Hi Guys. Has anyone ever tried repainting the faded areas of a Buick Tachometer. I have a 65 Skylark with a working tach that I know is the same for many years. I`m sure I could repaint the moveable red needle if I could separate it from the knob and be able to put it back. How about the yellow and orange on the face? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, John
I need to do the same thing. I tried to heat up that little piece of lead or whatever it is that's holding the red needle on, didn't work! Probably have to grind it off, paint and replace with a tiny screw. Not sure how to do a nice job on the face colors???
I previously repainted the red needles of a rally gauges and didn't need to take them out. Used high fluorescent orange like those used for roads and a tiny paint brush. Worked great and matched the original color very closely.
Sounds like the right color! Although this tach has the clear plastic face and you can't get at the needle unless it is removed.
>>Yes, I had to remove my clear plastic face as well - there are metal clips on the sides which you can slightly bend back with a needle nose pliers or screwdriver. Then you can easily remove the clear plastic face - this is for a 1970-72 Skylark/GS though. On the '65, is this the chrome base tach? Perhaps you can unscrew it to get to the face.
While you're doing that I highly suggest getting some Novus plastic polish and buffing and polishing the clear lens. If you're gonna detail it, may as well do it all...
This one is a 65-67 era and it does have 2 metal tabs but the chrome knob that adjusts the red line needle is holding it on too. I'll try grinding that back tab of the needle carefully so I can disassemble the whole thing. I want to go through everything and make it look new. How about painting the face green, yellow and red strips? I thought I could just tape those areas off and paint, 1st one color, let dry, then the next and so on.
Can u just buff and polish with this by hand or do you need a wheel on a drill or similar tool? Another option could be to leave the lens off completely, it sure would look clear!
What do u guys think would be a good match for the green and yellow colors on the face of a 67 Buick tach? I'm gonna try the fluorescent orange for the needle. The colors on the face are really faded so it's hard to tell what they should be. I'll have to look at some on ebay.
I'm in exactly the same boat as you. Mine is also 65 and the yellow and red on the face are dull. Let me know how you make out. Maybe post before and after pics that would be a great help for all. Cheers, Gary
You're not going to try and re-paint the little white lines are you? I can see getting a thin roll of masking tape for the green and orange and re-doing them but the white ones are just too thin.
All the white will remain original, that would turn into a nightmare! I would like to do the green, yellow, and orange.
Because of this thread, I'm doing mine too. Just what I needed another project. Anyhow how do you get this apart ot better yet back together? Mines getting modifyied to go into a consolette, I'll be posting the cup in the for sale area:Brow:
Professional restoration is an option. I met this guy last year. He's a Buick guy too! http://www.instrument-specialties.com/tachs.htm
Restored mine a few years back. Not familiar with this vintage but the 70-72 version has a lt. blue inside the case. I resprayed this as well as the rest of the gauge cases. Make a huge difference for the back lighting when driving after dark.
I put a small grinding stone on my electric drill and ground off the lead or solder, whatever it is. Grind off just enough until it comes apart. I talked to a tach restoration guy and he said they usually have to tap and thread the part that was just ground off and then put in a small screw to put it back together, sounds like a plan to me unless someone else has a better idea. The red line needle has a little key to stop it from spinning so make sure it goes back together the right way! It should only go on one way, sort of fool-proof.
Ya, it's sort of a light blue inside the 67 also. I'm gonna do that too which should help to reflect the light from the bulb.
I looked at paint and it seems like the fluorescent green, yellow, and orange are really nice matches for the face colors. Anyone possibly know what the factory color names would have been?
