Misted up dash board gauges

[David2269]

New Stag Owner here again, took the Stag out for a short drive this weekend and I noticed after the car had warmed up that some of the dashboard gauges had started to mist. Presumably from damp somewhere but the car is garaged. Any suggestions to fix this or reasons this may be happening. Photo attached. Thank you in advance for all those who take the time to share their knowledge. It’s much appreciated.

[mole42]

Mine have always done that. It usually clears by the time I get to work - half an hour in traffic!

[APS]

There must be some residual moisture within the gauge. The temperature difference on inside outside of glass causes it to steam up.

Best to remove the gauges and take the front bezels and glass off. Dry them out thoroughly or else over time corrosion will develop within the gauge.
Then fit new rubber seals behind the glass such as these
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/202794998921?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=-duUA5hqTMe&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=5By6EjxAToe&var=&wi dget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[flying farmer]

Usually happens when the lights are turned on as the heat from the bulb evaporates the damp inside the gauge which then condenses on the cold glass.
I think this is a factory fitted option as every model of Triumph I have ever owned from 1981 onwards has suffered this problem.
Regular use of the sidelights will eventually dry it out.
Neil

[marshman]

What Neil says ^^. My 110 Land Rover Temp and Fuel Gauges, similar type/style to those in the Stag, have always done it at this time of year - I have owned it for 28 years. As Neil says the heat from the illumination lamps or just from the heated bimetallic strips in the meters cause condensation on the cold glass surface. Drive it for long enough and they "dry out", until the next time. Both my Stag and Dolly Sprint do it as well. Personally I wouldn't bother stripping and trying to seal the gauges, it'll more than likely still happen. The solution is to use the car regularly - though even in everyday use the Landy ones do it !

[wilf]

LED bulbs in the gauges help a lot with this, but the voltmeneter will still steam up due to the heat from the coil around the bimetalic element. At least, that's what happens with mine! I have a mechanical temperature gauage so no issues with that.

[mopoole]

There must be some residual moisture within the gauge. The temperature difference on inside outside of glass causes it to steam up.

Best to remove the gauges and take the front bezels and glass off. Dry them out thoroughly or else over time corrosion will develop within the gauge.
Then fit new rubber seals behind the glass such as these
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/202794998...mis&media=COPY

A job for me this winter as after nearly 50 yrs there's definitely a film of "muck" on the inside of the glasses. Can't seem to find that link I'm afraid, any further info please?
Thanks
Maurice

[APS]

It is well worth doing removing and cleaning the glass of the dash instruments. Surprising how much of an uplift it gives to the look of the dash.
Easy to do, just tackle one gauge at a time.
There is actually a foam seal between the bezel and the glass that is cut to length. And a rubber seal, large O ring, between the gauge and the dash. You will probably find the need to use a Stanley blade to scrape off the remnants of the old foam seal from the glass. Giving the glass a polish will also help reduce condensation on the inside of it.
I think the small gauges are 52mm or 2 inch, and the Speedo and tach are 100mm or 4 inch.
The seller I found on eBay does both sets of seals and glass and bezels if so desired.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223972619679?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=-duUA5hqTMe&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=5By6EjxAToe&var=&wi dget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[mopoole]

It is well worth doing removing and cleaning the glass of the dash instruments. Surprising how much of an uplift it gives to the look of the dash.
Easy to do, just tackle one gauge at a time.
There is actually a foam seal between the bezel and the glass that is cut to length. And a rubber seal, large O ring, between the gauge and the dash. You will probably find the need to use a Stanley blade to scrape off the remnants of the old foam seal from the glass. Giving the glass a polish will also help reduce condensation on the inside of it.
I think the small gauges are 52mm or 2 inch, and the Speedo and tach are 100mm or 4 inch.
The seller I found on eBay does both sets of seals and glass and bezels if so desired.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223972619...mis&media=COPY

Thanks for that, will investigate further

Maurice

[The cobbler]

New Stag Owner here again, took the Stag out for a short drive this weekend and I noticed after the car had warmed up that some of the dashboard gauges had started to mist. Presumably from damp somewhere but the car is garaged. Any suggestions to fix this or reasons this may be happening. Photo attached. Thank you in advance for all those who take the time to share their knowledge. It’s much appreciated.

I've just completed my dash, removed all the instruments, stripped and cleaned glass and bezel, scrapped all the old sealant, my bezel was painted black, so used this opportunity to removed the black paint with wire wool, refitted with new seals of ebay, amazing results so well worth it, and not that difficult.
kev.

[richardthestag]

I've just completed my dash, removed all the instruments, stripped and cleaned glass and bezel, scrapped all the old sealant, my bezel was painted black, so used this opportunity to removed the black paint with wire wool, refitted with new seals of ebay, amazing results so well worth it, and not that difficult.
kev.

be careful when driving with the sun above or slightly behind you, which was the reason why they satin blacked them. or did I dream that

Look great though

[trunt]

I found that a lot of the dust inside the instruments was from the white internal coating failing so removed the innards then glass beaded and repainted them internally. I was going led so took the opportunity to remove the green lenses, most were brittle and damaged anyway. I kept the black/chrome edge , they just needed touching up and polished the chrome area by twisting them on a thin foam pad with polishing compound

[Lemp1953]

Samething happened to my Stag when I first got it but it had mildew on the inside as well so I removed them one by one and cleaned the glass with them with an alcohol cleaner and that was 4 years ago and been great so far. The speedo was the trickest but managed to get the glass of without disconnecting the speedo cables.

[Paul Kelley]

Juts garaging your Stag won't avoid some moisture getting into it and at this time of year the humidity levels are close to 100% at night-time. Consider putting old carpets on the garage floor and using a de-humidifier on a timer overnight for a few hours.

[Philip Wardle]

My project car is 99.9 % complete and out on the road but is still resident in the restoration workshop. I'm thinking about whether to leave it there for the winter or bring it back to my brick-built attached garage at home. Today we've had a bright, sunny, fresh day yet the relative humidity over the 24 hours has been in the range 71 per cent at 13:00 to 91% at midight. To my cost I've discovered that high humidity is seriously damaging over time and i don't intend to repeat my mistake!

As we're coming up to Black Friday I decided to look for deals on de-humidifiers and put one in the garage to test the effect. I do have two large central heating radiators in there which could raise the temp, hence reducing reative humidity as warmer air holds more water, but the cost of energy make this a very costly option. A de-humidifier will be much cheaper to run if if works.