replacing gauge dials with your own

A friend of mine rebuilt a milling machine and had the original tin tags - instructions,speeds, logo etc that were on it redone by a trophy shop and they turned out killer! For $70 he got half a dozen plates all exactly like the originals but the quality was fantastic - all cut to the right size etc. They looked like they were etched on to aluminium plate.
nyway, i was thinking that I might get some cheap gauges and replace them with this kind of thing - how easy is it to remove the dials? Anyone done it?

 

You can take them apart at home. I bought this reproduction dial face but I just had to add the flying V8.

You'll have to study your gauge to see how it was ***embled. Often the chrome bezel is crimped over the flange on the gauge body. It takes some careful prying to get it off. Take your time and work a little at a time. Go only far enough to get the bezel to come off. If it uses sheetmetal tabs bent around a flange, be very careful with them. Bend them the least possible amount. Never try to straighten them out. Just get enough clearance to separate the two pieces. You'll only get one time to do it. If it has to come off again it probably will break. After you get them back together and re-crimped...then you can exhale. The thing to remember is that this thin sheetmetal was creased when it was crimped the first time. It WILL break if it's stressed too much.

The artist types here can tell you how to make fancy one of a kind dial faces on your computer with the right software. Print your own and apply it to your dial face.