Folks Of Interest Who restores license plates????

This is what a license plate looks like after multiple uses scooping salt at Bonneville. Since I've had this plate for almost 50 years I'd like to get it restored. It's still the valid plate on Clarence.

Who (on here or not) can restore this?

 

Mike, your plate is in the same condition as the '36 Colorado plate i picked up for my truck. Soak it in vinegar to remove the rust, patch up the cracks/tears/holes with JB weld, spray the field the right color and brush in the letters. I did mine, its not perfect but Colorado DMV said it was good . If I can do it, " YOU CAN DOOO IT". Give it a shot. Mitch

 

I did my 28 pa plate like Mitch described only I used rust 911.
I tell everyone that my 5 year old grandson did it for me.

Truth be told about your plate, with 50 years of history that includes Bonneville is way too kool to refinish

 

I'm kinda with @CSPIDY here. I might give it rudimentary cleaning, just enough. Spray the whole thing with 2 coats of semi-gloss Krylon clear, get a small rubber roller from a hobby store and re-roll the numbers and letters. History preserved, legality (legible numbers) handled.

 

My dad and I did a couple of plates with the krylon and a paint marker and they looked very presentable. I’m fixing to do several more but I’m going to soda blast them first and fix what few dings that are there and base coat then roll the numbers and letters then clear over them. They should stay looking good for the rest of my life and then my kids can figure out how to fix them.

 

Yeah, same here, preserve what you got.
I just gave mine a CLR bath, then smeared some of that Gibbs shit on it-done...well, at least till I figure out a way to use my NOS Black 1963 plates.

 

Mitch, I'm visualizing you smearing the JB on the back built up heavily over the cracks. Yes/no?

Thanx cob. If I decide to restore to perfection I'll call him. And TIA if you snag a business card.


To all; I never considered keeping the patina. Perhaps that's the way to go. Maybe if the rust stains go away it will be a lot more readable and the white will show up better.

 

I did electrolysis cleaning on mine, got most of the rust off. I then hand sanded it and spayed primer on it and sanded it again. I then sprayed it with gloss black. After a few days to let it dry good, I took grease and carefully coated each letter and number, wiping off any excess. I then sprayed it with white. After that dried, I carefully wiped the letters off. Ended up with neat black letters on the white background. Not perfect, but close.

 

Yea Mike, I smeared it on the back as smooth and thin ( I did 2 coats) as possible. After the JB setup, the plate became pretty ridgid, I supose it would have failed if I really torqued on it. The back wasnt necessarily pretty but who looks at the back of a license plate anyhow. Right? Mitch

 

I worry about all those cracks if should I try to restore this thing by myself (or to keep the patina). Is the JB the best way to go here or is there something I'm not thinking of that might be better? I'm thinking repair by even a great TIG welder would necessitate total restoration. And I don't do TIG; although I've got several friends who are very good at it.

 

do a search at top of main page - this has been covered many times before

 

Get it restored..... Clarence deserves that much!

 

Those fatigue cracks just above " historic vehicle " look like the main problem for the next 50 years . First i would try to get the creamy background colour in shape. If you can at least get some colour back your almost home. If you lay it in fresh cleaning vinegar check it at first every half hour with a brush to see that the old creamy paint does,nt disolve. Don,t use dirty contaminated vinegar . Then what mitch 36 says. How about a new mounting bracket using the top holes ?

 

A backer plate might be a good idea if the plate is weak.

 

@oldpl8s here on the HAMB restores plates IIRC.

 

The fatigue cracks are because it was mounted on the front bumper using only the two bottom holes and the wind pushing on it. When I use it again it'll be on the back (no wind) using all 4 holes. And I'll probably cut a backer of sheet metal to go behind that.

 

A lot of years I do have black letters so when I take them to DMV I have used a black permanent marker to Brighten the numbers and letters up and cover scratches and missing paint. Passes inspection, then fades nicely in use!

Dave

 

I've made a backing plate for mine out of aluminum. Only have a rear plate per DMV, hanging from the top mounting holes, keeps the plate from flexing and cracking. Actually the 1/16" or so of JB weld makes the plate fairly ridgid. I kinda bent the rules a bit, after the DMV approved the plate, I somewhat distressed it so it wasnt so squeeky clean and shiney and better matched the worn look of the truck....Mitch

 

Mike, I just used Oshpo on my 56 tag and it got rid of all the surface rust. Doesn’t fix the crack problem though.

 

Those of you who've suggested the rubber roller for the numbers/letters - what sort of roller have you used? I have attempted to use a somewhat soft sponge-type which bubbles the paint and rolls over the edges.. have also tried a more firm rubber roller which then "skates" in the wet paint and also does a terrible job. My next attempt would be to lay on several heavy spray coats of the letter colour and then a coat of the background shade. The final step would be to sand/polish my way back through the background to reveal the letters..? I have a couple of "restored" plates others have done by brush, and although they are nice, they don't have that factory printed appearance.. Thoughts?

-Dave

 

I bought some CLR today while I was in town. We'll see how that works.

I've got vinegar in a crock pot in the shop to do bolts and such with. I can clean it out and put fresh vinegar in it if I need to.

 

Lots of guys mentioned in Hemmings if you want it restored.

 

After seeing the suggestions about keeping the "old age" look I think I'll try that first.

Thanx to all who have taken the time to respond.

 

I'm here to tell you, don't leave it in vinegar or citric acid too long, or it could go all Swiss cheese on you.


So, uh, anybody looking for a deal on a "restorable" 1932 California plate?

 

ClarkH's right, if you use vinegar, you have to be vigilant in keeping tabs on the progress. My plate had some real good swiss cheese going, but it was in piss poor shape to begin with so I wasnt too suprised. Mitch

 

I'm not a fan of yom plates on Modified vehicles as I just can't get my head around why a guy who does a 1960's build with an overhead V8 wants exact year plates on his ride that would never have been on in 1960. Or worse yet the Billet and fiberglass brigade who run yom plates.

That said, every state seems to have different rules on what their criteria is for checking and passing yom plates for use. Some are pretty easy on it and some won't accept a restored plate at time of inspection. That doesn't mean that you can't restore it after they inspect it and tell themselves that it is an actual original plate though.

 

It's easier than you think. Get any repair and primer done. Then spray it the color of the letters. Dry, then spray several coats of clear. Dry, then spray the main color. Go back and wet sand the letters to expose the letter color. Clear the top coat. Easy peasy.

 

While Missouri allows YOM plates; this is different. This is a "Historic Vehicle" plate. Lots of states have something similar.

 

Because states don't allow "year of theme" license plates and modern plates look out of place.

Some of the states have specialty plates for antique and collectable cars that kind of bridge the gap, but then you'll likely wind up with a dorky "ANTIQUE", "HISTORICAL", or whatever text emblazoned across the plate.

ex)