It seems as if there's a problem with OE Euros as they age. I've seen quite a few posts lately about it, the reflectors get corrosion, and don't reflect light as well as they should. I know they're old parts and old parts aren't always expected to be right some 20 odd years later, and I know of a fix, but I want to see how many users with used, Hella or Bosch Euros have experienced this.

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'81 MB 300SD, '82 MB 300D Turbo (sold/RIP), '04 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate

Sooner or later every car falls apart, ours does it later!
-German Narrator in a MB Promotion Film about the then brand new W123.

You should add an option for "don't have euro lights"

Thats one advantage of the sealed beams...entire new headlight for $14 every time!

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Mine do. Don't try to polish them, even with a soft cloth!! I learned this the hard way and am now missing a bit of reflectiveness. .

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1979 240D- 316K miles - VGT Turbo, Intercooler, Stick Shift, Many Other Mods - Daily Driver

1982 300SD - 232K miles - Wife's Daily Driver

1986 560SL - Wife's red speed machine

I understand you can drop them off at a mirror shop to have resilvered...

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I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]

One reason these lenses deteriorate is moisture. I have been trying to locate new seals for my Bosch Euros, 85 300CDT and can't seem to find a supplier. Any suggestions on a source would be appreciated. I found this set in Germany, they are origional and in perfect condition. I would like to keep them that way and am reluctant to use sealer unless absolutely necessary.

From what I have read here people have had mixed results with haveing them resilvered (by a mirror shop or headlight specality place)

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1979 240D- 316K miles - VGT Turbo, Intercooler, Stick Shift, Many Other Mods - Daily Driver

1982 300SD - 232K miles - Wife's Daily Driver

1986 560SL - Wife's red speed machine

Go to the dealer. I got my seals there.

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I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]

We will be offering to recondition reflectors in the near future. Silvering is no longer the most reflective or especially durable way to do it. Nor is it cost effective for the customer. Also silvering tarnishes with time. As someone mentioned it does not normally respond well to cleaning either.
Mirror shops are not really capable of doing the preparation work required. Or if they are it is too time consuming. We expect to offer silvering as well but it is very much in decline and an enviromental nightmare now.

I felt reflectors are cheap to mail and was looking for something for my son in law to do. His back is not a surgical candidate so he will not be returning to his old employment. This is light enough work he can cope with it. We will see how it goes.
Anyways we have gathered up perhaps eighty percent of the required equipment so far over the last few months. It is getting closer to setting it up and running with it all the time.
I have always believed in fair value for the customer as well. I have never engaged in the practice of gouging people. This policy will not change in my remaining lifetime. I also know my son in law is ethically driven as well.
If nothing else I will be on top of quality control all the time.

sounds good. i have one that needs it.

tom w

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Sounds good put me on the list.

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1982 240D Euro Stick 4

Me too!

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

If you could offer replacements for some of the other parts inside the euro housings I think you would find a demand for them also.

Already on our minds but a little further down the road. We have already started to stockpile some used reflectors. This is a fundemental requirement. Safety valve really in case your reflectors dissapear in the mail or are damaged in transit. That can be a disaster in customer relations unless a back up is there.
It's funny how a nice bright set of headlight reflectors make a car really look up. Shiney things self sell as well besides the practical requirements for them. As for the thread originator question. I have quite a few reflectors that need done myself. 114 and 123 types as well as some of my antique driving, flood, and fog lamps. Over time all reflectors will fail. Bright sunlight even takes a toll. Applies to the process we are going to be doing as well. Just they are more durable than silver and cleanable. Our enviroment even gets the extremely hard last bright chromium metal layer of chrome plating on our cars with enough sun exposure. It reduces it to a pewter color. If the salt and oxidation do not get you it seems the sun will over time will.

How do you plan to sell these refurbished reflectors? Maybe an eBay store?

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'81 MB 300SD, '82 MB 300D Turbo (sold/RIP), '04 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate

Sooner or later every car falls apart, ours does it later!
-German Narrator in a MB Promotion Film about the then brand new W123.

Good question, it is still a little premature to really get into it. Neverthless some preliminary thoughts have been developed.
Initially I thought the high equipment costs might have to be reflected over too short of a period and would raise the prices higher than we wanted to see. This fortunatly instead will be dealt with by a value added approach. Ebay does have a place in this as well. We will purchase complete headlights assemblies from places like ebay. Recondition a few of the components and resell them on Ebay. I expect these to be primarily antique american car units. The initial drive otherwise will be to refurbish the customers old reflectors as that is the most cost effective approach to both parties at this point.
Also the vendors of lighting parts. The names that you have become familiar with especially as mercedes owners. Have informed us they average several calls a week from people that want replacement reflectors. There are a lot of these places fortunatly for us. Since the reflectors are obsolite. They cannot help these people and would like a good place to reffer them to.
The guy on the west coast is overcharging in their opinion and mine. His real problem is that direct electroplating of silver or mirror silvering does require a perfect preliminary surface for a good job. I can sympathise with his problem. We on the otherhand have the ability to put a self leveling surface on.
This alone saves a lot of labour although there is still some. Plus our actual process cost is fairly low. I guess I will be stuck with the marketing work as well as quality control.
Word of mouth moves like wildfire when you turn out a superior product at a very reasonable price. I suspect that combined with a small amount of advertising will drive it to sustainable volumes. Right now the primary thrust is to finish gathering up the remaining equipment. Set it up and get it functioning. We are also exploring and examining various other approaches to marketing at this time. Ideals and suggestions as well are always welcome.
One esthetic consideration was the color match. Would it for all practical purposes duplicate the exact color of bright silver? It does. How about reflectivity? Only about 3 percent higher on average so it must be considered only slightly better than silver. There is no question that durability is better than electroplated or mirror silver. Warranty will also be well explained and backed up without question.
I am in no way trying to use mercedsshop as a commercial venue. Once we are up and running it is different and you may only see a refference to our website at best. Someone was generating a lot of questions about reflectors and how to deal with them. The subject of reflectors in general does also arise from time to time on site. It is also well known an informed person is in a position to make much better decisions on things that affect them. So any questions about processes involved or just any question that occurs to you about reflectors do not hesitate to ask. If I know the answer I will cheerfully respond. Or try to find out for you if I do not know. We are by and large a very curious and friendly group afterall.