dagersh, markb,
In the first place most of what I've learned came from here. That's what's neat about this place. There are a lot of talented folks here and most of this stuff has been done before by others, especially gauges. In any event I have found that you need to hold the two halfs of the gauge together really tight with something while you roll the ring back over. Otherwise it just won't go unless you're really strong and I'm not. So it's just a jig with a hole it it that the gauge face side of the ring presses against. Then I press the back of the gauge down onto the front side by tightening the two bolts which also holds it in place while I struggle bending the ring back over. It's not my favorite thing to do. But I learned it from somebody here.
And yes, I'm retired so I can do this all day long if I want here in sunny Southern California.
I wanted to do the anodizing because that's stock and I like the way anodizing looks. Besides I thought brake fluid would take the paint off since I always seem to get it everywhere. And besides, I can't paint. Every time I try I get orange peel so I gave up.