The light block in mine was deteriorated and gummy. So, just for grins, I removed it. The improvement was startling. The dial and pointer are edge lit and bright. It's hard to see what the need was.
I presume there must have been in issue (or some concern there would be an issue) of light leak around the perimeter of the VFO escutcheon, even with the rubber trim in place. I'm thinking about running a strip of 1/8" thick hard felt around the inside perimeter so that it extends just slightly (maybe 1/32") above the rubber trim — and will compress when the escutcheon is snugged to the panel.
Grant NQ5T