# C Mags ever came with stippled reflectors?



## greenLED (Mar 3, 2009)

A friend of my dad gave him a 3x C Mag a looooooooooong time ago. 

Something that really caught my attention about that light is that it came with a stippled reflector. Actually, back then I didn't know what a stippled reflector was, but what always struck me was how nice and smooth the beam was compared to my 4D Mag. No matter how much you try to "focus" the beam, it's always a really nice and even flood beam.

Since my only experience with Mag back then was from my 4D Mag and my minimag, I thought that particular type of reflector was stock in C-cell Mags. I just fixed this particular light for my mom, and realized I've never really looked carefully into C-cell Mags (not particularly fond of that battery size).

So, are stippled reflectors stock in the C-Mags? Was that the case years (think 10-15 years, maybe more) ago? The stippling is very light and, AFAI can tell, it's stock (doesn't look like a paint job or a homebrew stippling).


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## willrx (Mar 4, 2009)

I have quite a few older C Mags. No stippled reflectors here. Good question.


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## ANDREAS FERRARI (Mar 4, 2009)

Hard to believe there were modified reflectors back then.Even now I haven't seen any outside our community!


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## Benson (Mar 4, 2009)

Hey, there's nothing new under the sun...

GreenLED, did it look like a stock Mag reflector aside from the finish? same plastic underneath?


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## Stillphoto (Mar 4, 2009)

Maybe the QC wasn't up to par back in the day and one that had some sort of surface defects slipped through the cracks? Maybe the chrome reflective coating crazed in the process and created a "stippled" look?


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## Patriot (Mar 4, 2009)

I've never seen a stock, stippled C-mag reflector in my life but like *AF* stated, it's hard to believe that there would have been any mods available back then. I'd be curious to know if everything else about the reflector looks like it's from mag. It's it blue...does it have the same molding marks...etc?


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## greenLED (Mar 4, 2009)

Benson said:


> GreenLED, did it look like a stock Mag reflector aside from the finish? same plastic underneath?





Patriot36 said:


> I'd be curious to know if everything else about the reflector looks like it's from mag. It's it blue...does it have the same molding marks...etc?



Yup, the blue plastic and the focusing cam are identical to all the other Mag reflectors I've seen. The only difference is the reflector's surface. I just looked at it closely, and it has a very thin, dull-looking and homogeneous coating layer. (Actually, the reflector is so old that some of this coating has somehow faded off the plastic.) The coating feels like really, really fine-grit sandpaper (not smooth as a regular reflector would feel).

I wish I had a camera handy.

Thanks for helping me get to the bottom of this.


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## DUQ (Mar 6, 2009)

I just modded my supervisors very old Mag 3C....it had them same kind of reflector in it. Almost looked like it was covered in a haze. I thought it was damaged so I tossed it and replaced it with a SMO aluminum reflector.


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## greenLED (Mar 6, 2009)

DUQ said:


> I just modded my supervisors very old Mag 3C....it had them same kind of reflector in it. Almost looked like it was covered in a haze. I thought it was damaged so I tossed it and replaced it with a SMO aluminum reflector.


COOL! So I'm not crazy after all. Yup, that's the same way the reflector on my dad's light looks like.

I brought the light home so I could take some pics over the weekend. Stay tuned.


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## greenLED (Mar 8, 2009)

No pics yet, but I took the switch out of the body and realized there's a threaded locking ring on the top part of the battery tube. It looks to be aluminum, and has 2 holes at opposite sides to un/tighten.

Then I was looking at this thread showing a C-Mag switch, and realized the one I have looks different (the contacts are simpler, for example).
:shrug:


Edit to add: :laugh: I just realized the bezel has the "ONTARIO" engraving. Has this changed in newer C-celled Mags?


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## Stillphoto (Mar 8, 2009)

Just checked... my recently bought C-cell says Ontario.


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## greenLED (Mar 9, 2009)

Thanks for checking, stillphoto!

I e-mailed Mag about the particulars of this light. We'll see what they say.


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## DUQ (Mar 9, 2009)

I spoke with my supervisor about his Mag 3C today. He cant really remember when he got it. Most likely mid 1980's!? The complete light is very different from what we now call Maglite's. Everything from the switch, the body and the head/bezel. The top o-ring is actually on the inside of the head ahead of the threads; so you need to force the head onto the body before you can start to thread it. Very hard on the o-ring for sure. I don't have it with me but I could borrow it if people want to see pics.


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## greenLED (Mar 9, 2009)

DUQ said:


> I spoke with my supervisor about his Mag 3C today. He cant really remember when he got it. Most likely mid 1980's!? The complete light is very different from what we now call Maglite's. Everything from the switch, the body and the head/bezel. The top o-ring is actually on the inside of the head ahead of the threads; so you need to force the head onto the body before you can start to thread it. Very hard on the o-ring for sure. I don't have it with me but I could borrow it if people want to see pics.


DUQ, you :rock:

I hadn't noticed that on the light I have. It's just like you describe it! Also, the threaded portion of the battery tube (what mates with the head) is slightly slimmer than the rest of the body. The body tapers down right in front of where the serial number is. Another interesting tidbit: the tapering line is not perpendicular to the length of the light, but it has a subtle curve to it.

Now I definitely have to take pics of this light!


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## willrx (Mar 9, 2009)

I have admired the older C mags for some time now. Thanks for bringing this topic back.


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## greenLED (Mar 9, 2009)

willrx said:


> I have admired the older C mags for some time now. Thanks for bringing this topic back.


Now I kinda feel bad for giving away my old 4D Mag.  Oh, well, it went to a really good home. 

I'm thinking I'll just go ahead and buy my mom a new Mag (probably a 3D, so I she can use 4C cells), and refurbish this one completely. Maybe a ROP mod or something like that. My dad was a tinkerer and I'm sure he would've liked to have something like that done to his light.


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## greenLED (Mar 13, 2009)

I got news back from Mag:

1. The light was manufactured back in 1995!
2. They've never made "dull" reflectors. 

Although I remember the light always being floody, #2 would imply that the person who gave my dad the light modded the reflector beforehand. That's possible, of course.

However, that doesn't explain why/how the old light DUQ worked on had the same type of reflector and construction, etc. Unless 2 (or more) people in completely different parts of the world had the same idea, around the same time. Also possible, I guess.

:shrug:


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## DUQ (Mar 13, 2009)

Very strange Miguel. I'll get pics of that light after next week. I wish I would have kept the reflector.


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## Twinkle-Plank (Mar 14, 2009)

This is starting to sound like a CSI style investigation.


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## Patriot (Mar 14, 2009)

Pictures please GreenLED. I'm interested in this bit of mag history.


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## snakebite (Mar 14, 2009)

i bet someone tried to clean the reflector with something abrasive and damaged it.
they are rather delicate.
maybe a bit o.t but anyone here have the "magic decoder ring" for maglites?
mine is a "mac tools" 3c with the neckdown behind the threads,o ring in the head rather than on the body,and serial 30464404.


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## greenLED (Mar 14, 2009)

snakebite, emailed Mag with the serial number of the light I have and they told me when it was made.

The reflector is not finely scratched like when one wipes it clean or sands the reflective cover. It looks dull gray.


I'll post pics tomorrow.


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## greenLED (Mar 15, 2009)

OK, as requested, here are some pics. Hope y'all have something to say about this. Any other differences you notice with newer C Mags?

First, a shot of the whole light (looks like a regular 3C Mag):





Shots of the head (notice the o-ring near the rim of the head, and the "step" inside the head). I think the lettering looks different from more modern bezel inscriptions.








Shots of the reflector, through the window and the reflector itself. It was really hard to capture the reflector's surface "live" characteristics. Scratches and smudges are from age. I find it strange that the coating faded partially near the base of the reflector (heat?):


 





 



The threaded switch assembly retaining ring:




The switch assembly (the two parts are not welded together as newer C switches):












 


I tried to capture the wavy machining pattern below the body's top threads (the ones that match with the head), but couldn't get a decent shot. Not enough contrast to capture the subtlety.


I haven't been able to diagnose what's wrong with the switch. The button engages (clicks and remains depressed/pops back up), but the light will only turn on if I hold the button down.


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## Big_Ed (Mar 15, 2009)

Is it possible someone spray painted the reflector with silver colored paint?


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## DUQ (Mar 15, 2009)

That's the exact way the reflector looked on the one I modded.


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## ANDREAS FERRARI (Mar 16, 2009)

I wonder if someone had tried to clean it with some sort of detergent.I have a couple of spare reflectors laying around,tomorrow I'll try out a few cleaning products and see what happens.


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## greenLED (Mar 16, 2009)

ANDREAS FERRARI said:


> I wonder if someone had tried to clean it with some sort of detergent.I have a couple of spare reflectors laying around,tomorrow I'll try out a few cleaning products and see what happens.


The light came that way. Like I said in the OP, at the time I had a 4D Mag and it always struck me as odd to see the wide beam and different reflector on my dad's C Mag.



Big_Ed said:


> Is it possible someone spray painted the reflector with silver colored paint?


:shrug: That's definitely a possibility. I know my dad got the light as a gift from a friend. Before that, I have no idea what the story behind it may be.

DUQ, did your coworker buy the light with that reflector a stock?


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## broadgage (Mar 16, 2009)

I have a D size maglite with a reflector very like the pictures, and in my case at least it is caused by spray painting with silver paint.
I did this years ago after damaging the reflector by a misguided effort at cleaning it.


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## greenLED (Mar 16, 2009)

broadgage said:


> I have a D size maglite with a reflector very like the pictures, and in my case at least it is caused by spray painting with silver paint.


:thanks: broadgage.
I have a replacement reflector incoming, so I might get some silver paint and spray the original reflector to see what the results look like.


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## Stillphoto (Mar 16, 2009)

I used some clear spray paint and got a similar look.


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## Bimmerboy (Mar 19, 2009)

Hey Migs,

That reflector appears to be stock/un-modified, and has simply had it's coating degrade over time.

In the side profile pic of the reflector, you can see the defined, yet asymmetrical edge of the coating where it overlaps onto the outside surface. It looks the same as all other Mag C/D reflectors (and many others). A spray paint job would produce a very different look to that edge.

Additionally, paint would tend to stay on the reflector as opposed to evaporating (if that's actually the correct physical process happening), which the coating on this reflector is doing, and is the reason for the blue showing through, as well as the gritty feel. I've seen this on more than one, but for example, the reflector from my very first flashlight (I was about 10 at the time) suffered the same fate to an even larger degree. I kept it after modding the light about a year and a half ago, and will snap some pics of it soon. The degradation looks similar to yours, except add another 20 years sitting in the garage with no lens. The coating is almost gone!

Since the vacuum deposition method involves evaporated particles to create the coating, I wonder if they can evaporate off over time if not well protected? :shrug: That might explain why the coating seems to just "disappear", revealing the plastic underneath. I also wonder how much of a role oxidation might play since the particles are usually aluminum (or "aluminized", whatever that means).

Hope that helps!


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## greenLED (Apr 5, 2009)

Hey, Bimmer - thanks for the input. I got a new reflector and it does look like the stock reflector got faded (somehow). 

I'll have to try painting the reflector to see if the effect could be replicated. Gray paint, or maybe chrome?


I have great news, thanks to the kindness of tx101 and TexLite, I now have a working light again! tx101 very kindly sent me a reflector, and TexLite sent me the switch. :twothumbs and :bow: to both of them.

I also diagnosed the switch problem, in case it helps somebody else. The switch post has a "lip" under which a slimmer tube sits (in the inside of the switch). I guess that lip either broke or shaved off with time and age, and the inner tube slipped upwards, not allowing the switch to fully engage. *(I *think*)*


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