leversole Posted October 16, 2010 Share Posted October 16, 2010 Are the original guage bezels stainless or chrome?Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j hancock Posted October 16, 2010 Share Posted October 16, 2010 Hello, I think it is flash chrome. I checked my guages and they are magnetic and stainless is not magnetic. Also, when I have looked at a old, tired rig, the bezels will show rust. There again stainless steel doesn't rust. Quote JimIt doesn't cost anything to pay attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leversole Posted October 16, 2010 Author Share Posted October 16, 2010 Knew about the rust, hopin they were stainless as I could clean them up pretty good...SOS pad and water?Do people send these out for rechrome or buy new? THey all look like Stewart Warner guages..Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j hancock Posted October 16, 2010 Share Posted October 16, 2010 The smaller guages are SW and probably be best to just get new. I have bought them through Summit Racing and Watts. The tach can be purchased through Watts. Watts also has a Mack Speedo but it is new with kilometers as well as mph so it will look different.All guages are SW so if you want all could get new bezels from a shop the has the tool to remove the bezels and then recrimp new bezels to the unit. Then...while they are at ther guage shop how much more will you want to do? Freshen the faces? Reset the odo? More $$$Between rebuilding and getting all new is about the same money when I last priced doing a full set.Rechroming flash chrome would get into bucks. Flash chrome is when a metal is highly buffed and then chromed. Chrome is actually clear. So it is a electrically processed protected plain metal. That would be tough to do on any part that has a defect.The copper, nickel then chrome system (triple plate) would not work on most bezels because the end process would be more brittle than the flash chrome is.Boy, it sure would have been sweet if Mack had done them in stainless!!! Quote JimIt doesn't cost anything to pay attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajt3138 Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 Knew about the rust, hopin they were stainless as I could clean them up pretty good...SOS pad and water?Do people send these out for rechrome or buy new? THey all look like Stewart Warner guages..Thanksi wanted to keep my dash as original as i could so i cleaned all the rust off mine with steel wool and a dremel tool and then taped them up and cleared them to keep them from rusting again. i was happy with the outcome. it depends what look you want out of your dash. i liked the old gauges wihtout the "sw" label on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 The Stewart-Warner tool set I have for removing, and installing the bezels is built solely for this purpose. Picture this: A 1/4" wide flatblade screwdriver bent at about a 80 degree angle from flat. The blade is then ground at about a 1" external radius to where the outer sides of the blade now have no sharp sides and just meet the underside of this blade. Basically looking from the side of the tool you have a crescent shape with a flat bottom. These bezels are very soft and the edge of this tool is pushed under the retention crimp of the bezel. The tool is then "rocked" back and forth to pry open the crimp. The tool is then shifted to the side and the process repeated until you can remove the bezel. The second tool is for rolling and straightening the bezel where it was removed. This is a fashion of two gear driven rollers that you stand the bezel edge into and crank the roller handle. This causes both rollers to squeeze the bezel material and rolls the dimples back out that were incurred from the prying to remove it. This is adjustable for pressure applied to the rollers.The third tool looks like a large socket from the exterior. You simply place the bezel back on the instrument and using a small arbor press, slip the bezel and socket assembly into the press and lightly apply pressure. This socket has three angle ground into it's interior. The first angle starts to fold over the bezel, the second finishes the fold, the third does the crimping. It is important to not apply too much pressure as things can break.As mentioned, the bezels were steel and "flash chromed". This is a very short duration in the electroplating bath due to both cost and to retain ductility of the finished product. Unfortunately, durability suffered and rust is prevelant. The bezels were offered in stainless steel as aftermarket replacements, but never offered as OEM to the best of my knowlege. I don't know how many hundreds of SW instruments I've rebuilt as one of my high school jobs was in an instrument shop. Most times to rebuild a mechanical speedo or tach, the easiest was to just toss the guts and replace complete, but you could still get the stuff new. Now, I wouldn't be so certain. You can still get new bezels from the current owner of the Stewart-Warner name but they are slightly different with a flattened face. Rather than the coming to a dull point, they are flat on the face but still look acceptable. If you were replacing them all, hardly anyone would notice they are not period correct. You can however have your originals rechromed but there would be little to no cost savings.Rob Quote Plodding along with no job nor practical application for my existence, but still trying to fix what's broke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 Knew about the rust, hopin they were stainless as I could clean them up pretty good...SOS pad and water?Do people send these out for rechrome or buy new? THey all look like Stewart Warner guages..ThanksLook for a good set of used classic SW gauges. I bought a complete set of gauges including the air pressure gauge for about $80. Chrome and faces are good on all of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD 5020 Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 Unless they are in really bad shape you would be surprised what you can do with some steel wool. I would recommend starting with that and see what you think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajt3138 Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 Unless they are in really bad shape you would be surprised what you can do with some steel wool. I would recommend starting with that and see what you think.I just got my gauges back in. i wanted to keep my old gauges. i like the original look. mine looked like yours when i started. the amp gauge is new. rest are original. (and yes i know the hi beam indicator is in the wrong hole.) unless you are going to rechrome, you can shine up a gauge and see what you think of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajt3138 Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 Knew about the rust, hopin they were stainless as I could clean them up pretty good...SOS pad and water?Do people send these out for rechrome or buy new? THey all look like Stewart Warner guages..Thanksthe bezel on my amp gauge looked like yours. i bought a new amp gauge from watts that matches the step bezel of the originals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Woge Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 Hello, I think it is flash chrome. I checked my guages and they are magnetic and stainless is not magnetic. Also, when I have looked at a old, tired rig, the bezels will show rust. There again stainless steel doesn't rust. Is there different kinds of stainless ? The sun visor on my work truck ( Pete ) is suposed to be stainless...and my magnetic XM antenna sticks tight ??? Just wondering, John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobo Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 Is there different kinds of stainless ? The sun visor on my work truck ( Pete ) is suposed to be stainless...and my magnetic XM antenna sticks tight ??? Just wondering, Johnyes there are lots of different grade stainless, most 400 grade stainless is magnetic, and no stainless will rust unless some form of 'iron' is embedded in it bob0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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