Cleaning and restoring guage faces

[ZCurves]

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..

No need for a heat gun. I used the Meguiars #17 and a buffing wheel I bought at Harbor Freight. They also sell a polishing compound stick for plastic that will make the plastic lenses shine like new. I did this for all of my tail lamps and markers too.

Go here: 8" Benchtop Buffer. Here is a coupon: 25% Off Coupon - or - use code 43280812 at checkout. Brings the price to $50.

Although the results are impeccable, you have to be very careful when using this buffing wheel. There where a couple of times the lens would get caught and fly across the room. I have to say that it really made the tail lamps look like brand new. Outstanding Results.

[Patcon]

I have tried to do some plastic buffing with buffers that run at those speeds and have found it very easy to melt the plastic. I would like to get a 2 speed buffing wheel like Eastwood sells but the initial investment is getting in the way. I guess the main point is anything above 2000 rpms will melt the plastic quickly use caution...

Charles

[ZCurves]

Get Creative! Buy a dimmer switch and wire it inline on the cord - then you can dial in the speed that best suites you.

[TomoHawk]

You can easily make an adjustable speed control for AC motors with parts from Radio Shack for only a few bux.

[Patcon]

I did some googling on this and didn't come up with anything. How would you go about making a VS grinder/ buffer?

C

[TomoHawk]

I made one of these for another project, using a triac

Diac Applications - Electronic Circuits and Diagram-Electronics Projects and Design

Edited October 12, 2013 by TomoHawk

[jalexquijano]

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

What kind of spray paint can i use on the speedometer gauge? Black Flat can spray? Is there an specific Brand? Should i use sandpaper to peel the inners before spraying?

[Kurbycar32]

What kind of spray paint can i use on the speedometer gauge? Black Flat can spray? Is there an specific Brand? Should i use sandpaper to peel the inners before spraying?

 

If you are referring to the bezel I recommend a paint designed for vinyl, it worked very well for me

[jalexquijano]

This is great!! where did you get it???

[jalexquijano]

If you are referring to the bezel I recommend a paint designed for vinyl, it worked very well for me

What sandpaper do you use to sand the original peeled paint? its just a small peel! or should i just spray it with the vinyl black paint spray without sanding?

Edited July 28, 2015 by jalexquijano

[Kurbycar32]

I bought the paint at the auto parts store.  You want to be careful with sanding because the surface has a slight texture to it that you could accidentally remove.  I rubbed my parts with a scotch-brite pad extremely gently, wiped them down and applied a light coat of paint. 

[jalexquijano]

okay so its better to use a Green or blue scotch bride pad with soap and then dry it with a towel? ill see if i can find the black matte vinyl spray. Does it really have to be Vinyl matte?