Murray Jet-Fire restoration

[drabe]

Looks GREAT!

you think headlight restore would work on that lens?

Thanks for the compliment!

I tried every trick I know on the headlight lens, it was just too far gone.
The 'crazing' was all the way through the plastic!

I did find a guy in Washington (http://www.nostalgicreflections.com) who will take your lens, make a pattern and reproduce it.
I'm not sure what the cost is though, by the time I found the guy I ran out of time to go that route.

 

[drabe]

Beautiful work!

As for chroming plastic, Hemmings Motor News might list some vendors who do that; they did last time I looked in one a few years back.
(think muscle car restoration)
The plating may actually be aluminum; it's done with a metal vapor deposition process inside a vacuum chamber. High current is passed
through a metal ingot until it vaporizes, and the vapor settles onto the plastic part (as well as everything else inside the chamber) as my
Dad and I found out when we messed around with the process a few years ago.

It might be worth making a mold of the headlight lens and casting a new one in acrylic; Tap Plastics has the supplies you would need.

Bill

Thanks for the compliments Bill!
You're right 'vacuum metalization' is what it's really called but it's just as easy to call it chrome.
I did find out through a chrome shop here in Houston that Mr.G's (http://www.mrgusa.com) in Ft.Worth may be able to re-chrome my plastic parts.
They mainly do muscle car interior pieces. I tried calling them a couple of times back in December but never did get a response (no voicemail available), so I blew it off.

Thanks for the tip on Tap Plastics, I'd considered making my own lenses just didn't know where to start!

 

[drabe]

great job, looks really pretty.

I had that same bike in the 80s and did a hack restoration on it:

Looks good to me! I like the dual headlights!

 

[ChromeMagman]

Dig the bike, but the seat, hmm?

 

[Bicyclerick]

Very Nice Resto.