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I bought a new headlight for my motorcycle and decided to restore the old one. The reflector was all dirty and scratched so i decided to clean it (as much as i could) and use chrome spray on it. Now it looks awesome but it is not such a great reflector. I need some sort of heat proof chemical that would make it shiny (i can think of some substances used for wood). What can i use? Here is the reflector:enter image description here

enter image description here

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  • What is it made out of? I cannot tell if it's glass, metal, or plastic.
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 ♦
    Commented May 27, 2017 at 13:57
  • It is plastic. I would say it is acrylic but i am not sure.
    – Andrei Grigore
    Commented May 27, 2017 at 14:00
  • If it was glass or metal, I was going to suggest you powder coat it with high gloss chrome coating. It's as shiney as a mirror and would stand up to heat in excess of 400F. Looks and works great ... problem is I wouldn't know if your reflector could stand up to the 400F it takes to cure in the oven. Would probably melt/warp it.
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 ♦
    Commented May 27, 2017 at 14:03
  • Yeah... i think it would destroy it... or at least burn the chrome spray
    – Andrei Grigore
    Commented May 27, 2017 at 14:21
  • Would perhaps electropolishing work?
    – Martin
    Commented Oct 6, 2017 at 10:01

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You could clean it up with some wet sandpaper of a high grit around 1500-2000, but make sure you keep both the headlight and paper otherwise you risk scratching it.
Polish it with some toothpaste that contains baking soda (the arm and hammer stuff works).
Finally you could even get a light clear coat over it to protect it.
Hope this helps

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My best suggestion is to polish it by hand with a good motorcycle polish such as Simichrome Polish. It is a paste that comes in a tube and is quite labor intensive. BUT, the end result is great and is easily maintained once achieved. Since the reflector is behind a glass protector it should stay like new for a long time.

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