Dealer License Plate/Tag Frame Restoration - Tutorial

[knewknew]

Hi all,
Just thought Id share the steps I took to restore a dealer tag that I came across. This was the original dealer for my car, so I am excited to have it. It was in pretty ratty shape and took a crack at a 'period correct' restoration. Since they were originally never painted that precisely, I figured that it was something I could handle.

I borrowed some supplies from the printmaking department at the college I work at: rubber roller and oil inks that typically used with the etching plates.

Before:

With Supplies:

Blue Background. For this step I used a small paint brush and thinned the ink (mineral spirits?), the ink is very thick so thinning is important in order to retain the textured background on the metal frame:

After the blue ink dried (took a few days), I applied the white ink on the lettering. I did not thin the ink during this step because I was afraid it would run off the surface of the letters:

Final Result. ...I should note that this ink is typically used on paper and is absorbed during the drying process, but when applied to metal it takes forever to dry, like a few weeks (not kidding). I even placed it in front of a space heater to accelerate the process, but it sure took its sweet time. In the future I would experiment with thinning the ink or using a different paint/ink:

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1970 Squareback

[Zundfolge1432]

Wow that turned out very nice. I’ve got a few of those that need attention

[my59]

Can you give up the pantone numbers on the blue and white used?
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my59: Well son, my grandfather died before I got to drive it, so does that answer your question?
our79: sunroof bus w/camper interior and 2.0 FI
Other:'12 Jetta, '77 Benz 300D, and a 74 MG Midget.

[56Cabrio]

[Patiently Impatient]

That's a cool plate frame, good job with it.

There's a show coming up soon in Asheville, isn't there? I was just down in NC for the Winter Volksfest in Raleigh, but I've been meaning to check out that Asheville show as well.

[knewknew]