+1

I used a paint pen too and I painted the round base part only leaving the needle orange.

IndyD

 

Here's mine before reinstalling
Steve
DOC Pres

 

Cool thread, cool link. I like the 98-00 Silver with blue/blue LED setup. That's on the wish list now. I wonder if I can find a DA paint pen.

 

You can get touch up paint and use that
Steve
DOC Pres

 

Here's mine pre-install.

You can see that 'factory' needles changed. I painted the lower sections silver (with the pen) and left the rest alone. I added an gauge overlay from there.

<img src=http://i365.photobucket.com/albums/oo95/IndyDurango/Posted%20IndyD/interior/101_0187.jpg width=790>

IndyDurango

 

Alright guys?thanks for the info?

1 more question? Have any of you ordered a full on CUSTOM face? And if so, how was the customer service and the quality/correctness of your order?

Josh

 

Alright guys?thanks for the info?

1 more question? Have any of you ordered a full on CUSTOM face? And if so, how was the customer service and the quality/correctness of your order?

Josh

Still talking about blackcat? If so, I had him make me a custom gauge with a silk screen Ram head logo on the Tach side and an "R/T" that lights up on the Speedo side. This was a few years ago. Customer service was great. Quick replies to email. The face is great quality but there are two thing I don't like.

Light doesn't disburse evenly across the face. Closest to the bulbs, it lights up brighter. It's not very noticable at night, but around dusk, when it's still semi light out, it makes it hard to see some of the numbers on the speedo/other dials. It could be the colors I got though. I got a white face that lights up blue.

The other thing is that the light seems to bleed into the warning light area (that rectangular area at the bottom.) There are two rows of warning lights. At night, I can see the top row because light bleeds into that area.

Other than those two things, the gauges are great.

I?ll snap a night picture when I get a chance.

 

Remember,
My "Black Cat Customs" face gauge in White looks the same as yours, but I didn't want any logos.
I believe my problems are the same as you described in regards to how the lighting is distributed.

I'll also take Day and Night pics this week sometimes to give you an idea.

 

I was just checking out their site and here's my idea. I already have the brushed aluminum trim plate around the instrument panel so I was thinking silver gauge face with blue or red numbers and DODGE in the TACH screen and DURANGO in the SPEEDOMETER screen. The shades of silver would contrast with the brushed aluminum but still blend in reasonably well.

A couple of questions.

1. Is this just an adhesive stick-on overlay or is there any electrical wiring involved?

2. Do the needles have to come off or can you slide it over the needles?

 

I was just checking out their site and here's my idea. I already have the brushed aluminum trim plate around the instrument panel so I was thinking silver gauge face with blue or red numbers and DODGE in the TACH screen and DURANGO in the SPEEDOMETER screen. The shades of silver would contrast with the brushed aluminum but still blend in reasonably well.

A couple of questions.

1. Is this just an adhesive stick-on overlay or is there any electrical wiring involved?

2. Do the needles have to come off or can you slide it over the needles?

Fairly sure it's just an overlay (adhesive? not sure.) No electrical unless it's Indiglo. The needles will have to come off.

 

I saw the glow gauges for about $20 but when it comes to wiring I consider that advanced electronics and it'd probably come out way over the $99 that BlackCat charges for theirs. I like the BlackCat ones and they look fairly easy to install. I just wish they had a program like some websites do where you can enter the color parameters and it shows you a picture of how it'd look before you purchase it.

 

They're a full replacement for the stock panel. Pull the old one and put this one on.

 

Sounds good!! So I take it the old panel comes off and this drops in its place? Is the back lighting controlled by the existing back light "peanut bulbs" and would the intensity be controlled by the rheostat on the headlight control panel/switch?

If this is as plug-n-play as it sounds, I want it and it'll still allow me to keep my bushed aluminum trim plate.

 

With the face plate I have, my needles didn't need to come off? including when I painted them. Once the cluster is off, the needles free spin anyways. I also recommend running the recalibration setup anytime the cluster is out or any needles have been messed with.

IndyDurango

 

Yours is a gauge surround. If the face gets replaced, the needles must come off.
Steve
DOC Pres

 

Yes I know. Most will need to come off.

 

So the guys at Black Cat will custom design a gauge face if I tell them what I want specifically? I really want to swap out the stock piece for something more attractive.

 

Yes

 

So the guys at Black Cat will custom design a gauge face if I tell them what I want specifically? I really want to swap out the stock piece for something more attractive.

Do it when you do your stereo upgrades so the dash is only apart one time.
Steve
DOC Pres

 

In my case the factory design is ok, I'm just looking for something besides the flat black with white numbers. I like Rob and Steve's idea of painting the bases of the needles, that's a touch of detail.

I'm visualizing it now and the flat silver face with blue numbers and orange needles should contrast against the brushed aluminum trim I already have installed. It should stand out but not look tacky. I believe my needle bases are black so I might leave them alone to contrast against the gauge face.

 

So the guys at Black Cat will custom design a gauge face if I tell them what I want specifically? I really want to swap out the stock piece for something more attractive.

Do it when you do your stereo upgrades so the dash is only apart one time.
Steve
DOC Pres

Yea. Aside from my hood ornament, the sound system is pretty much next on my to-do list, so I think as soon as I have a little more money saved up, I'll give them a call and detail what I'm looking for. I think I'll draw up a rough design and email it to them when the time comes.

 

Here are some day and night shots of my gauge face from 'Black Black' along with pics of the dash cluster.

You'll notice lighting color variances on different parts of the gauge and dash cluster. Not sure if it's due to the dash lights not aligning properly when the dash was re-installed, if the lights are getting dimmer due to age, or what. Just seems the overall dash in general looks dimmer and not as bright and all same color as it should be.

Anyone else have the same lighting issues as me or is it suppose to look this way? (been to many years to remember)

 

I did notice that, not overly dramatic and they still work. Now that I know the instrument panel face isn't that difficult to remove and replace, I plan on getting the gauge faces from Black Cat Custom.

My specs will be a silver face with blue letters and DODGE in the tach and Durango in the speedo.

Once I get the face installed, I'll step up and replace all of the "Peanut Bulbs" on the back of the panel and start fresh with new back lights. The only bulb that's starting to fail is the one under the VOLTAGE gauge. It's not burnt out yet but not as bright as the others. Again just to be safe, I'll replace all the back lights. Cheap insurance to avoid pulling the instrument panel again.

 

I'll be swapping out my lights too, with blue LEDs! :cheesy:

 

I'll be swapping out my lights too, with blue LEDs! :cheesy:

I was just gonna suggest that! LED strips or individual?