Tank and Oil gauge glass laminated?

[ganun]

I have taken apart all the gauges in my 87 to clean them and paint the needles as needed but when I got to the TANK- OIL gauge I noticed the inside of the glass had a clear but now yellowing piece of rather thick (+/- .020") plastic neatly stuck to it.
Only the TANK OIL, what`s up with that?
I do not plan to put it back on, ....I thought perhaps the stack up of the parts was not correct and to get the outer bezel to seal tight they added this plastic as a stop gap measure.
The needles were turning pale and I also paited the can white to make it brighter at night.

[Lyle O]

That is a head scratcher. I have an '87, and a couple of years ago I got around to also taking my tank/oil gage out and fixing the foggy glass. I found the same thing on the inside, and scraped it off with a razor blade. Made it incredibly clear. I put it back together and it's been in the car ever since. I assumed ALL the gage's had that film for a safety factor (non-shattering).

[Westfield]

My '88 is also the same. I was wondering why only one gauge was delaminating. I bought a glass lens from host but perhaps I don't need it.

[ganun]

Well at least mine is not a freak!

[Michael T]

It happened on my 1987 Targa. I suspect the black face of the left-most gauge sat in the sun, on an otherwise hot day in the interior.

[ganun]

So its an 87, 88 thing and it was put in as a UV filter to save the gauge.
Here is a pic of said plastic and also of the paint that matches the needles exactly.