I’m pretty happy with the results. Used Model Master acrylic so the speedo and oil level needles wouldn’t stick to the resting posts. I painted each needle three times. Weirdly, the color is called “Fluorescent Red”, though it is clearly orange as can be, whether wet or dry.

It looks fantastic. I have been planning to do the same for some time, but was going to use acrylic craft paint.

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Milan Brown 1979 240D, rebuilt OM617.952 turbo diesel, rebuilt 722.315 transmission (my only daily driver)

Instagram: @maximed93

Same paint, three different cars, speedo stuck occasionally on all three. got to thinking it could be the slight increase in weight added. A very light tap on the glass and it would free up. I know they weren't sticking to the post, I was very careful not to paint that part of the needle.

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Looks great man I think I'm going to do this to my '84 in the near future but I must first get the clock working. Also, I do have a quick question that someone may be able to answer here. Does this accurately reflect what a new MPH instrument cluster looked like back in the day; were the needles really that dark?

There was a thread on here where a bunch of us painted our needles with the same paint. The paint was being passed around for the cost of shipping.

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Old Blue - 83 240D 6 speed manual trans, OM648
Green Machine - 2001 Europa G500
87 300SDL Bought on Peachparts. Low-ish miles..?

Family Truckster - 2012 VW Touareg TDI

Patchouli Wagon - 2004 E500 - SOLD
333k mile 97 BMW 750il V12. - SOLD
The Californian - 85 300TD - SOLD
Daily Super Sedan - 03 Audi S8 -SOLD

The trick with the sticking needles is to use a toothpick or something wedged under the pivot to keep the needle from touching the post. Use enamel paint (model paint) which dries hard and allow it to dry for a minimum of 24 hours before pulling that toothpick.

If the needle still sticks (which it shouldn't), rub a tiny bit of silicone grease on the post face where they touch. It'll never stick again, the silicone grease will never dry out and it'll never attract dust.

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Current stable:
1995 E320 149K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 120K (SLoL)

Black Sheep:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

I used orange flourescent nail polish.

Probably should have gone red. I like orange though.

On my 300D I also put on a layer of glow in the dark nail polish. At night they would glow lightly . I liked that.

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-Typos courtesy of my mobile phone.

I'm kinda partial to Orange too.

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84 300SD
85 380SE
83 528e
95 318ic

This x1000

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1983 300D Midnight Blue
4 speed, W115 intake mani, non-EGR exhaust mani, KKK K26, 3 pc Euro bumpers, Lo-spec Euro headlights, AL129X, hubcaps, custom A/C

1987 300TD Smoke Silver
Euro headlights, thermostat relocation, coolant bypass mod, rebuilt Becker + Jehnert + Helix audio, OEM Oris roof boxes and surfboard racks, Euro towbar

1983 300TD Reed (Moss) Green / Dark Olive MB Tex Euro spec

1983 300TD Silver Blue / Blue cloth Euro spec, OM648 and 722.6, 15" hubcaps, W126 S2 brakes

Glow in the dark nail polish ~ what a great idea, I'd never heard of it before .

I use nail polish to mark vintage wiring harness ends.....

All manner of factory looking colors for .99 CENTS a bottle ! .

Great for floating into the timing marks of oldies as well .

When the binnacle is out and apart, don't forget to re glue the clear lens and clean polish everything, then even the stock illumination is sufficient to see the gauges easily .

I cut up ziplock baggies and lay over the gauge faces before attempting to paint the needles .

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-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

I remember reading that it was static charge that stuck the needle to the pin. The cure should be a wipe with a drier sheet. Not sure of the science behind it, but I thought I'd offer that.

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1982 300CD Petrol/Black Leather

I seriously doubt that. If that was the case, the movement coils would be so weak that they'd fail to maintain the needles at their positions over bumps and such. Since the needles don't stick with the factory paint, it's the homemade paint job that causes the sticking. A barrier of silicone grease is a permanent fix. Done 2 cars with the issue now and both worked perfectly.

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Current stable:
1995 E320 149K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 120K (SLoL)

Black Sheep:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)