I'm fitting some yellow caps into a set of fogs and the reflector housing material in the driver side is beyond damaged. I am not expecting perfection, but am looking for an easy fix that can atleast reflect light.

Tin foil is out of the question, 'chrome' paint is garbage, re chroming the housing is too $$$ . . .

Has anyone had any luck using aluminum foil tape (the kind used for duct work) as a replacement/repair for a reflector housing of any kind?

 

I have not done what you are trying to do, but I believe using aluminum foil tape is a very good ideal for a inexpensive repair. I use the stuff on about everything instead of duct tape (much better holding power). Also you will get a nice reflection from the foil side. Just a suggestion though, I would also do the passenger side at the same time so you will get a matching reflection.

 

yep, it's used in projector retro work.

 

Maybe you should check out http://www.alsacorp.com/products/kil...llerchrome.htm

It seems to be the best material without actually getting the real thing done.

Another option is white paint. White has high reflectivity and i've heard of people painting. Lowe's has white high temperature paint.

Autozone, Oreilley's, etc. has header paint or caliper paint. Again white is supposed to be the best option.

You can bake the paint in the oven to make it adhere correctly. The baking is more or less a way to cure the paint slowly.

I'm not a professional so search around on the web and figure out how the time, temperature and best methods of curing the paint.













I've used the refletive tape ontop my FX projectors with the 50 watt ballasts hooked up. The tape covered up holes where light escaped and did fine. But it was about 1.5-2" away from the bulb. The h3 bulb is like 1/4"-1/2" away from the bowl. I just don't think the tape is going to hold up to that amount of heat. I think it will literally burn the tape up.

 

That tape should be able to handle plenty of heat... it's originally designed for HVAC systems. We use it to connect the chimney ducting to the back of our wood stove. If it can take prolonged exposure to a really hot wood stove, it can handle a 55w H3 bulb.

 

Correct, however its not so much if the tape will hold up but the adhesive. We use it on vent pipes for heaters but only as a temporary solution. Over time it'll become weak, brittle, yellowed, and will come loose from the surface its adhered to.

 

I'm such a retard... what side fog light are you reparing? If i HAVE IT....I'll send you my reflector if you pay shipping. I don't need it anymore since i'm retro fitting some blazers into the fog housing.

 

Andrew - take lots of pictures.

Have you considered trying to vacuum-form a lens cover from clear plexiglass, so you don't have to use the stock fluted one?

 

derail much?

anyway, I'm interested in this solution, as my AE headlight mod went south.

When I masked off my headlights, the tape left residue, which i thought would be easily removed with alcohol and a cotton ball. much to my regret, it is also good at removing reflective coating from the housing.

Someone said something about white paint being a good reflector...this interests me since my car is white.

would it look ridiculous to have white housing headlights? if so, how would that foil tape stuff work on headlight housings?

 

White reflects light well.

However, white won't give you a very good beam pattern.

The reason we use chrome and not white is because chrome is a very shiny, smooth surface. You can make a pretty nice collimated beam using chrome, since it's very predictable. All it takes is some middle school geometrical optics to figure out what the light is going to do.

The white finish is going to scatter it around more. You'll need a very smooth and glossy finish to get a decent beam pattern. The white will reflect plenty of light, but it will send it all over the place, because it won't be as smooth of a surface.

I'd do glossy white for turn signals, brake lights, cornering lamps, and even foglights (since the A32 fogs are more cosmetic than functional). But for a headlight? It's going to kill your beam pattern. People will be able to see your car at night fine, but you're not going to get the distance lighting that the chrome gives you. Combine that with the fact that the 9004 headlights aren't that great anyway, I wouldn't expect good results.

IMO - get in touch with maxgtr2000 or kzoosho. They do retrofits, and they might buy headlight housings with ruined chrome off you, to do a retrofit where the customer wants a "black out" housing.

 

Point in case, shine a flashlight on a mirror, at an angle away from you. You'll only see a faint spot of light in the mirror (due to ~4% reflectance of glass), but the flashlight beam will appear almost completely intact on the wall behind you.

Now, do the same with a white porcelain tile or a sheet of paper or something. You'll see more light coming towards you, but the light will be scattered in all directions, and you won't see an intact beam anywhere.

 

I tossed this same idea around but quickly learned that messing with the stock fogs is a waste of time.

Blazers with 880 HID FTW!! (my driveway is a lil crooked)

 

call me a newb...but what are blazers? do you mean fogs from a chevy blazer?

 

Blazer is a brand name of fog/driving lights that can be found for about $30 in some stores. They take an 880 hid bulb with little modification and put many halogen fog lights to shame..

Here's a link to more info on hidplanet:
http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/view...=450452#450452

 

do they come with a shield already in there, or is that the "little modification"?

is there a write-up for this?

 

Sorry about the massive thread jack..

The Fog lights come with the cutoff shield but the Driving lights do not.. The link to hidplanet has all the info one would need.
I may pull mine apart and do a writeup with better pics.. Next to my headlight retro this is one of the best bang for the buck upgrades I've done to any car I've owned.

Basically, There's two ways to put hid's Blazers. I went the easy way..

buy and hid kit with 800 series or 880 hid bulbs.
dremel a little bit of the bulb holder so the bulb can turn so that the return wire is @ 6 o clock..
blow out the shavings and test beam on wall
apply some RVT between the bulb, gasket, and housing
mount to car and aim

Here's a crappy pic of what needs to be dremel'd

 

how do these blazers bount to the car? are they retroed into the houseings of the fogs or as a replacement? ok after re reading i got my answer. however a write up on this would be sweet. hint hint :P