gauge cluster cleaning?

Now that I got my new bulbs in the dash, I can really see how dirty the gauges and the back side of the glass is. Does anyone have a "how to" thread or video on refurbishing a stock gauge cluster?

Haven't seen one. Maybe it's time you start one!

you will need to remove the cluster to take it apart. removing the bezel is a matter of a few screws and bezel and glass come out easily. you can simply clean and reinstall or go a few steps farther. at the very least, paint all the needles with fluorescent orange paint. I spray aerosol paint into the lid and brush it on but you might find the right paint at a hobby store. a few more screws gets the guts out of the housing. original is off white with a green tint. I cleaned and repainted with gloss white and the difference in reflected light was well worth the effort. if the glass is dull or scratched, wet sand and buff both sides, this takes some time but worth the effort. wire wheel and polish, paint or clear coat the bezel or switch to a chrome corvair bezel. clean up and remove any paint where screws or bulb sockets are grounded.

Well I took the bait... I managed to get everything taken apart. The black face of the speedo that I thought was dirty is actually oxidized pretty bad. I tried cleaning it but no dice. I don't think I have the skills to paint all the numbers and lines so I'm probably going to try to find another cluster that's already been re-done or a repop. I tried looking on Clarks Corvair's online catalogue but I can't ever seem to find what I'm looking for there. If anyone can point me in the right direction I'd appreciate it. Thanks

don't have the skills, or the time? I did a few and it does take more time than you might think but isn't that hard. I made a template for the markings and just used decals to replace them. the last one I did, I changed the speedo gear and plotted points to set at 120 mph.

Thanks jrniman and scott. I made an offer on one of the bezels on the ebay link. If I get it, maybe I'll take the time to try to refurb one of them myself.

I sent my gauge cluster to Classy Gauges near Salt Lake City, Utah. Kevin did a fantastic job restoring and recalibrating the unit. It is not cheap, but it is a joy to look down at the dash and see the results of the restoration. Check out classygauges.com

Thats a nice website Doug. Do you have any pictures of your refurbished cluster?

Sam I took mine apart on my old sport van cleaned what i could and painted a few internal parts. Be careful of the milage numbers you can move them and being over 50 years old they are brittle

The cluster I ordered off ebay showed up. There's a few differences I noticed right off the bat. The mounting holes on the Corvair bezel look like they get screwed in from under the dash. Also, the trim piece on the front has some extra wording on it that our vans don't have.

This is the speedo I'm replacing.

And here's the new one. It looks amazingly good.
So the front trim piece in my van has a big scratch in it from when we made the steering column cover so I covered it with the piece from the new one. I just scored the aluminum with a razor knife until I could break it off and used super glue gel to hold it in place.


I put everything together with the new bezel but it's just stuffed in place because of the mounting holes. I'm going to send my stock one to get it chromed along with some other spare parts.

What's going on with your column cover? Got any more pics or info on how you did that?

The column cover hides my electric power steering motor. I had it made from sheet metal then covered with vinyl to match my seats. You can see more pictures in my members showcase thread.

I checked out that thread - amazing van!!!

Well thank you!

That's a nice looking cluster, samsvan! Good job.