In other posts like this one, I've mentioned that Ceiling White paint is best for refurbishing and upgrading brake light and turn signal reflectors, and I put a link to somebody else's EwTube vid on the subject. Now I've finally got some get-to-the-point pics with a new utility truck taillight assembly. Takes an 1157 in the brake/tail light, and 1156 in the turn signal. The reflector bowls were factory-painted matte chrome silver, very similar to the reflector material in our cars.

Here's the taillight assembly as made, with the silvery reflectors:

And after I painted the reflectors white:

Here are the reflectors after I applied Behr Ultra Pure White, which has a reflectivity value of 94, even higher than the Sherwin-Williams stuff. I used a foam brush to apply it. It goes on thick, and took 2 coats for full visual coverage:
I used a luxmeter app on my phone to record the tail, brake, and turn signal output with the stock reflectors, then with the white reflectors. Same bulbs on the same power supply at the same distance.

Tail, stock reflector and then white reflector:

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Brake, stock reflector and then white reflector:

Turn signal, stock reflector and then white reflector:

This isn't a calibrated luxmeter setup, so while the readings are valid (~ish) for more/less comparison, they aren't valid on their own to determine exactly how much light the lamps were putting out.

For fun, I put the best-so-far of the "LED bulbs" suitable for this kind of lamp, in the turn signal with the white reflector:
Yeah, lookit that: less light than the stock bulb in the stock reflector. Pffft.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Hot damn! I love real data instead of subjective interpretation. Thanks, Dan. I didn't know you could get luxmeter apps.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Say, Dan? Do you have any info/data on chromed reflecting bowls?
The reason I ask is because I recently had an air cleaner top for my T-bucket "chrome" powder coated, and I think it came out rather nicely. Seeing this thread got that thought going, and you'd be THE GUY to ask for such a question.

Roger

Very cool. Thanks for the detailed info and actual evidence.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

But but but "everyone" says LEDs are always better.....

Nice to see legit testing.

And since I like to be "that guy" there is a situation where I suspect that the LED does perform better than the normal burner. Add some resistance to the ground side of the circuit. I have a very old variable resistor (dial an ohm) that is fun to play with for theories like this. I would be curious about how much resistance is needed for the LED to emit more light than a correct filament bulb.

In perfect conditions the filament is superior but way more than half of the classics I see on the road have dismally poor rear lighting. I know the proper answer is for the owner to sort out their wiring, but many wouldn't know how and neither would many of the younger generation of service techs. You see how fast they run and hide when something 20 years old shows up, a 60 year car is like pulling a fire alarm.

I thought the good Philips 1156 replacements (for red stop/turn/tail) are better than filament 1156? I see Dan tested the yellow LED, which he said earlier was inferior to filament type.

Thanks,
Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Yes: don't do it! It makes the lamp way brighter as viewed straight behind it, but the intensity nosedives just a few degrees off-axis, which makes the tail/brake/turn light beams much narrower. Practically this means drivers in the next lane, truck drivers sitting way up high, etc won't be able to properly see your signals.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

They were, in some lamps, but those Philips LED bulbs got discontinued some years ago and replaced by a succession of different ones, with a bunch of different designs, all severely inferior to the discontinued ones.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Putting it that way,,,,makes sense. The "as designed" reflector cup is too deep for a highly polished, reflective surface treatment. A shallower cup would widen the "view angle" out, but then wouldn't accommodate an incandescent lamp.

Kinda like those little pocket flashlight with the adjustable beams. It just repositions the lamp shallower or deeper in the reflector.

Thank You, Dan.....Roger

So more shine makes it very directional on the output? That is good to know. I hope that your high reflectivity ceiling paint stays available and doesn't go away due to any number of reasons.

How does it hold up in long term exposure to the heat generated by the bulb. I have seen more than a few factory tail lamps(modern) get melted with proper factory bulbs installed so just wondering if it scorches over time.