A short attempt to do a
@Markos on gauge cluster refurb:
Skipping the disassembly portion because I did that > 1 year ago. If I recall, separating the bezels from the instrument panel wasn't that difficult but it would appear from some leftover JB weld that a PO had already been in there once. Just be careful -- you want to keep the tolerances between the bezels and the panel tight and unbent. Once apart, wood went to Bela.
I'm not sure what others do to touch up the finish on the bezels but mine were in fine condition, maybe just a touch ashy, so I masked to the original mask lines and shot with a light dusting of rattle can semi-gloss engine enamel. I used a razor blade to remove the cardboard rings around the holes and to scrape off most of the previous adhesive (I did more cleanup after the photos).
Some PO had obviously used Permatex to glue the cardboard rings so they did not come off clean and I had to figure out a new solution. Given that every problem looks like a print to a man with a 3D printer, I measured the old ones and designed some new ones (2mm thick; 100mm ID, 108mm OD for the large holes; 87mm ID, 95mm OD for the small holes). My first print was in prototype orange PLA but you could see the orange around the gauges when installed and they didn't have any "give" to them so I reprinted in clear flexible TPU (Shore hardness 95 A). Those work perfect.
For assembly, I found a piece of wood a bit larger than the cluster, along with a couple clamps, and put down some towels. At first it seemed hit-and-miss as to how to assure I had the bezels properly rotated but then I noticed that there are scribe marks on both the bezels and the dash metal. This makes it idiot-proof for alignment. Take your time to make sure you've popped the bezel in all the way around -- the edge should protrude about 1/2mm all the way around. They should fit quite snuggly even without any adhesive. I decided to do one at a time for simplicity. Once seated properly, I clamped it into place using the scrap wood, with towel between.
I decided on CA glue but I didn't want to get any on the visible portion of the bezels so I taped off the inside. I used a toothpick to run the glue into the edge where the bezel and panel meet. I did about 12 drops all around the perimeter. Because I'm impatient, I sprayed some CA accelerant on a q-tip and wiped it around to cure the glue. When the tape was removed I had a couple spots where the glue climbed the tape above the level of the bezel but the razor blade knocked those off easily enough.
Unclamp, and repeat 3 more times. I haven't glued the rings down yet, as I am still working on gauges but I've test fit and a few dabs of CA glue will do the trick.
