Chrome paint product have greatly improved over the years. I recently use the Rustoleum spray chrome with good results.
I was rebuilding a head light assemble for an X-type. (This is a warning to anyone who attempts to replace the adjustment gears
in a Jag head lamp assembly). The reflective chrome surface inside the headlight, is water soluble and easily wiped off.
I made the mistake of attempting to clean the reflective surface and the mirror finish came off instantly.
I ended up using the spray chrome to repair that surface. It's not a pure chrome finish, but very good and would work well with
this. A product like the chrome nail polish may also work well. You need to be careful with nail polish. The solvents in nail
polish are not always compatible with plastics. You should test it first.
If you chose to use a can of chrome spray paint. Just spray it on a non absorbent surface and dip a brush in the paint
and use the brush to apply the paint. Be careful to not overload the brush. The paint will want to "wick" everywhere.
so use very little on the brush. I would dip the brush in the paint and then touch a clean piece of paper to unload the paint.
Leaving little paint on the brush. Just an old hobbyist trick. I used to do a lot of authentic painting of models.

 

So coming back with some thoughts. I have 4 options on the table (1) buy new/used, (2) wrap with chrome foil, (3) paint with a chrome spray, (4) paint with molotow liquid chrome.

Option one is probably the best (400usd and you have it). A problem is due to Brexit getting it would take very long (my OEM parts supplier is still waiting for the first delivery this year - ordered it in late December...).

So I decided to give a try of all other options.
Started with chrome wrap. Well it would look good if you have a skill and patience to make it right. I failed.

Next was a bit of a risky stuff - spray. Fortunately tested it on other plastic thing - color did not work / match. Did not progress any further with it.

Last but not least was a molotow pen (2mm). I used it and decided that it is good enough to go. From a distance it looks good. When you have a closer look - not ideal (color is okay, but surface is not ideal). I think that someone with an extraordinary skills would make it a very good copy of new OEM. Words without pictures does not give a good perspective. So couple of them below. Initial condition visible in first post. Bill400 - thanks for sharing it!







Edit: one more thought- next time I would use 1mm and 2mm pen. Thinnest one would help with elements like a round shape button.

 

The improvement is quite obvious!

 

I see your point. The reflective nature of the paint is not bad. But I do see the surface is not smooth. These small parts are hard to work with and you don't want to risk taking off too much of
the original surface. It turned out as well as can be expected. In the end (as long as you don't advertise it). no one will ever notice the difference providing you don't enter a car show.
It takes a lot of meticulous labor to get perfect results. And to what end you only need it to appear normal from a few feet away. It's hard to not get caught up in the fine details. Looks good from here.

 

I'd call that a respectable result! Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

My XKR-S has fallen foul of this issue. Starting to see some flakes coming off the switches.

Not sure if I want to go the chrome nail polish route. Replacing the switches seems like overkill for a minor cosmetic issue.
Shame there aren't switch cap overlays.

Going to ponder some solutions, besides seeing a shrink so it doesn't bother me so much.

 

Anyone out there with a mill? Some polished aluminum billet ones would be nice. Probably a small market for them as well.
Two sizes, plus one size button and one knurled twisty. How easy do they come apart? I'd think a push-fit.

 

I would be first inline for polished aluminum covers to slip over the existing switches. The Esprit community did aluminum replacement knobs on the climate controls but those were complete knob replacement since the plastic ones could just be pulled off. That is a pretty small group too, so I'd imagine it could be done. Would probably be an upgrade for anyone who wanted substantial switch gear.