Cleaning and restoring guage faces

[TomoHawk]

Without replacing the gauge faces, how do you clean the faces, especially the numbers on the speedometer and tachometer, and the odometer wheels so you can see them better with whatever light you get out of the dim bulbs? I have no reference to go by, so does anyone have a picture of what the speedometer should look like when new?

I think I might get the 4-watt bulbs that MSA has, and I would probably also color the bulbs green.

If buying the MSA bulbs is not advisable, due to high cost or that there is just a better choice of bulb (5 watt?) then please comment on that.

thxZ

Edited October 2, 2013 by TomoHawk

[Virto]

This thread has the best info I've found on getting to and replacing the lights.

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/interior-s30/41689-diy-brighter-gauge-lights.html

[ZCurves]

If you color the bulbs green, consider removing the filters inside the gauges - this will help you get a brighter, consistent color. If you do open up the gauges, clean with MAF sensor cleaner and do not use compressed air as there are delicate springs inside!!

[TomoHawk]

Before even doing anything with the bulbs, the gauge faces must be cleaned or restored. Brighter light won't be too affective if the numbers are dirty or dull. I won't even think of anything concerning bulbs before that. However, I am already knowledgeable wit the bulb upgrades and the green bulb covers.

[jfa.series1]

I think I might get the 4-watt bulbs that MSA has, and I would probably also color the bulbs green.

If buying the MSA bulbs is not advisable, due to high cost or that there is just a better choice of bulb (5 watt?) then please comment on that.

thxZ

The MSA bulbs are too long to fit well (been there, done that). Try Planet Bulb for a 4-watt bulb by Eiko #A-72. Its a nice upgrade.

[Virto]

I'd think a little alcohol and a cotton swab would probably work well for cleaning the gauge face. I've never tried it on these gauges, but it worked when I swapped the cluster in my F150.

[280~Master]

I am wondering kind of the same thing.. Tomo

I need to break out the heat gun and test the plastic.

If it is acrylic then it will polish itself nice, shiny and scratch free with the heat if not it might just melt..

Will be watching this thread..

[TomoHawk]

Alcohol is a fairly "strong" solvent, depending on what it is. It's used in all kinds of synthetic reactions to drive the reaction. I think something like Naphtha would be better to clean the gauge faces.

Regarding using the heat gun- I don't think that which material the face is made of is not as significant as the age of the material.

OTOH, when they clean valuable paintings, what do they use? Maybe they use water to just dust it off, but they otherwise rub the paint, lightly, with something.

I think the odometer wheels can be cleaned/brightened with alcohol or naphtha, but the gauge faces/numbers are printed or painted, so it is imperative to clean & brighten that without damaging it.

Reproduction faces (if you choose to use it) with day-glo (or luminescent?) numbers sounds like an idea to be easier to read at night, or even in any kind of light

Edited October 3, 2013 by TomoHawk

[Powderkeg]

Here some notes about lens cleaning I got from Ron at Zclocks:

Parts needed:

Meguiars #17 Clear Plastic Cleaner. Meguiars #10 Clear Plastic Polish.

Lens Cleaning

First: Wash the lens and bezel with clear dish soap and blow dry.

Second: Use a very soft cotton towel and polish with Meguiars #17 Clear Plastic Cleaner. The finish with Meguiars #10 Clear Plastic Polish.

If you have deep scratches then use about a #800 grit polish to remove the scratches and then polish as above.

You can also use Simichrome polish paste or an 800 grit lapping compound.

Tachometer & Speedometer Lens:

These can be completely removed to polish.

Temperature & Fuel Gauge:

They will need to be separated the lens from the bezel to get access to the lens. This requires that you cut the melted plastic on the bezel backing and glue it back after you have completed the polishing.

[TomoHawk]

That sounds good; it'll take care of the dull, smudgy plastic lenses?

So we still need to do the faces and the printing. Come to think of it, if you knew what was used to put the numbers on the faces, as in what kind of paint, then you would know at least what kind of cleaning agent NOT to use.

[Namerow]

I just did this cleaning process a day ago using Windex, a soft cloth, light pressure and a couple of repeats. Just use normal care to remove surface grit/dust beforehand, and don't over-scrub. My results look fine. Recommend that you do not use anything with either solvent or abrasive content when cleaning these gauge faces.

FYI, my auxiliary gauges (my Z is a low-VIN, low-mileage MY-1970) are missing what appears to have been glue-faced tape coverings over adjustment ports on the back of the metal instrument housing 'cans'. These ports were part of the OE housing design, allowing the gauge supplier to do final adjustment of the indicator-needle positioning. Once the tape fell off in service, the inside of the gauge became open to back-of-IP dust intrusion. As evidence on my gauges, there's a clearly obvious dust/grit build-up on the surface of the green illuminator bulb hood (which I plan to clean off, first with a computer-type aerosol air-blast spray, followed by Windex on a Q-tip).

Also FYI, on one of my aux. gauges the little glued-on white-plastic discs that retain the clear plastic gauge cover had dropped off their peg mounts. This caused the clear-plastic gauge cover to 'lean' on the indicator needle, which in turn caused the needle to rub on and put a light scuff mark on the painted gauge face.

Typical, detail-level issues for a 43-year-old car! If there are any places where the industry has really made significant advances since our Z's were designed, it's in materials (esp. plastics) and adhesives.

I also used Meguire's plastic polish for the gauge clear-plastic lenses. I used a small buffing attachment on my Dremel, set at lowest rpm. Results were very good. Again, common sense prevails. Don't over-do it.

BTW, I've read a few commentaries about the illumination benefits of painting the inside of the metal gauge 'cans' with white paint. FWIW, my gauges housings already have what appears to be a factory-applied (i.e. incomplete and microscopically-thin) coating of white paint.

[Kurbycar32]

I recently did this on my early 260z and attempted to fix the clock but ultimately bought a quartz replacement. From my experience:

1. Dont bother with LED's. Light is extremely complicated and because these gauges are indirectly lighted the LED's just dont look right

2. Theres a PDF file floating around here about white face gauges, print yourself a set but don't plan on replacing your gauge face.

3. The insides of the gauges are in fact painted white to reflect the light from the bulbs around the gauge face

4. Disassemble the gauges and polish the lenses with a plastic polish as mentioned above. I did mine by hand

5. The gauge bezels can be spray painted with black vinyl spray paint. This paint is super thin so you dont loose the existing texture on the bezels. If you cut out the white gauge face template its an exact cover for the lenses for masking while you paint. I didnt separate the lenses from the bezel but they werent bad. https://sites.google.com/a/thecomputerrehab.com/260z/Interior/dash-refresh

6. I did a bunch of research on bulb replacement and ultimately used these which work great: #3893 MINIATURE BULB BA9S BASE, T2 3/4 12V .333A, 3893,#3893,#3893 MINIATURE LAMP,#3893 MINIATURE,#3893 BULB, #3893 LAMP, #3893 INDICATOR, EIKO#40659