fpchief
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I am in process of spiffying up my interior. The gauges are all out. A couple have decent scratches on them. Is there a process to remove them?
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Scratches on gauges
- Thread starter fpchief
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- 1,010
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- Annapolis MD
Pm sent
What did the PM said?
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Was just telling him I used a headlight restorer to clean up the gauges.
armytruck63
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The El Cheapo fix is toothpaste and a rag.
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The bottle of restorer I got was only $6 thought that was the cheap route
- 1,925
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The above recommendations work for light blemishes. It is possible to restore glass using the same technique in restoring body paint: successive stage sanding.
I have had success in removing the gauge glass and sanding them on a very flat surface, first with wet/dry 600, followed by crocus cloth, then followed with a polishing compound.
The results are dazzling if you are willing to open the crimp securing the glass to the gauge front.
Rick
I have had success in removing the gauge glass and sanding them on a very flat surface, first with wet/dry 600, followed by crocus cloth, then followed with a polishing compound.
The results are dazzling if you are willing to open the crimp securing the glass to the gauge front.
Rick
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Please explain what that is, I am sure as well as others will atest to that it WILL not be in my tool box.
fpchief
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Yea I would use toothpaste on my police car lights and it worked good,however these scratches I am finding out are too bad for the polishes. May try removing the lenses. Rchalmers3, after reinstalling the lenses, any issue with moisture? Just wondering about disturbing that crimp.
fpchief
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dmetalmiki
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What did the P.M. SAY...(or what had the P.M. said)..a good scrub with jewelers rouge works well.
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I don't recall ever opening a gauge that had the lens fitted with a sealing gasket, so re-crimping it will make it as water tight as it was before. If you do find one or more gauges that are sealed, then you will wish to improvise a new gasket if the old one is not reusable.
A few notes about the process: take it slow and open the crimp evenly, all the way around. Opening it too far stretches and can tear the metal and makes the reassembly difficult to close, or looks terrible.
Obviously, open the crimp just enough to allow the glass out. Re-crimp it carefully and evenly. You may need to repaint the ring if it flakes paint off the visible area. You may want to paint it anyways.
Rick
A few notes about the process: take it slow and open the crimp evenly, all the way around. Opening it too far stretches and can tear the metal and makes the reassembly difficult to close, or looks terrible.
Obviously, open the crimp just enough to allow the glass out. Re-crimp it carefully and evenly. You may need to repaint the ring if it flakes paint off the visible area. You may want to paint it anyways.
Rick
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