Gauges Options

[Rob-O]

I've looked in the member vendor section and see that we have some folks who restore gauges. But I'm kind of wanting to tackle this one myself. I'll replace the plastic lense with glass, but there are two areas I'm unsure about.

One, has anybody painted their needles themselves? I notice that when I pull the gauges apart (the fuel sender for example) the color of the needle is more of a red. The part that is exposed to sunlight is usually more of an orange. If you've done this, chime in. Have you kept the needle on the gauge or removed it (I've read that removing can be bad for speedo, etc.). How did you paint it if it was still on the gauge? What type of paint did you use?

The other area that I was giving some though to was the little 'low fuel' window that is on the fuel gauge. All the ones I've seen are almost a clear now, but originally they were red as well. Those restored by North Hollywood and others usually have this redone as well. But other than that I've not seen these. I've taken apart the gauges and the covering for the little window looks like a little piece of transparent plastic that is taped in place. The tape holding it on the gauge looks pretty stout. But other than that it doesn't appear there is much to it. If you've replaced the window, what did you use?