Just finished fixing the clock, cleaning up the cluster lens and painting the gauge needles on my 300SD. Ordered a new set of gears for the odometer which will be installed next week. Man what a difference! The instrument cluster looks new again and you can see the gauges at night. Great improvement!!!
This is an easy fix and well worth the effort.

__________________
Darrell

1984 300SD "Ole Girl"
207K

Come on Boomer, no digital cameras in Oklahoma?

__________________
Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

what color did you paint the needles? Pics please.

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1985 300TD Turbo Euro-wagon
1979 280CE 225,200 miles
1985 300D Turbo 264,000 miles
1976 240D 190,000 miles
1979 300TD 220,000

GONE but not forgotten
1976 300D 195,300 miles
1983 300D Turbo 175,000 miles

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...e485-1-2-1.jpg

I do have a digital camera but I haven't spent the time to figure out how to post pics yet.
I painted the needles florescent orange, just as they were originally. I also replaced the two bulbs that light the panel as well as cleaned the light transmitting pieces. The whole instrument cluster now looks like new again. As I said, easy to do and well worth the effort.
I will take some pics when I replace the gears and try to figure out how to post them.

__________________
Darrell

1984 300SD "Ole Girl"
207K

what brand paint did you use, and where did you get it? IS it almost the exact match to the original?

to post pics click reply and then click manage attachments and upload your photos.

__________________
1985 300TD Turbo Euro-wagon
1979 280CE 225,200 miles
1985 300D Turbo 264,000 miles
1976 240D 190,000 miles
1979 300TD 220,000

GONE but not forgotten
1976 300D 195,300 miles
1983 300D Turbo 175,000 miles

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...e485-1-2-1.jpg

O jimmyL, there is a lot of digital cameras in Oklahoma...

__________________
Current Garage
2008 Mercedes GL320 CDI 188k mi Repair/Work in progress
1994 S350 160k mi Garage Queen & prepping for repairs
2005 E320 CDI 203k mi Healthy & Daily Driver
1994 S350 357k mi Retried as parts car
1984 300TD 214k mi Blown OM617 Poss OM603 Swap??

Sold
1987 300SDL 200K+
1994 S320 181K mi
2008 E320 Bluetec 127k mi
1999 S420 130K mi
1980 240D 360k mi
15+ Others that has come, stay and gone

GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
1995 E320 SE 220k mi
1984 300SD 350k mi

I used Krylon spray enamel paint. Sprayed some into the cap and applied with a small brush. You MUST wait for each coat to dry before applying the next. The Krylon dries fairly quickly so it is not a big bother. I kept the cap/paint in the referigerator between coats and it actually worked better the longer it took. I guess the thinner was evaporating out which made it cover better. It took several coats maybe 7 to 10 but if you let it dry between coats and apply it evenly it works great. A hint here, put a piece of paper between the needle and the gauge face to hold the needle and prevent splatter. Once you have the needle coated gently move it to an unpainted area on the paper. That will ensure you don't stick the needle to the paper. The paper will also keep the needle off the stop post if necessary, I think there is only one that actually has a post. Also do not try to re-brush, put enough paint on the brush to make one complete pass on the needle. This is a little tricky with the brush I used which was very fine. The color match was very good and the result was fantastic!

__________________
Darrell

1984 300SD "Ole Girl"
207K

cant wait for the pics.

__________________
1985 300TD Turbo Euro-wagon
1979 280CE 225,200 miles
1985 300D Turbo 264,000 miles
1976 240D 190,000 miles
1979 300TD 220,000

GONE but not forgotten
1976 300D 195,300 miles
1983 300D Turbo 175,000 miles

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...e485-1-2-1.jpg

I need to do this on my 84. The odometer numbers are kind of dirty. I was going to use some rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab. Did you try to clean yours?

I was glad to read that you cleaned your clock and not someone else.

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85 300D 75K Anthracite Grey 0-60 in 13 seconds **For Sale**
84 300D 333K Black (The Velveteen Rabbit) 0-60 in 14 seconds
00 Toyota Sienna 208K (Sold)
15 Subaru Outback 43K
11 Subaru Outback 67K
98 Ford Taurus 100K (Gertie - Was Grandma's - drove it to church and shopping - really) Daughter's car now.
30 Model A Ford 2 Door Sedan (Sold) 0-60 in . . . Never reached 60

Can you elaborate on the repair of the clock?

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I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]

Okay here is the place to check out the whole cluster repair.
http://articles.mbz.org/instrument/renew
I checked our host first to make sure there was no instument cluster for sale, so I hope this is okay.

__________________
Darrell

1984 300SD "Ole Girl"
207K