a very modest farkle...

[wordsmith]

The small select and reset buttons just under the display screen are tiny, and the inset lettering on the black rubber buttons is almost impossible to read in almost any light.   No big deal, as these buttons are not in frequent use, perhaps, but it bugged me a little.   So I took a fine paintbrush and some white acrylic (water-based) paint, roughly filled the indented letters with the paint, then immediately ran a sharp blade across the surface.   This neatly lifted all the paint except that which remained showing the letters.  Cost - nil: time taken - about 20 seconds: satisfaction factor - high!

 

[Stew]

Now that is a quality farkle. I'd do mine, but , well, I am ham-fisted, and would end up with an unreadable dash.

 

[Tryster]

An appropriate farkle based on your namesake...

[betoney]

4 hours ago, wordsmith said:

The small select and reset buttons just under the display screen are tiny, and the inset lettering on the black rubber buttons is almost impossible to read in almost any light.   No big deal, as these buttons are not in frequent use, perhaps, but it bugged me a little.   So I took a fine paintbrush and some white acrylic (water-based) paint, roughly filled the indented letters with the paint, then immediately ran a sharp blade across the surface.   This neatly lifted all the paint except that which remained showing the letters.  Cost - nil: time taken - about 20 seconds: satisfaction factor - high!

 

 

Looks good, I did the same to mine but used a white plumbers caulking.  So far it has held up to very frequent use, - I reset my Avg Fuel and Trip 1 with each fuel fill up and Trip 2 with each day ride.

 

[wordsmith]

6 hours ago, Stew said:

Now that is a quality farkle. I'd do mine, but , well, I am ham-fisted, and would end up with an unreadable dash.

 

Thanks - actually it looks a lot better/ neater in the flesh than the pic shows!

Edited October 8, 2020 by wordsmith

[wordsmith]

6 hours ago, Stew said:

Now that is a quality farkle. I'd do mine, but , well, I am ham-fisted, and would end up with an unreadable dash.

 

The reason I used acrylic is that I figured if I screwed it up - and I am a very fussy Bloke! - I could immediately remove it all with a damp toothbrush.   Happily, it wasn't necessary.

[Stew]

31 minutes ago, wordsmith said:

The reason I used acrylic is that I figured if I screwed it up - and I am a very fussy Bloke! - I could immediately remove it all with a damp toothbrush.   Happily, it wasn't necessary.

I have a whole box of acrylic paints , finally, I may have a use for them.  I'll give it a try tomorrow if it's dry outside

 

[wordsmith]

4 hours ago, Stew said:

I have a whole box of acrylic paints , finally, I may have a use for them.  I'll give it a try tomorrow if it's dry outside

 

If concerned about your ability to do a good job, may I suggest running a bit of Sellotape along and just outside the upper and lower edges of the letters, and up the sides (in both cases onto the rubber surround), thus effectively masking-off the rest of the area.   Do not bother about trying to paint the letters individually - just don't overload the narrow artist's brush, run it over the letters once to cover them, and leave for a few seconds so that any bubbles dissipate.   Then take that blade (I used a fairly new single-edge razor blade - a Stanley knife blade is just as good) at an angle and run it quickly and in one horizontal sweep across the letters.   Et - as they say - violin!   

I didn't, but if doing it again, would have a dampened cotton-tip handy to clean up any paint spots.   And if you do screw-up (you won't) what better excuse for buying a new bike!  Below - a better pic in better light.

 

Edited October 8, 2020 by wordsmith

[betoney]

2 minutes ago, wordsmith said:

And if you do screw-up (you won't) what better excuse for buying a new bike!

😄👍

[BBB]

20 hours ago, Stew said:

I have a whole box of acrylic paints , finally, I may have a use for them.  I'll give it a try tomorrow if it's dry outside

 

Please post the results, especially if it looks like a 3 year old did it. I could do with a good laugh.

[HGP61]

2 hours ago, BBB said:

Please post the results, especially if it looks like a 3 year old did it. I could do with a good laugh.

I've seen a picture of Stew's bike it will take more than a dab of white acrylic paint to make it look bad.

[Stew]

4 hours ago, HGP61 said:

I've seen a picture of Stew's bike it will take more than a dab of white acrylic paint to make it look bad.

Shucks   It'll look even better when I decorate the entire dash with what looks like a seagull dropping