Ok, I finally got around to doing a little testing. I bought a gauge surround from Ebay and smoothed it as a test. Check out the pics and tell me which you like better.

 

I like the smooth look

 

Smooooth

 

Smooth...

 

smooth it man.

it looks good

 

I love the color and the rough look!

 

I like the textured look personally, causes less glare in sunlight. But real curious to where your going here.

 

I like it rough and non-smurfy.

 

It's an ever evolving process. I have issues and can't leave anything alone. I'm looking into trying to make the RPD into a HUD after seeing the reflection on the windshield. I'm a member of modder's anonymous and I have just over 12 hours clean.

 

you could possibly clear it with a matte finish, if you wanna eliminate the glare. i ended up matte clearing my dash-top glove-box speaker box, cuz there was way too much glare. and yeah, i hear ya about the need to constantly be modding... the only thing in my car untouched right now is the dash cover... well thats the only interior panel i havn't removed yet