69 gauge bezel

[Jim M.]

my gauge bezel is pretty worn looking and I'm wondering if I should just get a new repo or repaint it? and if I repaint, doesn anyone have asuggestion as to what paint I should use? A semi gloss or satin black?

[Lynn H.]

Re: 69 gauge bezel

My suggestion would be to restore your original over buying a reproduction. This is not a difficult undertaking and I think you would be happy with the results. I believe there may be some articles in the Restorer over the years that go into detail on this. Possibly even some information in the archives here on the board. I have used SEMS satin black, Krylon semi-flat, as well as some other satin black specialty paints I have found over the years with great results. As far as your gage bezel, do not be afraid to use something to see how it looks to you. It can easily be removed with lacquer thinner if you do not like the look of it, and all you are out is the minimal cost of a can of spray paint. This project is something I would recommend to everyone thinking of doing this yourself, even if your not an "expert", as it would be very difficult to mess up beyond repair. Take your time masking it off, and be careful with overall handling (they do have the traditional weak point in the thin area), so as not to drop and break it, and I would bet you end of with a satisfying feeling of accomplishment.
Lynn

[Patrick H.]

Re: 69 gauge bezel

Jim,

Copied from a reply I gave in July:

"My method is paint stripper (water washable is always easier) to remove the old paint. Don't waste your time blasting it.
Follow that by taping off the wording (just throw a piece of paint over the words for now, not letting the tape actually rest on the bezel itself) and carefully tape off the chrome edges and parts that will not receive paint. I use blue painter's tape (3M) and cut it with a X-Acto knife (new blade) when necessary.
Next paint it with self-etching primer (I've used Sherwin-Williams but SEM and others also have some).
Remove the tape over the wording, leave the rest in place. You just didn't want to get self etching primer on the words.
Paint with "original" formula SEM Trim Black. I have no idea what type of paint you've found through a vendor but the SEM Trim Black is dead nuts on. Get it at a store local to you and save your money and shipping time.
Remove all the tape.
Using a corner of a rag dip it into lacquer thinner and remove the black paint from the words on the bezels (i.e. "TUNING" and "VOLUME")
or
use the edge of the X-acto blade to remove the paint from the letters.
Use the X-acto blade to remove any bits of "rough" or "sticking up" paint from the taped edges, and follow that with a bit of lacquer thinner to the same chrome edges, being careful not to remove paint but just to soften the appearance of the edge.

When done, it is indistinguishable from original. In fact, I used this technique to touch up an original this past winter (didn't remove all the paint first) and you can't tell where the original paint ends and the SEM Trim Black begins."

[Jim M.]

Re: 69 gauge bezel

Patrick, is "SEM" the brand of paint? jim

[Joe L.]

Re: 69 gauge bezel

Patrick, is "SEM" the brand of paint? jim

Jim------


Yes, it is. You usually won't find it in hardware stores, though. You usually need to go to an automotive paint supplier to find it. Most areas have at least one of these somewhere to be found.

[Michael D.]

Re: 69 gauge bezel

...My suggestion would be to restore your original over buying a reproduction...

I agree.

[Jim M.]

Re: 69 gauge bezel

Thanks to all. Sure enough, I called up my local auto paint store and they carried SEM trim black, so I'm good to go.

[Alan S.]

Re: 69 gauge bezel

Hi Jim,
I agree about restoring your original.
A good reason to reuse it is that if you look closely at the reproduction bezels you can see that words 'volume' and 'tuning' are crooked. The 'tuning' is especially noticeable since the letters run up hill.
Painting the bezel is quite a satisfying and doable job.
Regards,
Alan