I searched for a discussion on here specifically about repainting the gauge needles without removing them. I really wanted to skip that step.

I already had the gauges out because literally none of them worked when I got the car except the speedo. The combo gauge had one strike against it with a run of burned solder(repairable but still not a sure fix). The second strike was the fact that I could replace it with another gauge with standard markings(psi and Fahrenheit instead of bar and Celsius). I wonder if Mercedes marked the speedos in MPH only because they had to and the rest was not required. If I can get a little better feedback than 1 2 3 bar I'll always take it. Note the different combo gauge from pic 1 to pic 2. The replacement gauge did have a silver center button which I removed. The old adhesive crumbled and I replaced it with some new adhesive and a prefab black screw hole cover.

The paint job thing all started because the replacement combo gauge had a very different shade of faded yellow than my other gauges. I hit a hobby store and got Testors Model Master Fluorescent Red(does not actually fluoresce or glow) and a pack of their even smaller brushes. I cut up a plastic sandwich bag into a few odd squares and slid a fresh piece under each needle one at a time. It was easier than I thought it would be. On such a small surface the paint looked terrible when it was wet but when it dried the paint had evened out very nicely and turned satin.

The trick with getting the paint right up to the black discs without getting it on the black discs was to put paint on the needle just in front of the disc and push the paint up to it with the brush. What looks like paint on the face of the gauge in one of the photos is just paint on the clear plastic.

The best method seemed to be a fast sweep for a first coat which dried quickly and then a final sweep. Set yourself limits on how perfect it has to be right where the needle touches the black disc or you will eventually ruin it. The discs overhang the needle a bit so that general area is pretty forgiving. For the needles that rest on a post I saw a trick where someone put a piece of low adhesion Scotch tape on the disc and then turned the needle away from the post and taped it down to the gauge face to hold it. It worked great and later eased right off of both surfaces without a mark. If anyone in SA wants to try this I have 9 other brushes and 99.99% of the paint left.

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