing .... patience is the key. There is a ridge both on the body and the glass which helps when using a flat head screwdriver when gently prizing the glass away from the body, again go easy as you can risk chipping the edge of the glass, if you feel too much resistance then stop and carry on trying to get more sealant off.
Eventually you will be rewarded by the glass coming off, and you'll be glad to know that's the hardest part of the job over with, from now on its just a case of stripping all the parts away from the body. You will probably notice how the inside of the glass has a layer of dirty film and when washed it comes up like new.
Inside the Headlmap
Inside the lamp consists of a one piece plastic silver reflector, which is in front of 2 separate silver bowls, 1 bowl being the dip and the other bowl being the main beam. Both these bowls will most likely have a coating of dust on them, now if you're lucky then a really really really gentle wipe with warm soapy water will clean it up like new .... but probably not. Take real care with cleaning the bowl as the silver plating will come off really easily, if you have managed to get the dust off and not taken the silver with it then you will most likely find that the silver coating has lost all its sheen and has dulled away.
You now need to start stripping the bowls out, the one piece silver reflector just pulls out, and the bowls are held in place with black plastic clips, some of these clips are attached to the lamp adjuster screws which have a ball socket, just screw the adjuster in until the ball socket pops out,, with the other clips just a bit a force will remove them from the frame. On the main beam bowl you will see at the top its held on with 2 plastic lock clips, just turn them with pliers until they match up with the slots in the bowl body. Also on the main beam bowl you will find an earth wire connected to it, just cut it. You should now be left with the 2 bowls detached from the main body.
If you are sending the bowls away to be re-plated then they will be acid dipped so you will need to remove the black plastic clips from the bowls and keep them safe, with a bit of force they just slide off, keep them safe to one side as you will need them again obviously. Also remove the bulb holder metal clips.
Finished
You should now be left with all the headlamp(s) completely taken apart. Pack and send your 2 x bowls to be re-plated and keep the rest safe.
The silver one piece section cannot be acid dipped for obvious reasons and it's up to yourself to find out how to get this piece silver plated. It's clear to see on the piece that it was originally sprayed with its silver plating as you can clearly see the overspray, so i'm still looking into this.
Also, the headlamps and plastic section are silver plated and not chromed. Chrome gives off a different light, so make sure if you get this done its silver plating you get.
I am expecting the bowls back from being re-plated in approx 3 weeks so I'll post the photo's up of the results when i receive them back.
