instruments - repainting pointers

[John Hertog <crossram@xxxx>]

Charlie,

First, I agree with Larry that Jeff Carter's the Man as far as instrument
repair and restoration. www.jcauto.com ; definitely the way to go if you
want it done once and done right !

I have attempted to repair / restore some of my gauges in the past with
mixed success. Have you made sure that the feed wire for the speedo needle
is indeed plugged in to the electroluminescent lighting? going from memory
only, it plugs in to the oil pressure gauge..

The astradome is, to me, one of the most important features of the 60 thru
62 Chryslers, and should be properly restored, so that all pointers do light
up, and all look the same color as well ! I always restore (or have Jeff
restore...) ALL the pointers and repaint all of them (including radio and
clock) so that they appear to match each other. It matters to me.

If you indeed prefer to restore your own, yes, it can be done, but will take
a certain amount of experimenting - and time and effort ! Here's a VERY
quick outline on how to proceed :

1/ Set up a 12 volt power supply (car battery, or regulated 12V supply such
as used for powering up CB radios or car radios) on a worktable, and in an
area where you can create darkness easily. I set up such a workbench in my
basement.

2/ You will also need an electroluminescent power supply, such as the one on
your car. Nice to have a spare working unit. Also need a set of jumper
wires (Radio Shack)

3/ Connect ground to power supply AND to body of gauge to be tested.
Connect 12V + to orange wire of power supply. Connect jumper wire between
white wire of power supply, and appropriate lighting terminal on gauge .
Power up the supply, the gauge should now light up. Turn off the lights,
observe the results.

4/ Power off lighting. Using fingernail or razor blade / Exacto knife,
scrape off all orange paint remaining on pointer. Careful not to damage the
movement !

5/ Apply new paint using small brush, Q-tip, or matchstick - whatever works
for you. Then turn off lights again and power on to observe results.
Depending on paint used and how well applied, you might need to put on a
second coat or touch up "white spots" remaining.

Paint: I am sure everyone has their secret formula. You need transluscent
paint. I had experimented with various shades of fingernail polish until I
came up with the proper "orange-red" hue. Wasn't happy with the ease of use,
etc. - then, Don Verity told me about Plasticote fluorescent paint, comes in
spray cans. I don't have the Plasticote number handy, it's something like
FM-2, but that is an approximation - guess. It's Fluorescent Orange or some
such. Spray some paint into a cup, so that you have some liquid to work
with. Apply it to the pointer(s). Observe the results when powered up.

Hope this helps.

John