So I had a couple alternator covers that were bubbled and cracked and I wasn't very excited to spend $236 for a piece of chrome coated plastic.
Partzilla list them for $236.92
Shopping around I found some for $150 on Ebay but still thought that quite pricey for a piece of plastic.
So I thought I'd try to see if I could fix one up with Vinyl wrap. Ordered some chrome mirror vinyl wrap from Ebay for about $8 and anxiously awaited for it's delivery.
The problem with the chrome on the one I was working on was that there were some small cracks in the plastic, probably due to age & heat expansion / contraction which I believe allowed air / moisture to get under the chrome and allowed it to delaminate from the plastic cover.
So I received the vinyl wrap and began by first removing all the chrome by soaking the cover in bleach several days and then by peeling anything left with a small knife. I then glued the cracks with CA to stabilize them and then sanded them smooth to get ready for the wrap. Applying the wrap is a bit tedious for those low on patience like me but it would go on smooth in places and then on corners or crevices would take extra work to get the wrinkles out. The biggest problem however was "Chrome Mirror" vinyl I received isn't as brilliant as actual chrome, coming in somewhere between aluminum foil and chrome I'd say. It's clearly better than chrome paint but it's not chrome and it shows. So after fiddling with it for an hour or so I decided this wasn't going to cut it. I think vinyl wrap may be a good option if someone wanted to go with a color rather than chrome and they had the patience to apply it. But I'm unsure how durable it would be in that area as there is quite a bit of heat around the alternator cover area. Alternatively it would probably be easier to just paint if that were the case.
So my search continued looking at used online from time to time and they always seemed to have nicks or scratches and still pretty pricey.
Then one day I came across a site Megazip.net. I've actually ordered 2 covers from these folks at this point the first one took about a month to receive as they indicated the manufacturer was out of stock and were in the process of a new batch. The one I just received took about 2 weeks from order date to delivery with 1 week sitting in Memphis Fedex facility. The total for a new cover is around $75-$80 depending on shipping coupons used etc... I think I used "STAYHOME" for $10 savings. One other thing to note is they were unable to ship via EMS on my first order due to EMS stopping shipments to US due to Covid but they were able to ship Fedex.
So while I still think $80 is pricey for a small piece of chrome covered plastic I'm tickled I don't have to look at that nasty bubbled cover any longer.
I have no affiliation with or know anything about this company but If your in the market for a cover you might give them a look.
https://www.megazip.net/zapchasti-dlya/honda/cover-alternator-21333MZ0A00
