Restoring greyed out gauge faces with BABY OIL
Posted: Thu Sep 19, 2019 9:32 pm
Bit bored tonight so thought I'd do an experiment with my gauges.
If you've been reading my posts you'll know that I have the dashboard out with a new one ready to fit. The gauges look a bit tired, because they are 47 years old and there is dust behind the glass that causes a sort of "white out" appearance in the dark. The faces are supposed to be a dark grey but sun damage has turned mine light grey, which also doesn't help in the dark (reduced contrast). So, I am looking for a way to rejuvenate the appearance.
You may recall that I had success restoring the rocker switches using baby oil. But would it work on the gauge faces? See for yourself!
I won't bore you too much with technique other than to say apply the oil sparingly and polish the excess off with a lint free cloth. Use a cotton bud (Q-Tip) to get into the corners. Clean the glass inside and out. To remove the top bit of the smaller dials (where the measurement type is printed: FUEL, TEMP and so on), push from behind the locking tab with a needle, it should pop out. Now you have access to the back face of the dial (where the scale is printed). Be careful with the pointers. You have to move them to one side to get underneath, but be very gentle.
Now, we know why this works. The oil is filling micro cracks in the paint surface preventing stray reflections. I do not know how long the effect will last, but for the time being it looks pretty good to me. I like the idea of being able to see how fast I'm going at night...
Note to our US chums: The active ingredient is sold as "Mineral Oil" in the US. But you can use baby oil especially if you want your gauges to smell like a baby's (clean) bum.
If you've been reading my posts you'll know that I have the dashboard out with a new one ready to fit. The gauges look a bit tired, because they are 47 years old and there is dust behind the glass that causes a sort of "white out" appearance in the dark. The faces are supposed to be a dark grey but sun damage has turned mine light grey, which also doesn't help in the dark (reduced contrast). So, I am looking for a way to rejuvenate the appearance.
You may recall that I had success restoring the rocker switches using baby oil. But would it work on the gauge faces? See for yourself!
I won't bore you too much with technique other than to say apply the oil sparingly and polish the excess off with a lint free cloth. Use a cotton bud (Q-Tip) to get into the corners. Clean the glass inside and out. To remove the top bit of the smaller dials (where the measurement type is printed: FUEL, TEMP and so on), push from behind the locking tab with a needle, it should pop out. Now you have access to the back face of the dial (where the scale is printed). Be careful with the pointers. You have to move them to one side to get underneath, but be very gentle.
Now, we know why this works. The oil is filling micro cracks in the paint surface preventing stray reflections. I do not know how long the effect will last, but for the time being it looks pretty good to me. I like the idea of being able to see how fast I'm going at night...
Note to our US chums: The active ingredient is sold as "Mineral Oil" in the US. But you can use baby oil especially if you want your gauges to smell like a baby's (clean) bum.