Headlight Chrome Removal

[TJMart]

I am sending several pieces to be chromed. How is the chrome around the headlights removed? Several plastic tabs hold the chrome to the plastic lens and I do not want to break the plastic. The cost of the headlight assembly is crazy so has anyone done this before with success?

Thanks!

[mdsalemi]

Generally speaking the chrome is not removed, except on some of the earliest versions. Some of the later ones, all is sealed up tight and I think you'd do more damage separating them.

I could be wrong and others may weigh in here, but some of the later model "headlight doors" as they call them, have plastic bezels, not chromed metal. That being said, in my old parts kit I do have at least one metal chrome bezel that was separated from a broken headlight door...so on the older ones it is possible to remove them. Since this came from a broken plastic assembly however, whoever took it apart (probably my late uncle) wasn't trying to salvage anything but the bezel.

Yes the price of replacements is crazy money.

[ja17]

Hi Mike,  I think all the chrome bezels were metal. They are difficult to remove without damaging the plastic lenses. The old plastic gets very brittle with age and will not tolerate any flexing for removal.