We love our new MINI. The only 2 annoyances are the sunroof (see separate thread) and a reflection from the Speedometer glass. Under some lighting conditions, the reflection annoys the passenger (my wife) and makes her eyes hurt. Anyone experience this or have a cure?

 

Quick fix would be to wear polarized sunglasses. Would help a bit.

 

 

Go to your local sign shop and get some "matt" clear film.


I can get a roll but the smallest is 10 '' x 30 yards ... thats a lot of speedos.

 

Talk to your optometrist.
If you can pop out the speedo glass (actually plastic, I'm pretty sure),
you may be able to send it to their lens lab and get an antireflection
coating applied (I'm guessing about $50, maybe more since it's a lot bigger
than a spectacle lens), or, if they can't coat the stock material,
coat a thin blank plastic flat the same size (probably pricier).

If you can convince them you're not nuts, they might agree to do it.

 

ROFL @ Karl!!!

 

We have two issues here.
1. For the sunroof, put a shield between the mesh and the glass and it will stay cool. I would suggest a silvered reflecting sun cover. There are other threads that give web site etc. You can buy it, but we sewed our own out of an old windshield cover from a previos vehicle.
2. For the speedometer, Why are you reading it anyway and who cares? It is just a dinner plate to me.

 

The problem is that this type of film is cloudy, not completely clear. It works well if you apply it directly to an opaque surface from which you want to remove reflection. However, on the speedo it would be applied to a lens 1/2" away from gauge face, and you lose clarity looking through it. It would be similar to using "anti-glare" glass used in picture framing. This type of glass has a lightly etched surface to break up reflections. However, the manufacturers recommend that no more than 3 thicknesses of mat board separate the art from the glass, or detail in the art becomes blurred.

I am looking into this approach and should have some results soon. I don't think it will work out with the labs that optometrists use and I am trying a different source. Some anti-reflective coatings are truly amazing, reflecting less than 0.5% of the light that hits it and making it appear like there is no lens at all.