Cluster resto question, cleaning gauge faces?

[clay68c10]

I'm piecing together a tach/vac and have some nice original gauges from a couple of clusters. The faces all just need cleaned up and I'm wondering what the pros use.

The last one I had apart and freshened up was 10+ years ago and I think(??) I used non-ammonia glass cleaner. I do remember that the green lettering/lines did seem to want to come off with any more than very light pressure.
Thanks in advance

[davepl]

Reminds me of my horror story of finding a rally gauge cluster for a 1969 Bonneville and having the lettering "wipe off". Like a punch to the gut...

I'd try dry-dusting it with a soft paint brush perhaps?

[demian5]

Originally Posted by davepl

Reminds me of my horror story of finding a rally gauge cluster for a 1969 Bonneville and having the lettering "wipe off". Like a punch to the gut...

I'd try dry-dusting it with a soft paint brush perhaps?

That happens when cleaning turn signal stuff on 80s cars. Its such a bummer...

[dfwright]

I ruined a temperature gauge with just mild soapy water and a soft rag learning this lesson. The green paint that the letters and gauge marks is applied with will smear right off with any kind of liquid or pressure used to clean them.

[turp mcspray]

I just use a soft brush. Hopefully they are just dusty, and not covered with heavy grunge.

[midniteblues]

I had good luck with a damp cotton swab to clean the guage faces.
Some testors paint for the needles.
Maguires plastic Polish works too clean up the lense.
Just be carefull of the lettering and be sure to have good clean soft rags for polishing a lense.

[custom10nut]

I smudged my tach when I tried ti freshen up the brown staining on the green hah marks. Now I have to try to fix it when I have some spare time. Next time I'll know to not be so aggressive when trying to clean them

[clay68c10]

Some good ideas so far, thanks.

The Meguiars plastic polish does work miracles on the lens, I do remember using that last time.

I didn't have the green totally come off like some of you guys, but I could tell it was delicate.

Any other tricks??

TBONE1964??

['68OrangeSunshine]

I tried to clean a gauge bezel lens one time. I used mild castile soap and warm water. Totally wiped out the light green lettering. Lucky it was just a junkyard piece I was experimenting on, but I learned my lesson.

[Gromit]

Member GMCJOE did an excellent post on this topic a while back;

I just looked on the Krylon site to see if their "Jade Satin" was still available and sadly no dice.

But his post was very helpful and I think there must be a close enough match still on the Krylon site but maybe just under a different color name?

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...13#post7742013

Glad I saw your post though; I was just about to go about replacing my Temp Gauge and I woulda sprayed the whole glass with foam glass cleaner for sure if I hadn't seen this post.

[randy.powell]

Depending on your budget the answer is T-Bone!

[clay68c10]

My budget is is minimal, I was hoping he might chime in with some info tho. He does really good work for sure.

[72blu]

Did this job yesterday. I used a microfiber rag soaked with warm water and a little bit of dish soap. I only wiped and cleaned the side of the lens that doesn't have the printed lettering. For the other side, I used just a dry rag to clean off the dust. As for the gauges themselves, I used a damp cloth and wiped the faces clean. I used very little pressure to do this but I could see that if you used any more effort the letting may start to wipe off.

[clay68c10]

Success on the gauge faces! First I used a small paint brush to get the loose dust off, then a soft cloth with just a tiny bit of water. A very small amount of the green on the gauges came off, just enough to make my cloth slightly colored. It didn't fade the markings, but did shine up the black background nicely. Mine were pretty hazy under the dust when I started.

['68OrangeSunshine]

Looks good.

[Toads70]

https://youtu.be/migC6tOkFNU
This might help you he did well imo

[slikside]

Sub'd