According to the plater I sent them to, the reflectors are aluminum and would contaminate the plating bath. He was able to unplate the units, then noticed the aluminum and stopped. He thinks the reflectors have to come off. They are crimped on with the sockets. So if the sockets are destroyed getting them off, I’d want to have replacements.
This could all be wrong. The light units are currently out of my reach, so I can’t confirm.