Quick guage removal question.

[mauibarber]

Hey guys,
I want to remove the gauge plate and passenger side dash plate to re-paint them black on my 69 charger.  I have the manual on how to remove them but I had a quick question.  When I remove the guage plate will the guages stay where they are at or will they fall out and/or be loose?  I just want to remove the plate, paint it and put it back on.  I just wanted a heads-up on what to expect after I unscrew the plate with all the guages on it.  How big-a-pain is this to put back on once I remove it? 

Also, I assume a flat black is best for repainting it?  Any suggestions on best looking black to paint the dash is appreciated.
Thanks,
Alex

[Plumcrazy]

I've always removed the cluster as an assembly.  But if you can get to the screws that hold the bezel to the cluster then you should be able to remove just the bezel.  They screw into the bezel from behind.  The gauges will stay in place

[mauibarber]

Thanks for the tip.  Would you recomend flat black to repaint?

[70charger_boy]

You have to remove the whole cluster.  The screws that hold the plate are immosible to get at unless you take off the whole thing.  You have to drop the steering column too.  I used gloss black

[mauibarber]

So then when you do this all the guages will come loose, is that correct? 

Would trying to repaint the bezel while its still atached to the car be foolish?  I just wonder if I taped everything off and sprayed it in the car what the results would be?  I plan on replacing the steering wheel at the same time.  I wonder with the steering wheel out of the way if I could simply tape off the rest of the dash, surrounding areas and the guages?  Am I crazy?   

[Plumcrazy]

So then when you do this all the guages will come loose, is that correct? 

Would trying to repaint the bezel while its still atached to the car be foolish?  I just wonder if I taped everything off and sprayed it in the car what the results would be?  I plan on replacing the steering wheel at the same time.  I wonder with the steering wheel out of the way if I could simply tape off the rest of the dash, surrounding areas and the guages?  Am I crazy?   

If you are really really good at masking things off I suppose you could do it in the car

[JimShine]

Things are too cramped to get the bezel screws out while it is installed. Your best bet is to almost remove the whole unit. Just leave all the wires alone and remove the bezel screws. The best way I know to do this is to remove the radio faceplate, then the screws in the face of the cluster. Then drop the steering column. This will allow you to take the whole cluster out and lay it on the steering column and give you access to the rear screws for the bezel. Sounds like a pain, but doesn't take as long as you would think.

I would use a satin black.

[mauibarber]

Thanks for the help. 

Satin black sounds like a good idea.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Satin black is correct & you should take out the whole cluster...scraping over spray from the windshield wont be fun..I dont care how good of a mask job you do....spray painting in the interior gets over spray somewhere!

[hemi68charger]

Satin black is correct & you should take out the whole cluster...scraping over spray from the windshield wont be fun..I dont care how good of a mask job you do....spray painting in the interior gets over spray somewhere!

Yeap, 

[472 R/T SE]

Make sure you disconnect the battery, the amp gauge is a live circuit.