Hard driving shifter bezel to Battlezone joystick bezel

[paigeoliver]

Ok, when I got my Battlezone cabinet it came with one original cracked joystick bezel, and one uncracked Hard Drivin shifter bezel. Now this is the same exact part, except that the shifter bezel has the numbers 1 through 4 on it.

I just bought a hard drivin shifter assembly on ebay to get another bezel (to replace my cracked one).

Now, what is the best way to get the numbers off. They are molded on as part of the unit itself.

Should I just sand them off, and then paint? Or buff them off, or what?

[Tailgunner]

Had to think about this for awhile, at first I was like "I don't remember there being a periscope bezel on a Hard Driving cab."

What I'd do would be to lay a sheet of sandpaper down on a smooth surface.  Place the shifter bezel on it so that it's resting on the numbers, sand in circles till they're nearly flush with the rest of it. When you're close, switch to a fine grade of sand paper and repeat. Once they're completely gone, a final pass on 400 grit should polish the face up where it's usable without painting.