1967 S rear view mirror restoration

[govols!]

Hey Guys !! I have a black plastic ‘67S rear view mirror that needs rechroming and pebble plastic restoration. Contacted Bartek at CarBone and quote is 600 euros !! Plus shipping to Poland !! Ouch !! The main need is the plastic but not that terrible. Anyone have any other suggestions ??

[Bullethead]

Rechroming the neck is easy enough (be sure to remove the ball) but the pebble finish? What's the process that Carbone uses?

There's always the alternative of using a BMW or Mercedes mirror while you figure out how to save the original...

[govols!]

Thanks Russ. I wish I knew CarBones process. One would think that this process would be available here in the US and not exclusive to Poland !!

[70SATMan]

I've had a few mirrors with the plastic in this kind of shape. Color me skeptical to "restore" the mirror body. Essentially the plastic is so broken down that it becomes 'crystallized' and one can dig gouges out with the barest touch of a fingernail. Nothing done to the mirror body surface is going to dramatically change the structural integrity holding the mirror in place and supporting the day/night lever IMO.

Later mirrors I've had seem to hold up better than the 67-68 so, I suspect the plastic's formulation was improved.

[juche_namja]

Hey Guys !! I have a black plastic ‘67S rear view mirror that needs rechroming and pebble plastic restoration. Contacted Bartek at CarBone and quote is 600 euros !! Plus shipping to Poland !! Ouch !! The main need is the plastic but not that terrible. Anyone have any other suggestions ??

.
The last time I looked it seemed CarBone sprayed something similar to a bedliner material on the back plus if your switch does works there is good chance it will snap when reinserting the ball.

[RickWhite]

One of my winter projects was restoring a LWB mirror, so not exactly apples to apples, but for what it is worth:

I used multiple coats of Sonax plastic restorer gel - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001054COY - as well as Fiebing's Leather Dye - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HHM20M - and Solution Finish Black Plastic & Vinyl Plastic Trim Restorer - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006NZRAFE/

The latter two help in turning the black back to black, particularly the rubber rim that surrounds the mirror. I would wipe/paint the dye on, leave it overnight, and wipe off what was left, and then repeat the process. In the end, the dye appeared to hold, but then I haven't had the refreshed mirror in the car in driving conditions yet.

Also, for future reference, but not applicable to your chrome stem, I stripped the old paint off the stem with cleanstrip, then used a primer/etcher and the SEM matte trim spray paint. Unfortunately I don't have a photo of the back of the mirror, but I was very happy with all of the results (I stripped and resprayed my original tunnel cover at the same time, I have a replacement non-vented tunnel in the car, which is my fire extinguisher mount).

[govols!]

Thanks Rick !! Will give your “cocktail” a try. It might just do the trick.