The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors Gauge decals

I'm almost finished repainting the inside of my cab and now my gauges are looking a little shabby. I want to re-face them. Does anyone have anything to say about these decal kits? Are they the same from all vendors or is there one thats better? Any info or tips will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I have a set that has been on my 37 for 10 years now and still look nice. I also used them on my 52Panel guages and they look good to.

Advice? Make sure the face is CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN. A small pice of "dust/grit" will show as a tiny "bubble". I ended up with a couple of these on one of the panel guages but after putting the faces ect on you can only barely see them if you look hard!!

I like them. I suspect most are from the same place???...

I bought the decals and removed the gauges,
I wasn't really happy with the match of colors and the alignment .

I sent out the gauges to be done,and it was well worth it

Where in CT, I still have some of the decals

Where did you send your gauges? How long did it take and how much did it cost? (I'm on a tight budget). I'm in northern Middlesex county (about 20 min. south of Hartford.

For what its worth dept. D&M Restorations in Greenville, S.C. can actually screen print them like original and they do really good work. Been in business for years, but....it all comes at a price so let your conscience, well, let your pocketbook be your guide!!

OK I got my instrument panel out. I've read the Tech Tip about restoring the speedo and I have some concerns about the other gauges. I understand you have to sand the gauge faces to prepare them for the decals. With the speedo you can remove the needle and the face to work on it the others you can't (at least not easily). Is there a trick to it? or do you have to be really really careful? Does anyone who has done this have any advise for a first timer? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

ct artdeco...I can only speak for myself. I recently did my guage faces myself. Mine were not in "terrible" shape so I used some fine sandpaper and it did well. you do not have to take them to "bare" metal...just have to be smooth. I worked SLOW on them. This is one time we can't rush things. Be patient.

I might add that just before sticking them on be sure there is not grit/dust on the guage. It will show as a little speck under the decal...I had this happen to me on one of the guages but by the time I put the faces/glass ect back on and in the dash you can't see it unless you "stare at it".
Go for it. You can do it!

As far as sanding the gauge units, like its been mentioned before, just go slow and easy. I used 220 grit on a foam block, then followed up with 320 on the same block. Going to put decals on tonight.

I bought my decals from Jim Carter, I cleaned the gauges real good them wiped with alcohol. I took my time, And was very careful in doing it. They turned out Great, They look like new!

I also redid mine a while ago. First timer. I laid everthing out, made drawings and took pictures. Did I say I read alot here on the forums. All went well. Pictures may help. Some start here. May or may not help. Have fun and good luck
Dan

found that some aeresol window cleaner, such as sprayway works great to pull up grit, grime, dust and anything else you don't want on your gauges before you apply.

I got mine done last month with a few minor difficulties. First I read all the Tech Tips (many times) and looked up past threads on the forum. I had trouble getting the speedo needle off. The two screwdrivers would NOT work, finally I grabbed the needle shaft under the faceplate with mini needle nose pliers and used a dinner fork to pop the needle off (worked really well, but it needed quite a bit of force). I cleaned the gauge faces with 200 grit sand paper and cleaned them with alcohol. Then put the decals on as the directions showed. The next tricky part was cutting the hole for the high beam indicator. I used a pin to make a hole through the back and the used a exacto knife to cut the hole from the front. They came out great! The interior is going together and the truck will be back on the road for the summer. Thanks to everyone on Stovebolt for all the help.

I use a slight counter clockwise force as I pull to remove the needle. That keeps the mechanism against the stops. I have used this on several units with success.