How to make your cluster lights brighter

[Challenger_7]

I remember reading once a thread about this and somone suggested to move to the ralley type lights which had 4 bulbs instaed of three on the non ralley dash, but also decided it not to be practical and costly.
Well, as I am in the process of restoring my car, I did a small experiment and it worked great. I srtipped my lights and aslo removed one of the cups that house the bulb by drilling out the rivets. Inside, it is painted white. I replaced the white paint with "chrome" paint and tried it. The difference was substantial. See photos below. In order to demonstrate through photos, I placed a white paper infront of the modified light as well as the original one, but separated them with a divider. The reflection on the paper is almost double. Having seen that result, I carried on with all the cups. It is a long way before I actually try it on my car, but I am sure it will  make a difference. 
Cheers, Farouk

[Kapteenikosmos]

hmm. Interesting. I just pop riveted my cups back to the frame. I removed them because I used citric acid on the frame. I was also wondering what kind of light output the white paint inside the cup can give especially when I examined the blue plastic that goes between it. The plastic seems to penetrate pretty little light.

I've never driven or sat in a running e-body so I don't know how the instrument panel lights are. Is it a real problem? I could redrill the rivets and paint the cups in chrome like you did if the original lights are significantly too dim.

[DAYLEY/CHALLENGER]

The lights are dim at night.  I wish I had done that before I put everything back together although the light bar isn't too hard to remove  with the dash installed. 

[Super Blue 72]

Very nice tip!  Thanks Farouk! 

[JayBee]

Impressive, there is definately a substantial amout of extra light. I'd like to know how you plan on re-attaching the cups. Regular rivets just wouldn't look right IMHO.

[moparmaniac59]

Wow,
That's a pretty BRIGHT idea!! If I have my cluster out, I'll have to try it. Looks like a pretty impressive difference!! Might even need sunglasses!! Thanks for sharing!!


                                                        Matt B.

[Challenger_7]

Glad to be of help buddies, and thanks for the encouragement. I will post another nice and easy tip in a new thread, very much worth knowing.
Matt nice one
Jaybee Very true and that is why I am still looking around. Worst case scenario, will use regular ones till I find correct rivets, as you cannot see them unless you look for them. I have an extra set, so will do it when found and switch over.
kapteenikosmos Yes  they are on the dim side, you can still read most of the details on the instruments but with difficulty. I suggest you do it now and get this out of your way.
By the way, an overnight soak in white vinegar is perfect for almost any amount of rust, in case you do not like dealing with acid.
Acid probably gives a quicker result, but depends on the strength.
See attached photos of my Mustang's heater blower. I could have left it more that 6 hours and it would have gone even whiter. After the soak, a good wash and it was ready for paint, barely a need for any scraping, last photo.
Cheers, Farouk

[wally426ci]

 

Sweet!!! 

[Super Blue 72]

Wow, that almost new!   

[Challenger_7]

Wow, that almost new!   

Hey there buddy, good to see you following up.
Yes its a good and easy method, and I need all these little tricks to enable to be active in any of the restorations that I am having done to my cars.
After moving to Lebanon, I am now living in an apartment in Beirut, and my only working space is my TV room. So I bring in what ever I can handle within the appartment's enviroment, must be easy and quiet too. Still, it is a lot of fun because the chaps in the body shop do all the major work, and I do almost all the interior and small bits and pieces.
Cheers, Farouk

[Katfish]

That's a great idea, the lights definitely need to be brighter.  I'm going to do this to mine.
I love this type of project.  Fairly simple, and immediate results.


Thanks!

[jeryst]

Thanks for the great tip! I was thinking about replacing the stock bulbs with super bright LED bulbs, but this may provide the desired result at a lot less cost.

[Geezer]

Hi,

I'm new to the list and am also in the process of  restoring a light bar. Any hints on where to find replacement lens for the rallye dash. I've tried Tap Plastic and some craft stores for material that I could cut into shape. The color of the lens is hard to match.

[Slotts]

Hey Farouk,

What a great idea! The only thing I could add and will try is using light argent textured paint.
The light refractions from the flakes should help even more.

Slotts

[JeffAARy]

If I recall correctly one of the Mopar mags about 10 years back had an article on how to restore the front valence mounted turn signal housings on a 71 Cuda.  I believe they used a special reflective silver paint from Eastwood.