Well, the little "bootie" things AutoMeter supplies are more or less worthless. If you want a different color backlighting, the best thing to do it actually use a thin coat of paint on the bulb. What series of gauge did he buy? Their black-faced gauges can be pretty difficult to read at night, even with just the normal bulbs in them. I would recommend either the Ultra-Lites or the Phantom series. I've had Phantoms in 3 different cars and they're usually so bright that I have to do something to keep them from blinding me at night. If your friend wants blue backlighting, he should check out the new Cobalt series. I've never seen them installed, but they're designed with blue dial lighting.
As far as accuracy- AutoMeter mechanical gauges (especially the higher quality units) are more than enough for street cars and most race cars. Installing them properly is half the battle, though. Use braided stainless lines on the oil pressure gauge and you'll see every pulsation in the oil system. I'm not a big fan of electrical gauges for anything that can be safely measured directly, so I can't comment on the accuracy of their electrical pressure and temperature units. For the price, AutoMeters are good enough. Yes, you can spend more, and yes, you get what you pay for- but for most of us with relatively meager budgets, AutoMeter will get the job done.

If I had the money, I'd get a Stack road car or rally dash and an Omori boost/egt gauge. Unfortunately, I don't.