[mr69]

i bought a set of repro gauges a while back. I also aquired a used set, a bit beat up.

I have seen these gauge clusters before and i know the finish on the bezel is a black gloss, or close to.

I just checked my repro set, and while the contours of the plastic look fine, the bezel is painted in flat black.

Has anybody had a similar problem? What did you do, paint it?

[dschribs]

69:
Having just gone through this same situation, I might be able to help you out. There are two console gauge bezels currently being reproduced. One by OER and one by Classic Headquarters. The OER peice is the one that came with the repo gauge set I bought a few weeks ago. It's made of cheap looking plastic which does have a gloss to it. The Classic piece - listed in some catalogs as concours quality (Ha Ha Ha!!) - is the more flat black of the two. That's probably the one you've got. You can paint the bezel. I'd go with paint specifically made for plastic such as SEM paint - available in most auto paint stores. It comes in a spray can. You'll want to spray the peice with adhesion promoter first (also made by SEM) to help the paint stick. There is also a new spray paint specifically made for plastic you can probably get in a hardware store or a Walmart type store. Having said that, don't forget that the bezel is suppossed to have "chrome" trim around the base and gauge windows. Painting the bezel will get you the correct color but you won't have the "chrome" trim on the bezel as the original.

Dan
'68 Convertible