Style of Stag instruments

[MagicMatch]

Hello everyone,
I have a question concerning the different styles of Stag dash instrumentation. Mk1 instruments are easy to spot, but I'm puzzled over the Mk2. As I understand it these had a matt black bezel, with a thin chrome lip around the edge. However, I see many with a thick chrome bezel (and not just on Stags) The quality of paint finish on the Mk2 bezels was not good, and can often be seen pin holed or flaking to reveal bright metal beneath. Are these thick chrome bezels simply a case of people removing the matt black for cosmetic reasons, or was there a third style of instruments?
Many thanks.

[StagJonno]

My guess is Mk2 bezels were painted to reduce reflectios from the sun with the top down. Seems the chrome wasn't properly prepared before the black was applied, so not properly bonded and can easily be flaked off.

[flying farmer]

The black paint is so poorly bonded it can often be scraped off with a finger nail.
I suspect that where the bezels are all chrome it had started to peel so the owners decided to finish the job to make it look more tidy

[Alacrity]

Yup, they are chrome under the matt black. A lot of owners take the black off, whether that is because they were tatty or perhaps they just wanted the shiny look. Several have commented though that the chrome can dazzle.

[MagicMatch]

Thanks everyone for confirming my suspicion. I was just curious, because a Stag Mk2 built in 1976 I owned many years ago had the the thin chrome ring. A 1976 Stag I have just purchased has the thick chrome bezel.

[DJT]

If you want to go back to the OE style, then replacement rims are available and fairly easy to swap.

Try these suppliers:

https://www.caigauge.com

https://thegaugeshop.com