How To: DIY Guage Colour Change.

Grafix Ink.

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DIY" Guage Colour Change

DIY Guage Colour Change.... 96-98 Civic

hey all i was asked a couple of times in how to do this.
it was posted before i beleive a but doesn't hurt to do it again....

it is easler to buy replacement leds as they are brighter, but the colour choice is limited, by doing this you have enddless possibilities...

Materials Needed:
Screw Driver
*Bulb Paint (not glass paint) in your choice of colour
Time

Other Note:
The 96-98 Dash takes 2 #74 Bulbs and 2 #194 Bulbs




- First step is to remove the dash trim below the steering wheel, it is not a step that you have to do but it does make it easier to remove the clips which hold the guage in place after. there are two screws holding
the dash trim closer to the floor and i believe a couple more up to after that it will pop out.

- after that you have to remove the two screws holding the black guage trim in place... they are on top of the guages, there are alos to clips on the bottom which you have to unclip. be very careful as they are easily brocken and can be a pain to remove.


- after you have removed the trim there will be 4 screws holding the guage in place one in each corner, remove them and put aside.


- take out the cluster, be careful to to pull to hard as there are electronics honding them... duh... lol also be careful with the trim around the steering whell, the plexiglass on the guage is smooth and can cut into your trim on the fcar, so don't rest it ontop of your steering wheel.

- after you have pulled it out, unplug all of the electronics. and in the house you go.

- there are 4 bulbs, 2 #74 Bulbs and 2 #194 Bulbs, replace those bulbs with you aftermarket bulb. (the honda ones will come out and they'll have blue bulb condoms on them to make the bulbs appear more white instead of amber) the other bulbs you will have to take off, take off the honda condoms then paint them with your *bulb paint. then let dry over night.


- make sure you use bulb paint, simple window paint will not work as these bulbs get extremely hot. i tried using window tint and the paint simply crystalized, burned, then smoked the lights... smoke everywhere... so make sure you find bulb paint at your performance store to avoid this problem.

- after bulbs have dried put them back into the guage. then reverse the steps in putting the guages back in.

- so replug wiring, screw in the four guage screws, then replace the guage trim, clip back in, then screw the two screws, then replace dash trimming.

- the end result...


and yes the center bulb is out i know that... lol

hope this helped a couple people out...

 

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lkailburn

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got a bad bulb at the top of the cluster?

what brand bulb paint did you use?
 


Grafix Ink.

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not a bad bulb it is just loose, i replaced it so many times that i forgot to expand the hbulb wireing to get a secure fit... i'm just lazy... i don't remember the brand for the paint, i did this over about 6 months ago... but if you go to your locaal custom performance place they should have it or know where to get it...
 

Azoodica

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what cluster is that and where'd you get it?
 


Grafix Ink.

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are you serious? did you read n e thing? oem... its the factory guage cluster....
 

civicexcoupeman

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srry for bringing back a really old thread BUT I really want to do this. Now Ive went to Advanced Auto and looked for BULB Paint and they didnt have any. I work in a hardware store part time and we also sell spray paint but again its basic spray paint non of them are for painting light bulbs. Exactly what type or what paint can I use to paint the bulbs?
 

Machinehead115

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civicexcoupeman said:
srry for bringing back a really old thread BUT I really want to do this. Now Ive went to Advanced Auto and looked for BULB Paint and they didnt have any. I work in a hardware store part time and we also sell spray paint but again its basic spray paint non of them are for painting light bulbs. Exactly what type or what paint can I use to paint the bulbs?
go to a craft store and look for glass paint, i used Krylon...
 

civicexcoupeman

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We sell this at my job so i can get a really good price or get it marked off for free but will this paint work?


Also in Advanced they have like 1 package (includes 2 bulbs) of some sylvania bulbs but the rest are like basic OEM ones. In that case whats the point in buying bulbs and not just painting the ones i already got in the cluster?
 

civicexcoupeman

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Machinehead115 said:
nah it has to be for glass... here's the stuff i used... http://www.krylon.com/main/product_template.cfm?levelid=5&sub_levelid=8&productid=1797&content=product_details

and im not sure exactly why you have to use new ones, but the first time i tried it with the stock ones and it didn't work at all, too dull and not enough color... just buy the OEM style ones and you'll be fine...
did u put too many coats of paint on the stock ones that not enough light was able to pass through?
BTW 2 LIGHT coats should be enough right?
 

Machinehead115

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civicexcoupeman said:
did u put too many coats of paint on the stock ones that not enough light was able to pass through?
BTW 2 LIGHT coats should be enough right?
don't know, it could have been a combination of things... ya 2 should be fine, though its always good to do not enough then too much ;)
 

civicexcoupeman

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civicexcoupeman said:
We sell this at my job so i can get a really good price or get it marked off for free but will this paint work?


Also in Advanced they have like 1 package (includes 2 bulbs) of some sylvania bulbs but the rest are like basic OEM ones. In that case whats the point in buying bulbs and not just painting the ones i already got in the cluster?
Tommorow i got work but i think I do remember reading on the back of the bottle above that it can be used for glass products. Im just thinking if this is indeed correct then light might not be able to pass through it
 

civicexcoupeman

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I did it.But didnt have 1 extra bulb to put behind the fuel/temp gauge for auto
either way some of the tachometer isnt being lited by the bulbs for example its only in the color up to 3 rpm

Also the color is the gayest light blue ive ever seen in my life. Its almost neon light blue. I was hoping for dark blue

I used this paint and did 2 light coats:


Im afraid if i take them out to repaint them/put more layers either it wont change anything or it they will emit less light
 

civicexcoupeman

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also in other write ups they say to use Testors paint but never mention the transparent paint. They use the normal paint in the write up. Weird how a good amount of light can pass through the bulbs
heres a link to the other write up i mentioned http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1054824

Also as u see in that write up they say paint onto the bulbs not paint the bulb condoms. I painted directly on to the bulbs when i did it
 

Grafix Ink.

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imo don use glass paint, the bulbs actually get hella hot... look for bulb paint wich is made to withstand the temperatures.
if you use glass paint prepare to re-paint them over and over again
 

MidnightCivicEX

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hmmm... your cluster has bulbs behind the cluster.. mine has bulbs shining down from above, almost as if they are in front of the cluster pointing down and towards it... its a 97 Civic EX...
 

squidmaster

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you canbuy blue/red/green bulbs.

anyways
i went out today and got some blue 194s and I went to install them, but the top right screw stripped! WTF!!!!
what can I do now>>>!>??!?!?!?
 

civic402Lx

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autolumination.com sells them..u can get them in led or colored bulb..colored bulb will fade over time..led u need to get the wide angle to cover all area..the standard #74 led point straight out..not enough coverage imo..
 


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