I have these plastic extrusions that hold up my headliner panels. They
are clear plastic with a chrome-like finish on the back. They seem to be
almost impossible to find in good shape, specially in the south. The
heat and humidity make them extremely brittle and the mildew attacks the
chrome film. I've tried to paint the backs (without much luck) with many
of the simulated chrome finish paints, but the silver rises to the
surface and leaves the visible side a grayish color. A friend has told
me that having only one side of plastic replated (zinc) is very
expensive so I haven't sent them out. Last night I had a good idea that
worked "pretty good". I bought a bottle of the shiniest silver finger
polish that I could find. It doesn't separate like other thing that I
have tried. I had to remove all of the old silver since the acetone
makes it bubble up and then I polished the clear plastic. I had to brush
in one direction only since the stuff dried so fast. It is by far the
best that I have come up with and makes me think that if I reduced it
farther and had an airbrush I would get an even better job. I'll keep
looking for an even shinier polish in the future and try it on touch ups
on other more visually critical
parts. It's not a substitute for the professional vacuum plating but
it's definitely passable on some parts.
Deane
'60 Polara
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