I've attached a couple pics of my gauge face and clock from my 65 Lark. As you can see one of the previous owners had painted it white which isn't bad, but the gold trim has more to be desired. I'd like to either have them refinished or buy an original replacement. 1. Tips on refinishing would be appreciated. 2. Where to find replacements (new or used) also. On a side note, I found that the clock is operated by an AA battery. Is that a normal production piece? I've seen on later models with the same gauges that the clock had numbers too ... can I retro fit? Thanks in advance!!!
That is a modern quartz clock drive mounted into the original clock face. No original clocks used a battery
I don't know if you gauge face is plastic or metal. If plastic, I would try step 1 shown below. If metal, you could go with either step 1 or step 2. Step 1 You could try stripping the paint from the gauge face by soaking the part in Javex and scrubbing with a soft bristle brush like a toothbrush. Make sure there are no clear plastic parts attached as Javex will craze clear plastic. You could also buy some of the paint stripper used for plastic model cars. That should be readily avilable from a good hobby shop. Step 2 You might also use a commercial paint stripping chemical to remove the paint. Regardless which method you use, your finished result is totally dependant on how well you remove the old paint. After stripping, you can repaint the gauge face any colour you want. Don't try to get good coverage in a single coat, especially if you will be using white. Build up the finish in light coats so that you do not obliterate any detail. Here's a tip if you will be painting it gloss white...lay down you first couple of coats with flat white and then finish with gloss white. For some inexplicable reason, flat white provides better coverage than gloss white. Once you have painted your gauge face, the details like the numbers and bars can be easily and cleanly painted using a paint marker. These are tubes of paint that look like felt tip markers and come in a variety of colurs including chrome silver and gold. They are make by Tamiya and Testors and can be obtained at the same hobby shop as the stripper. Cheers
that paint looks like testors. a cheap way to remove it is just use some normal ez-off oven cleaner on a rag. it will remove the paint w/o harming the plastic. though always try it on an invisible spot on the body. make sure to wear gloves when using the ez-off though. you'll loose feeling in your fingers for about a month afterwards if you don't. the clock looks like the guy took the filler plate, drilled a hole in it and stuck in a modern clock movement with small hands. -nate
