Folks Of Interest Who restores license plates????

I cleaned my 56 plate and final wipe with brake clean. Went looking for the yellow/gold at an ACE hardware. I think it was School Bus Yellow. Left them everyday in the sun for a week. Found a pin stripper at a show that did license plates. There must be one in your area. Turned out great.

 

he did 1 of mine.

 

Mine were not rusty so I cleaned then in a bead blaster, then powder coated the black back ground. I went to the local craft store and bought white paint pens made for glass. After painting the numbers, I baked them to cure the glass paint. With powder coat as a base, the number paint cleaned off without taking the base when a mistake or two was made.

 

Be careful with how long you soak it in CLR. I killed a very cool tag topper by soaking it too long. I say 30 minutes max.

 

I just now have the time to head out to the shop. Before soaking the plate in CLR I'm going to try spritzing it; wait 5 minutes or so, and wiping/rinsing off. I'll let you know how that turns out.

If that gets the rust off maybe I'll just attach it to an aluminum plate with all 4 bolts and not try to do anything with the cracks.

 

This fellow has done two or three for me over the years. I don't know about the others suggested but Lee is great.

Lee Lawson
1838 College Ave.
Conway, AR. 72034
phone: cell 501-628-4535 home 507-327-0810
leelawson1374@att.net

 

Erring on the side of caution I only soaked the plate in CLR for 5-10 minutes. That didn't do much. Next time I'll let it stay on longer.

b-t-w; I didn't immerse it, just poured some on and used a scrub brush to distribute it around. Next time I'll probably immerse it.

 

Today it's warm enough to spend time in my uninsulated shop; without lighting the wood stove.

I constructed a shallow plastic lined tray just the size for a license plate and began soaking the plate in CLR. As you can see I put it in at 3:40 (CDT). Any guesses how long it'll take? I'll be keeping an eye on it regardless.

The green is the yellow CLR covering the blue plastic.

 

It helps to scrub with a plastic brush or very fine scotch brite pads(white)

 

Here it is from the beginning of this thread:



Here it is after a 6-hour bath in CLR and a scrub with a stiff plastic bristled brush:



Tomorrow I plan to put it in earlier and leave it longer.

 

I used to live in Webster City 60 years ago. Ron and his brother had a gas station. Great guys.

 

I coat mine with some clear coat paint. It really makes the plate "pop".

 

At the beginning:



After the first 6 hour CLR bath:



After another (8 hour) CLR bath:



I think I'll give it another bath or two and call it quits.

I still might send it out for restoration but the more I've seen of this the more I think I'll keep the 50 year old look.

Would shooting it with clear ruin the aged look?

 

Thanx man. That's what I suspected but having never done it I didn't know.

 

You're getting good results, but I think the patina would be out of place with your shiny new paint. JMHO

 

I redid a 28 Maryland plate. It wasn't quite as bad as that one, but after I got it painted, I used a wide tipped paint marker to do the letters... easy-peasy. Gene.

 

9 1/2 hours more in CLR didn't make much of a change. I may be done.

However, I have citric acid and Evapo-rust on order so I may or may not do more when it arrives.

I don't think I'll have this one restored at this time. I'll run it on Clarence and see what it looks like, then decide whether I want restoration or not.

'28phonebooth might just have a point with contrasting shiny paint and ragged license plate. We'll just have to see.

 

There is a moral to this story: when you're wanting to scrape up some salt at Bonneville you probably should use something other than your license plate.

 

Here is one of my plates from the beginning of this thread...



Here it is after extensive CLR and vinegar baths:


That's the plate that's on Clarence right now.

Here's the other plate as it was the day I sent it to @oldpl8s:


Here it is when it arrived in my mailbox today:


So now I have a perfect restored plate and a patina plate. I can change them out as the occasion dictates.

 

Sign painter Derek McDonald.

https://www.goldenwestsignpainter.com/

 

I did mine, not real professional looking but it works for me, I just sanded it, beat in into submission and used One Shot sign paint. HRP

 

Be aware, it's illegal in many states to "alter" a license plate. That said, you'd have to run into a pretty crappy cop to give someone some flack on those beautiful examples posted thus far!

I've got YOM plates on all my old cars and most of them aren't actually registered to said vehicles because I'm cheap and the difference between a single plate and a matching pair (which is what CA requires you to have in order to assign to a vehicle) is crazy expensive. And I've never been harassed.

A vintage car with restored plates will probably not bat Johnny Law's eye, but it's worth mentioning that it's actually illegal in many jurisdictions.

 

Hi everyone!

I've got you covered if you're looking for professional license plate restoration! Under certain circumstances, I can also do some custom license plate replacements for 1956, 1963, and 1970s California plates.

Check out my work at davesclp.com – I’d love to help with your next project!

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or want to discuss your custom needs.

Cheers,

Tim

 

Where have you been for the last 7 years LOL? The great folks here on the HAMB could use a great plate restoration service. A good friend (Steve Hammatt) passed last year, but when he was here he serviced the hobby with awesome restored plates! Hope you can take his place & provide quality restoration service for everyone here.

God Bless & Merry Christmas
Bill
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/

 

Member used to be on here. Katfish Jack is his first name. He did several fit me. He moved from DFW Texas. I’ve lost contact with him.

 

Realizing it's an old thread.
I'm located in Colorado, I've done a few plates. Primarily paint and lettering, bur would like to give a shot at something a little further gone than what I've used before.