MH Reflector question

[wnehez]

Hey Everyone,

I have a question. I am making the switch back to MH and I am really excited. Love the way MH look and help the coral with growth and color. I have three 250w 14k bulbs with two 160w 454 VHO. As I went to garage to get the reflectors out, I noticed one had a significant amount of corrosion. These are simple polished aluminum bat wing reflectors(I call them bat wing). I had a friend try and polish the corrosion off with his dremel kit and polishing attachments, but he returned it with no such luck. He said he tried everything he had and it was driving him crazy that he couldn't get it off. My question is this. Theres not completely covered with corrosion, so I don't know if I should just throw it away and buy a new one, or if theres some old fashioned trick that I don't know of to bring it back to a "Like New" appearance. My friend said to just wrap aluminum foil around it but then I got into specular reflection and the differences and he just said nevermind. Haha. So I just want to see if I am able to get this back to Like new or almost like new, just use it the way it is without much of a lighting problem(i.e. the other two bulbs looking much brighter than this one), or just trash and buy a new one.

 

[wnehez]

Oh and one more question, I have read some threads about MH Bulbs and I am kind of confused on the correct way to have a mogul based SE bulb installed. Some say the piece of metal that runs along the inside of the bulbs should be up, some say down, some say its the nipple that has to be between 10-2. All of these things supposedly has an effect on the color of the bulbs. I always just screwed em in and turned em on. Can anyone shine some light on this also?

 

[tkeracer619]

Nipple between 10 and 2. Those reflectors are junk to begin with. Toss them and look at the hamiltons. The pitting is not possible to get rid of.

In the future spray di water on your reflectors to remove the salt spray. DI will dissolve a bunch of the salt and run off leaving the reflectors clean without scrubbing. You can also use glass panes on some reflectors to keep them new for a very long time.

As it sits now, a white painted surface would reflect more light.

 

[wnehez]

Haha thanks but not looking to spend more money at the moment. Got them pretty much for free. And they are better than no reflector so I'm gunna stick with em. Thanks for the info though!

 

[tom obrecht]

I'm guessing your referring to the older style spider light reflectors. For about $40 you can buy a new reflector and mogal socket.