Has anyone taken the glass off the stock smith gauges to paint the needles Red?
My new gauges have Red needles but thinking I might want to keep the square oil pressure gauge in the new dash
It's pretty easy Joe, the bezel spins to where the tabs line up with the notches and it all comes apart. Worst thing is when the seal has decayed and sticks it all together. On some occasions I have had to pry the tabs out but that's best avoided if possible, maybe wick some solvent in around the edges to loosen things up. The needles will come off with a couple of small prybars to evenly lift, protect the faces of course. Lastly, be scrupulously clean going back together. I've used o-ring material for new gaskets.
Jim
Did you find an oil pressure gauge, Joe?
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QuoteIt's pretty easy Joe, the bezel spins to where the tabs line up with the notches and it all comes apart...
That method doesn't work well with a square oil gauge.
Or even a rectangular oil gauge. ;)
Huh. You learn something new every day I guess. And bending the tabs out without deforming the bezel is a bit of a challenge too but maybe you could clamp it in a vise with smooth jaws first.
Jim
Ah I see you moved me, I have to see if I can find my original one to experiment on, if not I will be looking for a rectangle oil gauge
I painted mine to match my white faced VDO gauges. For the lettering/numbering I used black rub on letters/numbers from an office supply store.
I'm pretty happy with the results, even put "VDO" on the gauge face!
The oil gauge bezel tabs will bend but be very careful. Only bend as far as necessary. Once the bezel is off, the gauge will come apart.
I painted my needles when I created white-face dials for the OEM gauges.
cool thanks for the info, when I get a gauge I will give it a try these are the gauges to try to match
gauges.jpg