I did remember that Gary had his parking lights on when he took the test, I was just asking in general if it would help the brightness of the IP lights when the headlights were on because the load would be taken directly from the battery and not the headlight switch potentially leaving more voltage available to the IP lights.

In any case, you weren't butting in - all is good!

I hope the aluminum tape works out, Gary. Make sure to let us know. In fact, take some pictures if you can.

 

Go ahead and put all new green bulbs in anyways! Sure they are expensive, but I think all new bulbs will help a lot. You can buy them at most auto parts stores, weird that amazon doesn't have them.

 

I'm not saying the aluminum tape won't work, but I think pure white would be the best reflective color. Metals sometimes reflect/refract different wavelengths of light in unusual ways.

 

I'm kinda into one-step-at-a-time mode on the changes I'm making so's I know what each change accomplished. Given that, I'll probably do the back of the bezel first and then upgrade the lights or LED's, if needed - and they probably will be for these tired eyes.

But, speaking of the bezel, I think I'm going to hand-paint the backs white instead of use the metal tape. I hadn't thought of the potential for weird color reflections, but I have seen that come to think of it. My concern is the difficulty of getting the tape right out to the edges of the openings, and I think it is important to get to the edges given the very small area the light is obviously bouncing off of. My first thought was to put the tape on and then cut it out from the front side with a razor blade, but then I worried that I would at least scrape the black paint on the bezel if not cut into the plastic, either of which would be easily seen from the front. So, I'm thinking paint it by hand, but welcome other thoughts.

As for pictures, that is a problem I've been thinking about. The issue is that a good camera on auto/program will just adjust its shutter speed to get the same amount of light regardless of how much is on the gauges. So, assuming the shutter speed is fast enough to prevent blur, all the pictures will come out looking essentially the same even if there is twice the amount of light on the gauges. I think the way to get there is to lock the camera into Manual mode where I can set the shutter speed and the lens opening (aperature). That way all pictures will be taken with the same settings and the difference in lighting will be seen in the brightness of the gauges. Yes?

 

i wish someone would hurry up and make a decision. better bulbs, paint, tape, whatever! i'm waiting over here with bated breath because i want to do whatever solution works best!

poop or get off the pot already!! just kidding.

 

Understand the paint vs. aluminum tape logic. I was thinking more on the lines of a reflector and pure brightness, not color accuracy.

Regarding you camera, it all depends on what your "manual" mode will allow you to do on your point and shoot. You will also have to remember your white balance, exposure, and ISO settings will make a difference too. In all reality, the best approach would be to photograph two gauge clusters side by side with the stock setup on one side and the modified setup on the other. That way, you'll at least let the camera do most of the work if you are limited to what settings you can control (and a lot less learning if you haven't messed with manual settings much). Unless you have a light meter, a photo calibration target, and good photo editing skills, I would recommend letting your camera take care of most of the settings. But, if you are well versed in these things, rock on with your bad self!

 

I'm worried about the painting by hand.

Brush strokes will diffuse the light that is reflective. The more glossy and shiny the better etc...

 

Got an airbrush, Gary?

 

You are in the wrong thread or aren't clued-in very well. We are only up to 4 pages, so are only half way "there". IOW, I'm retired and move at my own speed, which is slow. And deliberate. And usually fraught with problems, normally known as two steps forward and one backward - see below.

Actually, I spent most of the day building the new ICVR regulator, taking pictures, and writing instructions. While building the regulator took almost no time, the documentation took quite a bit more - especially given the goofy way FTE imports pictures into an album. Anyway, I'm in no hurry, I'm having fun. Why rush?

I'm pretty well versed on cameras, and can handle using the M setting. The plan is to use P for the first, as is, shot and than dial in the shutter speed and aperature settings via M for the next shots. And, I suspect I'll be using a tripod but maybe not. If the first shot is fast enough the later shots should be much faster if I'm making progress.

I've thought about that, and agree that brush strokes will change the distribution of the light, but I'm doubting it will change it enough to see. But, see below....

Nope, no airbrush. So, I tried a can of Rustoleum Gloss Protective Enamel in white. I put it in my powder-coating booth and turned the vacuum/dust-collector on to move air through from front to back in an effort to keep the overspray off the front. But, as I feared, it did dust the front and I'm not sure it'll come off, although I'm going to wait a bit for it to dry before I try.

 

All you need to do is mask the whole black front and press the tape firmly around the openings. Paint the white, let dry, and peel the tape off the black side. Now you may have to do it in reverse by masking all of the white, to spray the black or wipe with acetone.

 

I don't really understand why you didn't mask the front in the first place?

 

With that approach the cutout edges of the bezel around the gauges will be white and I don't think that will look right.

Because this is an extra bezel and there are several more available after it. IOW, it isn't the one out of either truck.

But, as said above, masking leaves the edges white. So, I keep coming back to painting it by hand, brush marks and all.

 

I see what you are saying. I would tape the edge and not fold it over on the white side. It would look like walls when laying white side up. You would still get all the coverage when the white is applied.

I would also still mask the black completely.

 

^ That would be your best bet.

 

If I could throw in my two cents...


If it were me, I would get some sort of spray-on adhesive and coat the back of the faceplate with it, then cover the whole back side with tin foil. I would smooth it out til it's got as few wrinkles as possible. Once it's all set and dried I would go and use a razorblade to cut out the openings without damaging the parts I don't want cut.