Anyone ever tried this?

[chris15]

I only really searched this forum and a quick Google search for this, but have any of you attempted to change the color of your stock gauges?

I saw a deadend thread posted on this forum about someone asking about it.

I've already had to replace a couple bulbs on the gauge cluster, and also swapped in and out multiple sets of tweeters, so I'm very used to pulling the dash apart-- that isn't the problem.

I know the bulbs are clear, which makes me believe that there must be a sort of plastic film that is used on the face of the gauges that houses that lovely aqua/green color. If I can, I'm going to try to remove that film and use some sort of thin, blue film to replace it. Of course I'll check for opacity and whatnot with a small replacement bulb and a battery, but I don't see why it shouldn't work.. I'm tired of having blue everywhere in my interior, then the aqua/green of my gauges. :/

In my searches, I did find that Autolumination sells the #74 bulbs in color/LED formats, but I'm fairly certain it would take more than just a colored bulb to change the color of the gauge cluster..

Any ideas? Words of wisdom? I'll probably be pulling it apart to take a look this afternoon..

[Candyman]

Hey their chris15,

If you take apart the gauge cluster cover the gauge unit itself has a piece of Plexiglas in front which is fitted right up against the cluster cover itself, and fits over the gauges themselves. I wouldn't have known that except I had to stare at my completely striped dash while I redid all my new interior paint here a while back when I did my audio set up. Here is a picture to make better seance out of all of that.



If you just want to change the color to blue, I would probable better try to attack the plexi first, and see how that comes out. What you can do is special order a small piece of custom blue tint from any Tint Shop, or online which may be a bit on the expensive side to get, but in that quantity probably not too bad. You can also try transparent paint over it as well which is easier, but you run the risk of having to scuff the surface a bit to get the paint to adhere which if not done right could mess up the part, and unlike the Tint Film, is not as easily reversed. That's what I would do to archive the look anyways. I have been thinking about doing mine either in a really light orange tint, or smoking them myself on my ride as well, but I also have another project my friend really wants to try by making a whole new cluster plate out of either stainless, or diamond plate which would house aftermarket gauges allowing for more options of customization. Still a ways in development, but the idea is in the works for sometime in the distant future.

Anyways, hope that gives you at least a little better idea. Best of luck, and please let me know what direction you decide if you do it, and as always, I along with all the rest of us PT Peeps around here love Mod Pic's, so you know the drill.

Go easy, and I'll catch you later.

Candyman

[CREWZIN]

Chris,

How about this.......

GLOW GUAGE FACE KIT 2000-2003 PT CRUISER:eBay Motors (item 250097000693 end time Jul-08-09 13:31:24 PDT)

[chris15]

Thanks for your replies guys. For starters, I did see that setup on Ebay, but I'm kinda wanting to go with something a little more blue than that. That looks more like the aqua/baby blue setup we have now anyway.

I've been doing some researching and have found a couple different routes to take:

1) Painting the existing plexiglass cover. Seems risky, most people say it won't work. From what I've seen so far, wet sand with 1000-grit sandpaper (or something like it), then some sort of enamel mixture but it's not guaranteed to work.

2) Tinting, which most people I've seen say it looks like crap. Something about how the film doesn't quite want to stick to plexiglass and how it will start to bubble due to some sort of gas that plexiglass gives off? Could be BS, not sure.

3) Colored plexiglass from Lowe's.. I could use a dremel, remove the entire top (outward-facing) piece of plexiglass on the housing, and hope to find a deep blue plexiglass piece, trim it to fit and then use some sort of model glue, since you rarely see the edges of the gauge cluster anyway.. Honestly, this seems like the best route to take..

4) Dyeing. Some people say it works. A guy said with relatively small pieces (not sheets), he puts plexiglass into a pot/casserole dish with a very concentrated mixture of dye and heats it up to about 150-160 degrees because he claims that plexiglass must be dyed during the formation of the piece, so heating it up allows the dye to seep in between the molecules.. Again, could be BS and I could completely melt or warp the crap out of the plexiglass..


Ideas again?

[CREWZIN]

Sorry Chris, that's all from me. I have trouble seeing the darn guages anyway. About half the time I'm driving I'm guessing to how fast I'm going because I can't see where the needle is pointing. Thankfully, I can talk my way out of a citation.

[chris15]

Haha, it's alright. I definitely know what you mean. Somehow I managed to convince a state trooper not to ticket me through a construction zone doing 77 in a 55.. don't ask me how.

Then again, my girlfriend ran a red light and made an illegal U-turn in doing so and got a warning. Go figure.

I'm not necessarily looking to make the gauges darker, I just want to change the color/appearance.. so I have to find some sort of balance. If the colored plexiglass from Lowe's is too thick/too dark, I'll probably wind up scrapping the idea unless Candyman works his magic like usual.

[Candyman]

Hey their chris15,

It sounds like you got you have done your homework pretty well on this one. Lets see if I can cover my two cents on the options at hand, and maybe see about a better plan.

1. Personally I would probably try to stay away from dying Plexi. Its just a tough way to go, easy to get hurt while trying to dip the part in the hot water / dye solution, easy to dye the part to where it comes out too dark, warped, or wrong and damaged in some other matter at which point you could be looking at having to buy a new piece and then decide if its worth starting over again. So, to me its not the best route.

2. Tint should have no problems with sticking, and should not bubble up when applied over Plexi as far as I know. I have seen them use Custom Tint Films over various surfaces like Headlights, and Tail Lights to plastic windows on some convertible tops, high strength composite aircraft windows, and more without much incident so you should be good on this route but its up to you on if this provides you with the look your going for.

3. Buying a pre-dyed piece of Plexi is a pretty good solution but you will need a very thin piece as the existing gauge cover actually has a curve to it so if you were to mount it to just the inside, or outside of the existing Plexi cover, then you will need to bend it to match the curve without breaking the piece. Even though it may not be all that much of a radius, ultra thin Plexi is really fragile when it comes to bending it unless you apply a little heat which could then break the piece, or distort the clarity to get the desired bend. So, its doable, but their are some complications.

My best advice to you on this project at this point would be maybe to do:

1. A little more research on window tinting. Like I say, I don't see any problem with this. Tinting is done all the time on plastic, and Plexiglas surfaces, and since their are a lot of shops nowadays that have a lifetime guarantee on the film so if something ever went bad, they can fix it free of charge.

2. Or if you still have concerns over the tint sticking, you could also look into a piece of blue transparent Tinted Vinyl from a Sign Company. Its the same Vinyl they use to make stick on graphic's on cars, trucks, sign's, and so on but transparent for use on like windows, and glass doors an so on. Basically a see through sticker. You can also see this technology used on today's Wrapped Vehicles where as they use one giant vinyl graphic to cover the entire vehicle including windows with a giant advertisement. Might be an easy solution.

3. Another alternative to the project, you could swing by a good Body Shop and see if they could shoot a Candy Paint which is transparent over your Plexi in any shade of blue you want. I would say a simple part like that should be around $100 - $150 out the door with material and labor at the most which if nothing else, I always try to estimate painting higher so you could come in lower than that. Might be a little expensive, but you are guaranteed a professional paint job that should be done right, and just like the Tint, if anything were to go wrong with the paint, you could send it back, but my guess is if its a good shop you should be good to go. The only thing I always try to stress is to do a little shopping for a decent Shop to work with.

4. And last extreme resort if nothing else works, I can see about picking up a replacement cover piece from the local wrecking yard, professionally spraying it so we know its good to go, and ship it on up to you.

One way or another we should be able to figure out your project here. Go easy and let me know your thoughts on it.

Candyman

[chris15]

I've been pondering this and I've come to a couple conclusions.

1) I'm not THAT interested in doing it that I'd pay $100+ to have it painted. :P
2) The colored plexi, though good in theory, like you said, isn't practical cause it'd snap when trying to match the curve of the panel.
3) I'd like to try the vinyl sticker idea, but just have to find a local sign shop that has something like that.

Also, today, Crewzin was nice enough to drop off a catalog for me from Moss Motors (THANK YOU!), which he says cut their PT line or products. They (in the past) sold exactly what I'm looking for! It's affectionately titled "Luminescent Gauge Kit", described as:


"Transform the look and style of your dashboard with gauges that are white by day and glow softly at night. With the flip of a switch, change to either a soft green or COOL BLUE glow. Manufactured to high quality specifications. Complete with everything required for installation including detailed instructions.

Luminescent Gauge Kit 001-087 $99.95
Luminescent Flame Gauge Kit 001-187 $109.95"


Now I've just got to find it somewhere..



EDIT: (5 minutes later) Carey, you were right. The link you gave me to the Ebay auction is a set of gauge faces made by APC but the picture (I'm pretty sure) shows the 'soft green' not the 'deep blue'. So I Googled 'APC gauge kit pt cruiser' and found them through Yahoo Shopping or whatever. JC Whitney has 'em!

Link:
APC Luminescent Gauge Face Kit : JC Whitney: Auto Parts & Accessories

BEAUTIFUL!

[eklipsis]

Originally Posted by CREWZIN

Chris,

How about this.......

GLOW GUAGE FACE KIT 2000-2003 PT CRUISER:eBay Motors (item 250097000693 end time Jul-08-09 13:31:24 PDT)

ive bought those type off ebay on previous cars and if u go that route make sure the sender doesnt bend them or even roll them to ship because they are a pain to install if the dont sit flat ..just FYI

[chris15]

I'll be picking them up from JCWhitney, so if they're bent or damaged at all, I'll be sure to have them send me a new set. Would you mind quickly brushing over what you did to install them? What'd you think of the quality?