How To: Paint Gauge Rings

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for any damage you cause to your vehicle when following this DIY.

Please read through before attempting.

Parts list:
*5th Gen Prelude (Pretty important)
*Phillips Screwdriver
*Some way to remove the rings (I used a chisel)
*Some way to glue rings back in (I used Permatex 5 Min. Plastic Weld)
*Something to mix the glue with and on
*Paint (I used Krylon Fusion white as a base, and I believe Krylon chrome (buddy brought it over, and took it back, lol...))

Optional:
*Cleaning wipes


Take the two screws out of the top of the black cover:



Now tug at the bottom of the cover to remove it:



Now remove the four screws holding the gauge cluster in:





And the two at the top.

Now you can either remove the cluster or leave it in. I opted to take it out, because it made pushing the clips easier.



Now go around the cluster, and push all the little black clips to remove the surround from the actual cluster.





It should now look like this:
Note: Try to not touch the needles... Just slide it off to the side for now..





Do the same for the clear plastic cover.

It should look like this now:



Now take the part with the rings, look on the back, and note all the spots where the rings are held in. You need to knock them off in order to remove the rings. I used a chisel.



Also recommended:

"When I did mine I used a center punch to push out the little studs. This way I didn't cut off any length trying to remove them.

To reattach these you can take one of two routes: glue or heat. They're made from polypropylene so a hot solder gun touched to the studs will just melt them down and reform a collar. But then removing them again will be a little more difficult."


"I used a scribe to poke out the plastic posts."

After knocking them all off, you should be able to just pull the rings out.



Painted: (A base-coat is always a good idea...)



Let the rings sit so that the paint dries (Half an hour or so should be good. Read the instructions on the can.)


Now you can begin putting stuff back together. Since I knocked off the little tabs that held the rings in, I needed to glue the rings back in. I ended up using a 5 min. Plastic Weld that I purchased a while ago. Squeeze the glue out, mix the two glues together, and apply to the back where the rings where held in at.


Glued:



After letting the glue dry, assemble the whole unit simply by pushing the tabs back in until they snap. Place the cluster back in its home (if you removed it like I did). Screw the cluster back in with the four screws. If you pulled the cluster out, make sure everything works by turning on the ignition, and possibly even starting the car and driving it around. (To make sure that the tach and speedo work before you finalize everything.) Now, before putting the black cover piece on, clean up around the cluster. (Not necessary, but might as well do it while it is apart...)



Eww..





Now snap the cover back in place, and screw it back in on top with the two screws.



Sit back and enjoy your work.

nice write up there jake.