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Were the bezels on the gauges painted O.D. or left the metal color when they left the factory?
Thanks,

I am sure no extra effort was made on the assembly line to paint gauge bezels.

But all the paint was a standard color so the bezels would have been very close to the color of the truck.

So if you got some replacement gauges from the 1960's the colors will be different. So if it bothers you that you have a mix match of gauge bezel colors then you might want to mask the faces with blue tape, take a razor knife and run it around the edge, pull off the excess blue tape, mask off the back and paint with your body color.

Hi Gerry,

I'm pretty sure the gauge bezels were painted OD by the gauge supplier before they arrived on the assembly line. I've collected a number of brand new NOS gauges, including a speedo or two and the bezels are all painted OD. I might even go so far as to say the bezels were painted BEFORE they were crimped onto the gauge bodies at the manufacturer, as I can see no indications of masking or overspray anywhere on the gauge faces. The paint simply ends at the end of the bezel. How they got the paint to not crack and pop off when the bezels were crimped over the gauge body is anybody's guess. Check out the edges of the bezels in the pics below......definitely painted before assembly if you ask me.

regards,
bob


DSC03664 by w30bob


DSC03663 by w30bob


DSC03658 by w30bob


DSC03656 by w30bob, on Flickr

Excellent info thanks guys

sturmtyger380 wrote:I am sure no extra effort was made on the assembly line to paint gauge bezels.

But all the paint was a standard color so the bezels would have been very close to the color of the truck.

So if you got some replacement gauges from the 1960's the colors will be different. So if it bothers you that you have a mix match of gauge bezel colors then you might want to mask the faces with blue tape, take a razor knife and run it around the edge, pull off the excess blue tape, mask off the back and paint with your body color.

I just re-did my gauges a few months ago. Stole some plastic caps from my wifes collection that matched the i.d. of the bezel.
Found one that was a very tight fit. Masked off the back of the bezel with blue tape. Shot the bezel with new paint, popped
the cap. Looks pretty darn good with little or no over spray on the lens.