Lucas Headlamp Shell
These are typical Lucas headlamp shells that you will find on a range of vehicles over the years.
Most companies will strip polish and chrome these shells as one piece. The problem is the chrome will not cover between the base and the shell and in some cases, corrosion will be accelerated to swell and rupture the inside of the shell in a short space of time after re-chroming. Furthermore, it’s common to see what we call tram lines either side of the base where the polisher has to cut around it during the preparation.
The Lucas Headlamp Restoration Process
Over the years, we have developed a technique of removing the base by drilling out the rivets as illustrated. This means that the individual parts can be prepared and plated separately.
Once taken apart each piece is stripped of existing layers of paint, rust and old Chrome to reveal the base metal. These component parts are polished to a mirror finish before re-chroming because you will only see through the Chrome what we have prepared beneath it. Chrome will not fill pits or grinding lines in the surface and is only as good as the preparation.
You will see from the picture once we have re-chromed the individual parts they are ready for re-assembly. You will note that even the internal steel parts have been Bright Zinc Plated ready for assembly.
On assembly, we use replica Stainless Steel Fasteners specially produced by ourselves to look like the original. This process gives a perfect restoration that looks totally original and is long-lasting.