License plate restoration.

[J Man]

Is there anyone on here that either restores old plates so they can be used on cars or has had it done and can refer me to someone. I have a plate for my T I need taked care of. Thanks.

Jason

[willowbilly3]

There is a dealer of old plates that comes to all our local swap meets and he retores the Texas ones. I'll see if I can find his card.

[NITROFC]

Try ........

http://www.darrylsplates.com/

http://www.mojoartworks.com/

[SKR8PN]

try www.tagdr.com (http://www.tagdr.com)
I had darryl's do a set for me a few years back and it took him well over 6 months.........on an 8 week promise!

[leadsleadolds]

I did my own alot cheaper and now I have a new paint gun and still saved money.

[TagMan]

Nuttin' to restoring it yourself..............

- First of all, check the plate's numbers with your State DMV to make sure the numer is available, if you're going to register the vehicle using the plate under a "Vintage Plate" law. No sense restoring them, if you can't use 'em.

- Bead blast the plate to bare metal and repair any holes, bends, etc., just like you would any sheet metal.

- Primer / fill and sand the plate.

- Spray on the letter color on the front of the plate using lacquer paint. That is, if you have a yellow plate with black letters, paint the front of the plate black.

- After the paint has dried, spray just enough base plate color (yellow, in the example) to cover the black paint, and allow to dry for a couple of days.

- Using an old cloth hankerchief (trust me, they work the best), dampen a small spot of it with lacquer thinner and lightly, VERY lightly, wipe away the yellow paint over the letters / numbers on the plate until the black paint underneath just starts to show through. When you're wiping the paint off, move the cloth around to different areas so the paint won't "melt" and make a mess and keep using different areas on the cloth. Just have the cloth barely damp, not soaking, dripping wet.

- After most of the black numbers / letters start showing through the top color, switch to rubbing compound and rub the paint out until the numbers / letters are well defined and then use polishing compond on the whole plate.

I've found this method gives a nice shap edge to the characters, much better than I've ever been able to get using a rubber roller and I've used a bunch of different rollers of different hardnesses ("durometer" the right word??).

Anyways, here's a pic of a "half-assed" repaint I did for a show & tell on plate restoration at a club meeting some time ago, using rattle cans for paint................

http://home.rochester.rr.com/mrplates/plate1.jpg

-TagMan

[ESnacky6]

Damn..!!! with rattlecan..??

That looks really good..!!!

[53choptop]

sounds like a silly question, but what yellow is that?

[tommy]

http://fototime.com/{FD804E64-692C-447B-ADA9-A258E047DC7E}/picture.JPG
Interesting. I always did it the hard way with an artist brush. It would have been easier if they just used D.C. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Rattle can base with one shot letters.

[mrsgettingreasy]

TagMan you're a frikin' genious! I would have painted the base coat and hand painted the letters. I am not sure which would be more work. But your way would be the smoothest.

[safariknut]

Great tech post Tagman!I might even try one that way the next time I have a plate to paint.

[J Man]

Tagman Would you be interested in doing one for me?

[JP55]

very nice work

[hanginlow58]

this guy did a bitchin job on one for me, it was really mangled too.costed about $ 75.00//www.darrylsplates.com/

[manyolcars]

Tagman, have you tried laying a lacquer soaked cloth flat and rubbing the plate across it before the top coat is dry to remove the paint on the letters?

[TagMan]

[ QUOTE ]
sounds like a silly question, but what yellow is that?

[/ QUOTE ]

It's "School Bus Yellow" or "National Fleet Yellow", depending on the company. I used the back side of the plate (less fading) for match-up. N.Y., at least, must have used several different suppliers for the paint, as I've seen plates from the same year, with slightly different shades of yellow.

[ QUOTE ]
Tagman, have you tried laying a lacquer soaked cloth flat and rubbing the plate across it before the top coat is dry to remove the paint on the letters?

[/ QUOTE ]

No, I never tried doing that, but I know you can't get too much lacquer thinner on the plate for too long, as the paint will melt into the color beneath the top coat real easy. Wiping it off doesn't really take that much time and it gives you good control over the removal process.


[ QUOTE ]
Tagman Would you be interested in doing one for me?

[/ QUOTE ]

J-man,
Sorry, but I gotta beg off on doing the plate for you. I used to repaint them as a side business, but I wound up spending too much time at it and didn't get my own stuff done. Right now I've got more projects to do, then life left to do 'em!!

[J Man]

It was worth a shot. Thanks for the info everyone.

[50Fraud]

I had a pair done by Mojo a few weeks ago. Nice work, quick turnaround. He charges a flat $100 a pair.

[J Man]

I feel honered one of my posts has been rated.

[seldom scene]

Mojo Artworks did a pair for me a few years ago. Looked great then, look great now, got them back fast too.

[Slag Kustom]

i have done some with the wiping off the top layer of paint and it works great.

[james]

Be carefull to check the laws, the DMV here in florida said they refuse vintage plates that have been repainted, so if it's not too rough, maybe let them verify it and do what they need to before you restore it.

[TagMan]

In New York, you have to send in a colored photo of the plates with your paperwork & check. I've registered several cars by sending in photos of the plates AFTER they were repainted.....In the People's Republic of New York, all they're interested in is the check http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Seriously, I've been stopped a couple of times by State Troopers (once for speeding and once to shoot the shit about my car) and neither one ever said a thing about the plates being repainted.

[timebandit]

I have repainted plates using a slightly different methode.The plate has to be perfectly flat though. Spray the background colour first. When the paint is dry, pour thin oil on the plate being very careful not to touch the raised letters.
Then you spray the letter colour.
After the paint has dried just wash the plate and you are done.

[KATFISH]

I do them,
Check my website at :

www.vintageplaterestoration.com

[J Man]

I found out that OH is picky on the colors, are you able to match colors to satisfy each state?

[plym_46]

I did a couple with the method mentioned first paint theletter color then the field. Didn't seem like a big deal, here is my first try with the wrong color yellow. Took maybe 30 minutes total work time.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/gonyagl/oldstuff/acd11083.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/gonyagl/oldstuff/8bf059d3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/gonyagl/oldstuff/664b25de.jpg

[Swifster]

Dan Landino in Sterling Heights, MI does mine. PM for his number. He's always been very reasonable. Here is some of his work...

BEFORE

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i280/Swifster/Studebaker%20Stuff/1964LicensePlates.jpg

AFTER

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i280/Swifster/Studebaker%20Stuff/StudePlates-Pair.jpg

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i280/Swifster/License%20Plates/IMG_3560.jpg

[1oldtimer]

wow this is an old post brought back from the dead :). i had mojo redo one for me (mishap with the garage door :mad:), he did great bodywork, quick turn around....the color is slightly off but i can live with it. i do my own also, but it's very time consuming. blast, prime, let cure, paint letter color, let cure, paint background color, let cure, wet sand though to letter color on letters, then clear coat.............the first pic is after the garage door (i didn't have a good before shot) and the second is one i made for the house (it's in spray can......which didn't last a year in the sun :(). next one i need to use more reducer the paint was a little thick on the '47 plate, the numbers were crisper on the spray can '39 plate.

[joel torres]

i used tony @ tagrestorer.com this guys can make a any plate look brand new his site has photos


hey tony impala is who i was just talking about lol

[Ricks Garage]

I wnt to all the trouble to restore this plate....only to find out that Florida does not accept a "restored" plate to reuse...I got a good original one, more wall art....

When I got this you could not read the numbers it was SO rusty.
I first sandblasted it , then beadblasted. primed it with 4 coats.
then found the right orange and shot 3 coats. I hand lettered the
digits. wet sanded the large numbers THEN checked with DMV...
So the small letters are still rough....