Vintage License Plate Restoration:

Discussions about general body work and modifications
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F15falcon
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2012 6:41 pm

Vintage License Plate Restoration:

Post by F15falcon »

In Texas, you can use a vintage license plate that matches the year of your classic car or truck as long as you have two plates in good condition with the proper colors. You can register them as either Classic Car which requires you to re-new the plates every year, or as Antique plates which are pro-rated on a five year cycle. Registering them as antique plates only requires one plate on the car (even though you need both of them to be approved at the county tax office) and you do not need a vehicle inspection sticker anymore. As antique plates, you are supposed to only use the car for parades, car shows and club activities, but I have used them on a few of my vehicles for years and the police really have not bothered me when I use the cars for a regular drive around town.

I had a couple of pairs of plates that were in nice condition, but they had a few nicks and dings in them. The county tax office said that for the plates to be approved, that I had to touch them up. I decided to totally repaint them and this is the process that worked the best and looks awesome:

Here is the plate I started with:

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Regular paint remover makes quick work of stripping the old paint off:

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A wire brush gets all the old paint off:

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Small dings can be worked out with a hammer and dolly. Filler may be needed on bigger dents. I used polyester primer to prime the plates:

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We now need to paint the plate. The numbers and letters are white so I painted the whole plate white with catalyzed urethane:

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When the paint is dry, I applied 5 coats of clear over the white:

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When the clear was dry, I applied two coats of black basecoat over the clear:

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The next thing to do is to very carefully sand through the black base coat to reveal the white numerals underneath. I use a sanding pad and 1200 grit sandpaper with lots of water:

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Since we applied 5 coats of clear, there is no chance of sanding through to the white underneath. Start with one numeral at a time until the edges are as nice as you want them:

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When all the numerals are to your liking, you can apply a couple of coats of catalyzed clear over the whole thing. The clear will bring out the shine in the black and the white and protect the whole plate:

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F15falcon
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2012 6:41 pm

Re: Vintage License Plate Restoration:

Post by F15falcon »

Here are a couple of the '69 and up plates that have to be reflective. I used a metallic white with a pearl on top, and they came out pretty awesome:

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popscomet
Posts: 9689
Joined: Sat Jan 01, 2011 11:19 pm
Location: Jacksonville, Arkansas

Re: Vintage License Plate Restoration:

Post by popscomet »

Have read all your POSTs ,thanks for the great INFO......POPs
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pop/glenda

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Groover
Posts: 1795
Joined: Wed Jun 02, 2010 11:36 pm
Location: Indianapolis, IN

Re: Vintage License Plate Restoration:

Post by Groover »

Yep, this is good stuff. Thanks for posting.
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1964 Comet Caliente Convertible
30,000 miles on our rebuild

All Comets start out as dreams...

6T5 404
Posts: 552
Joined: Mon Jun 19, 2006 6:44 pm
Location: Mansfield, OH

Re: Vintage License Plate Restoration:

Post by 6T5 404 »

Great information on all of your helpful posts. I guess I never thought of restoring the plates like this. I always painted the letters/numbers. Ohio has the same type of arrangement that allows you to use year of manufacture plates. I was fortunate enough to find a really great set of plates for my '65 that do not require any restoration. I do have some other plates that could be restored. I may just mess around and see how they turn out when I have the time. (That may be in the next life because I don't think I will have the time to finish all of my projects in this one.)
Dave

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Ratical
Posts: 664
Joined: Wed Jun 09, 2010 2:16 pm
Location: Smithville TN

Re: Vintage License Plate Restoration:

Post by Ratical »

Very nice info.. great job,,, and thanks for sharing.
Be Good and You Will Be Lonesome

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Boss/Cyclone
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Joined: Thu Oct 19, 2006 9:55 pm
Location: South Central Michigan (Near Michigan International Speedway)

Re: Vintage License Plate Restoration:

Post by Boss/Cyclone »

Some states like New York allow vintage plates, but they can not be restored, must be original. Here in MIchigan they say they should be original but they don't check.
1965 Mercury Cyclone former drag car, 1971 Boss 351 engine, 4 speed, ladder bars, etc. Now returned to a street car.
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Larry

RCMike
Posts: 512
Joined: Sun May 01, 2011 8:58 pm
Location: Pomona, California

Re: Vintage License Plate Restoration:

Post by RCMike »

Yes, in California, if you want to put vintage plates on the car, get them assigned before any restoration begins. If eh have been restored, the DMV will not accept them.

Once they are assigned to the car, restore away!
'63 Comet Hardtop

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