I guess I just didn't notice them with the stock blue faceplate, but since installing the red one today, there have been red horizontal lines across the display. They are faint, but definitely noticeable. I took the faceplate off and noticed that they come from wires that actually cross the front of the VFD. Is it normal to see them so clearly with a faceplate on?

I'm quite happy with the new color, because the red matches the dashboard illumination of my '99 Civic Si perfectly. For anyone who's curious, I ordered the faceplate set from carplayer.com, and everything went smoothly. Still, paying ~$50 total for pieces of coated plastic does feel a bit wrong. I'll get over it.