Headlight reflector repair

Anyone who has a Hijet coming up for MOT will know that rusty headlight reflectors will be a certain fail . I have been preparing my own van for MOT and noticed that the interior of the headlights were rusted up , so I set about repair rather than an expensive replacement . First it was a case of removing the surrounding moulding ,which is easy enough and then started to try and release the adjustment screws , so as to remove the lights , this proved to be easier said than done as they were rusted in solid . The first idea of soaking them in penetrating oil over night was no use so the end result would be to heat up the corroded screws with a mini blow lamp , this did the trick and so long as you ensure the cables are out of the way its fairly straight forward .
On my headlight there was a chrome surround which had a screw and small bracket in each corner to secure the body in place . they were also badly rusted and had to be heat treated to get them lose. Finally I had to clean off the the sealant around the lens and remove the glass ready for cleaning the headlight casing on the inside.

After sanding the whole area inside I applied a coat of primer and then a coat of chrome spray paint . It was then a case of assembling the unit after cleaning and greasing all threaded parts . and springs and applying fresh sealant . The units are now back in place and just need setting up to alignment which I will get the garage to do prior to the test , as its now a simple job.

I would advise all Hijet owners to include the adjustment screws in their maintenance schedule for greasing so as to avoid turning what should be a simple job in to a pain in the rear .

Thanks good advice ..

Most of the chrome sprays are not reflective enough to give adequate beam pattern

Your pre facelift headlights, I think are available cheap brand new. Just seach for Bedford rascal head lights. They are about £20 each.