I had one professionally restored a few years back and the guy that did it told me that his process was to paint the whole plate the color of the letters and then paint the whole tag the background color. He then removes the paint from the letters to leave the bottom color showing. Sounds easy enough but I have tried with chemicals and with sanding and I can not get good results. Anybody know specifics of this type restoration? I want to learn to do it myself Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Get one of these rollers... http://www.t3licensing.com/video/clip/49304023_002.do More on the subject... http://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36415&showall=1
I did a california plate, and my trick was to paint the yellow letters with a Q-tip. This makes it very easy to paint a perfact edge.--TV
It's a pain to do them that way. I blast them then metal work, prime, paint the back ground then paint the letters with One shot. I've done a bunch of them locally. 28
I have searched and do find lots of stuff but not the method that I discussed. If I am missing something please point me in the right direction. I am not interested in the roller or one shot hand paint method because I am just not that talented. The remove the top layer seems good if I just knew the real details of chemicals etc. one thing I saw in reading was to clear the letter color before adding the base color and that is something that I did not try yet. Great idea. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
It wont work unless you clear it real good. Then sand the whole plate with 1000 grit, base the background color, then sand the letters, numbers with 1000 grit, finish with a coat of final clear.
After blasting the plate, paint the background color and then paint the lettering. If you have to, use tape to do the lettering. Something like an 'S' may be a little more difficult, but this is why you use 'one shot'. It should wipe off if still wet. Take your time. I sent the plates out if they are banged up.
The one I did in lacquer, I sandblasted the plate, primed it, painted it the color of the letters, then painted the background color. I then used a small sanding block and some 400 grit wet sandpaper and carefully sanded the letters until the color showed through then switched to a finer grit until I had a nice clean line along the edges of each letter. It is tedious and time consuming, but came out great.
How about using your method of the letter color first. Make a copy of the plate on a copy machine. Carefully cut out the letters from the paper copy, use some low tack glue and cover the letters. Now apply the background color. You may still have to sand the edges of the letters, but this will limit the amount of sanding.
I would think a silkscreen roller that can be had from a craft store would work the best. Paint the background color. Use the silkscreen roller for the letters. This roller only takes on surface paint and is not saturated with it like a napped roller. Plus, it is a solid surface roller. I think 3-4 passes with light coats of paint(as shown in the old video of plate painting) would be the best and easiest method.
I'm with 28tudor....paint background then paint letters with 1Shot and a decent quill. I've done several this way!
Good idea 54Buick48D. Ya the rollers from the depot (foam) just don't cut it, at least it didn't for me on this test plate. I painted the other one with 1shot and a brush. Now just have to redo this one.
I did the blk/yel CA plates on our 49 truck by blasting, welding, hammer dolly work and finally semi gloss rattle can black then 1 shot lemon yellow with a small good quality brush. I thought about the paint the whole plate yellow then black over the top but the plates need to be in really decent shape, fairly flat with good edges on the characters/numbers to sand it gently. Mine were just too beat up and this is a daily driver.
Here's the winning ticket! Soft nap rollers won't work. You need a rubber/urethane roller (more commonly refered to as a brayer). I just did a pair of '37 Illinois plates for a buddy. Creamy yellow background with Black letters & border. The brayer is the key to good results.
Yes sir. Napped rollers are made to leave a texture and get into crevices. Both of these can be seen in your picture. The flat non-porous roller used for silk screening will not leave a texture and does not seek out crevices. I would think coating the roller and making a run on paper to remove excess before rolling the plate would be the best course. Rinse and repeat until satisfied. ****looking at the vintage footage it looks like a silkscreen is employed and a silkscreen roller. Each pass is a uniform layer of paint.
To the OP: don't wait for the background to dry. Spray and then wipe the background color off the letters and numbers with a little lacquer thinner. Don't rub too hard because all you want to do at this point is to get the letter/number color to show with just streaks of the background color on. After that's done, let the paint completely dry, about week. and then get some 1500 to 2000 sand paper and lightly sand most of what's left of the unwanted background color. Then get some rubbing compound and clean it up, then wax. Remember if there is a pit, small dent in the letter/number, then just touch up that part with a brush because otherwise if you try and remove the background in that area, you will just end up removing the letter/number color also. By the way, use a lint free rag and not soaking with lacquer thinner, you just want the rag damp. Practice makes perfect.
Paint the letter color then the background color, when it is good and dry polish the background color off the letters with rubbing compound. It helps if you use lacquer and don't put the second color on too thick. This method allows very fine control.
I've done them that way, but I've let them dry overnight. I use old cloth hankies, dab then in thinner so it's just damp and take a swipe at each letter/number, always moving around to let the thinner dry before taking another swipe. When I have them where I want them, I rub & polish with compound, by hand. I've had the ones on my '37 Chevy for almost 20-years and I drive it 2-3k miles a year. They still look good.
I've done several tags and I found an easy route that anyone can do. I just use rattle can spray. First blast and prime your complete tag. Paint the complete front side of the tag first the color that the letters and numbers are suppose to be. Let it dry for a couple of days. Then paint the backside of the tag the regular color that the tag is suppose to be. Wait a few days til it cures. Then paint the entire front side of the tag the same as the backside, but instead of letting it dry.... Take a 2% reducer an with a lint free rag, carefully dab the cloth with 2% reducer and wipe across the letters and numbers removing the fresh paint. The reducer is just strong enough to remove the wet paint allowing the painted letters and numbers remain on the tag. It's so easy I can do a tag in about 15 min. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
instead of one shot and a quill I used one of these (available in different colors)... may take two coats http://www.ebay.com/itm/Testor-2545...996024774?pt=Model_Kit_US&hash=item19d7e0edc6
yes! Im getting ready to do a calif 1941 set, and I'm going to do it this way. I saw a woman at pomona swap meet doing it this way, and it was coming out good. They were making those personalized ones with your name on it. she had rolled it in the paint and then rolled it on a piece of paper first to take off the excess paint on the roller before applying it to the plates. I've done them in the past with gloss black rattle can for the background, testers gloss yellow for the letters, and scotch tape, and an exacto blade for the ends of the letters and they always came out good that way, but it took a long time to mask it off.
paint the background color-let it dry,then take a q tip dipped in vaseline & cover the numbers.Do around the edge of the no.s last after rolling the tip between your fingers to get a crisp edge .Paint your final color let it dry take a soft cloth and wipe off the numbers
The best one I have I did by painting the background color first and then block sanding down but they have to be perfectly straight. The bent up ones that I hammered out were hand painted letters but I'm too shakey to get them perfect. I have an artist friend I have do the letters and he gets them perfect. I would like to get better at straightening them. To that end I devised a sort of hardy hole by welding an old 1" impact socket into a banjo axle housing so I can make the hardys I need for backup.
I have restored approx. 300 sets of USA tags from 1916 to 1973, check out my website www.tagrestorer.com. What works for me is I paint the color of the digits first. Let dry/cure for a few days and then paint over the entire front of the plate with the base color. I wipe off the base color paint within 1 hour or so. This process depends on the type of paint, temperature and shop condition. I spent many hours and trial and error to get this process down pat. Now comes the tricky part try this on a plate that has reverse letters. I share this process with my fellow HAMBers . Click the thread below. I restored such a tag for a customer, a 1934 AR. tag.. See the photo http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=786409
And don't be suppin on yer kids energy drinks, before using the one shot... Nice clean edges don't happen when yer hopped up on caffeine!
Be sure to check with your state's DMV and see if they accept restored plates for YOM registration, some don't (if that is what you are planning to do). Charlie Stephens
great info but would any of you guys happen to know the correct or close enough yellow for the California 1956-1962 plates
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