Several people responded directly to me regarding the article in CLASSIC
AUTO RESTORER on how to restore old license plates, including a request
for a summary of the article. Since this subject seems to come up on a
regular basis I thought a summary would be a good idea. For people on
the british-cars list, I'm referring to a message I originally sent to
classic-mustangs.
The article in question was published in the April 1991 issue of CAR.
I'm not sure if reprints are available but anyone interested in finding
out might try contacting the magazine at:
P.O. Box 6050
Mission Viejo, CA 92690
714-855-8822
714-855-3045
This is the Editoral/Production/Circulation/Dealers Sales Office
address and number.
Also:
Classic Auto Restorers
P.O Box 520
Mt. Morris, IL 61054-0520
815-734-6083
For subscription information. I believe the rate is between $13-$15/year.
CAR is a bi-monthly but it does have a "slicker" format than similar
publications; i.e. fairly good quality photos and slick surfaced pages.
It's a bit hard to find on newsstands but I have seen it here in the SF
Bay Area at Fry's Electronics. If you think you might be interested in
a subscription I recommend buying one or two issues first, if possible.
My summary follows. Here and there I've included comments based on
personal experience restoring small parts. I welcome any addition,
comments or corrections.
BEFORE YOU START
Get a good fix on the background and number colors before stripping the
plates. This may be the only source of this information readily
available for older, rarer plates. Use a cleaner/wax or whatever to get
the paint as close to original as possible. Most likely you'll have to
eye-match from auto paint catalogs. Solid, non metallic truck colors
are probably your best bet. Make sure to check the back side of the
plate too if it will be exposed when mounted on the car.
If the plate is in too poor a condition to discern the color, you'll have
to locate a similar plate. Car shows and old license plate dealers are
possible sources. Make sure the plate you use as a reference wasn't
restored to incorrect colors. In the worst case, you may have to
guess.
BUYING THE PAINT
If you're lucky the paint shop will have pre-mixed paint of the "proper"
color. More likely you'll have to have small quantities mixed. A
pint of each color is plenty. Use enamel so that it goes on glossy
without needing to be rubbed out. Remember, it's a license plate and
never had the super-gloss finish your car has.
PREPARATION
Strip off all of the old paint. This can be done by hand sanding,
sandblasting or chemical stripping. Sandblasting has the added benefit
of removing rust along with the paint. But not everyone has
sandblasting equipment. Personally I prefer using a chemical remover
for the paint and phosphoric acid for rust/surface pre-paint
preparation. One paint stripping technique I've used is to soak the
piece in a hot trisodium phosphate (TSP) solution. About a half hour of
this treatment will strip to bare metal. A Drano solution works even
better but is more dangerous to use. You don't want to get any on your
skin, or worse yet, in your eyes. Be careful if you decide on this
method. And of course there are the commercial strippers available at
your local hardware store.
Next make sure all rust is completely removed. Acid treatment is
better than sanding/blasting in my opinion because it gets to oxide
molecules that can't be easily accessed or seen. Phosphoric acid (Naval
Jelly, Metalprep, et cetera) leaves a coating on the surface that
protects it temporarily from further rust and can be painted over.
Fill in any holes. Welding is best but if you don't have the equipment,
epoxy will do. Use tape on the opposite side to keep the epoxy glue in
place.
Smooth up the surfaces with sandpaper.
PAINTING
Coat the surface with the proper primer. Put on several coats to cover
any surface flaws or minor pitting. If pitting is serious, use a
high-build primer. I've even put this type of primer on with a brush.
Re-prime and sand as needed to get the surface smooth and well covered.
Final Colors- method A
----------------------
Spray on the background color. Use an aerosol can if your paint
supplier was willing to package it that way. If not, re-usable
aerosol setups are available from most hardware stores. My favorite
method for small parts is an airbrush. You can buy a cheap airbrush
from any model shop and a good many toy stores. They're good for even
largish pieces like differential cases and dashboards. They have the
added benefit of limiting overspray. Of course if you have a compressor
and spray paint gear, that will do as well, if you don't mind the
clean-up involved for such a small quantity of paint. I use a large
cardboard box as a spray booth for small pieces like this. A large
plastic bag works well as a covering for the opening in the box.
Several methods can be used to apply the numbers:
1. Roll-on. This was the method used on most plates originally. It was
quick, easy and cheap. Rollers are available from printing and art
supply shops.
2. By hand. For this method you'll need sign painting enamel, a good
quality, even bristled brush and a steady hand. Do NOT try this with
automotive enamel. If you don't think you have a steady enough hand,
check into having a professional sign painter do it for you.
3. Mask-off. Mask off the background and spray on the numbers. You can
use very fine sandpaper (1200-1500) to "roughen" up the edges of the
numbers to give them a rolled on look. Do this wet.
Final Colors- method B
----------------------
Spray the enire plate with several coats of the number color. Let this
paint dry thoroughly. Next, spray on the background color. Only spray
on enough to get good coverage, particularly in the numbers areas.
After this coat dries thoroughly, use 600 grit sandpaper to carefully
wet sand the background layer off of the numbers. Use a fine polishing
compound to smooth out any sanding scratches.
Roland Dudley
cobra@cdc.hp.com
|