Panel lighting

One of the things I still have to do is install instruments in my
instrument panel. Well another thing is actually get the instruments
too. ;-)

I guess panel lighting isn't the most critical issue I'm dealing with
but I'd like to hear about options. There seem so many choices now
for lighting, what with fiber optics, LED's and luminescent lighting.

One of the options I saw was somehow using clear plastic around each
guage to light it. The actual light bulbs were elsewhere and and
light passed through the plexiglass to shine down on the instrument.

This might end up being too complicated and too heavy but I thought
I'd ask if anyone had done this.

Most of the instruments should come with their own lighting so perhaps
this is a moot subject, but it's worth talking about.

I made a mental note to explore this subject when flying at night in
the C172 trainer. There were several instruments that did not light
up well, even though it was a new airplane.

I doubt I'll make a habit of flying at night but it is still a good
idea to check out the possibilities.

Thanks, Corky Scott