I used artists pencils on the gauges. I blunted the point of the white pencil and rubbed it over each gauge. Only the high spots were colored white using this method. The red pencil was kept sharp and pointed to color the gauge needles.
As to painting the Chromed Tail Light Panel, I did no masking at all. I made a thick wash from Tamiya acrylic semigloss black. Since the part was chrome, the paint flowed very easily over the parts I wanted black, even the gas cap. Used a q-tip to swab up any excess. This method was surprisingly easy to do.
Thanks for all the comments. I saw the real thing about a year and 1/2 ago at an AACA car show, that was painted Presidential Blue, and decided to make this kit. Very impressive in 1:1.
As to the color choice, I wanted something teal. I'm not really a stickler for factory correct colors, just something that looks great. More of a custom guy.