RESTORE PLATE.mov

Restoring a 1915 license plate.

[@rowansjay]

You are a skilled artisan. Thanks!

[@coover65]

This is probably the best repaint I've seen on KZbin. Many have the letters too narrow or too wide compared to original.

[@aqfarn]

I believe restoring plates is OK in most states, but some forbid it. Check with your DMV first. When I hear of states like New York not allowing restored plates I wonder how they can tell whether a plate is restored or NOS. I also wonder why they have such a requirement. Restored plates don't seem to cause any problem in the states which allow them.

[@Tarmim_pelack]

Adrees enestagram?

[@aqfarn]

No Instagram. [e-mail]

[@MrWeedDaddy]

I just finished restoring an 1931 Kansas plate. Your video was very helpful, thank you!

[@30CalCoreLokt]

wow! Looks great! i have three plates i need to refinish. I have a match set of 32s and a 20. all three will be going on cars we own. I kept up with you untill you you broke out the squeegie. what kind of screen/paint/squeegie are you using to do the letters? this looks awesome and a real easy way of painting the numbers once you have it. Did you make it? Also, i have seen your other T vids and they have been VERY helpful to me :) thanks for doing this!

[@aqfarn]

The background paint was Rustoleum, both primer and yellow. The black enamel was Nazdar 59111, made for use on metal. It's expensive, but excellent. It's available in quarts and gallons, and just a quart will go a long way. To keep it from straying off the raised numbers and letters, I used it straight out of the can with no thinning. Even a little thicker would have been better. Screen material was about 180 mesh, but any will do. Paint thinner to clean the screen was Kleen-Strip from Wal-Mart.

[@carolinacountrycookinbbq5846]

I have 2 Plates for my 1966 Mustang that I would like to have restored how much would you charge

[@aqfarn]

Sorry, since I retired the equipment is gone. Google finishmyplates.

[@lauradahlus]

Beautiful work. A true artist. Soooo.... How much you charge to restore a washington state 1976 plate? ☺

[@eliworks8549]

I just did one I free handed the letters, then the next I masked them the best I could. They only look acceptable in pictures or at a distance. Your letters look really good.

[@aqfarn]

Depends on where you are. Some states forbid restoration, though I wonder how they could tell the difference between a properly restored plate and a well-preserved one. Most states don't care. In Kansas I just took the plate to the tag office, and they made a photocopy of it and issued the registration. Check with a local DMV. If you don't like what they tell you, call other offices. The answer often depends on who you ask. It's also wise not to volunteer any information they don't ask for.

[@600miles]

I had that too when I registered a car for a friend who was disabled. One office told me I needed an appraisal and a bond and a different office said $24, thank you very much !

[@antonioirineudemoura991]

No Brasil, as placas eram afixadas em veículos com um lacre. Se as placas estavam com visualização difícil, a multa era certa. Se fosse recuperada, desde que no padrão original, mantidos os lacres, não era problema. Porém, o governo de esquerda adotou as placas do MERCOSUL, sem lacres... placas do mesmo padrão para todos os países da América do Sul, que é uma porcaria dificulta a identificação até por parte da Polícia. Falo da Polícia do Brasil...

[@theedrstrangelove]

Great job! But you know up until around 1975, prisoners cranked out about 4 thousand plates a day in Florida.

[@davidd.perata2085]

Great work! How much would that restoration of cost if you did it as a business?

[@MadelnJapan]

Thanks for the Video, learn something new... Life is learning ;)

[@lauradahlus]

Hi, What do you mean by cooked? Do you put the plate in the oven? 🤔

[@lauradahlus]

Thanks for the video. Any idea on what to use or do if the plate (1976) requires the reflective material on it?

[@aqfarn]

Nope. No experience with anything that modern.

[@Djkyle65]

Would love to know about the screen and paint as well Thanks for the great video!

[@CheapGeek]

Enjoyed this video! Thanks!

[@dustinormaggiehunter1573]

Beautiful work, thanks for sharing your skill!

[@chloek5705]

hey I'm 13 and collect license plates, I want to restore a couple that are . pretty screwed up. I do not have any equipment for It though, can you help me out by giving.me a cheap, easy way to do this. thanks. by the way this is my sisters acount

[@aqfarn]

Spray the numbers in a few light coats, not one heavy coat. You can bake again, but peel all the tape first. How this looks will depend on how careful you are and how much attention you pay to detail when you apply the tape. I've seen plates done this way that look pretty good. Up close you can see how they were done, but from a distance they're OK.

[@hebneh]

Been there, done that, and I never attained anything like these results - of course I never had most of this equipment. It's ironic that license plates were manufactured as throwaway items, and even with all this painstaking hand-work, you still can't achieve the look that the original item had when it came out of a factory where nobody cared about the level of the finish.

[@daryllpanuncialman4151]

yeah can qa

[@timbrilz]

I would recommend sand blasting the plate with low presser, so as you do not warp it. This would be alittle cleaner and less hassle then stripping and then re stripping. I would us a metal galesing puddy to feel in the minor imperfections, or bondo. The puddy is easyer to sand. Then use a high build primer epoxy or direct to metal primer surfacer. This way your not painting over bare metal. After sanding, finishing off with 400 grit you should use a acrylic enamel.

[@aqfarn]

The black paint used here was Nazdar 59000 series, which is made for use on metal. I always got mine directly from Nazdar (nazdar.com). Right out of the can with NO thinning. You want it just thin enough for the squeegee to shove it though the mesh, but not thin enough to spread off the raised numbers and letters. In fact, I got a little spreading I had to wipe off with a tissue and thinner, so if I were using that can of paint for another plate I'd let it sit and thicken.

[@aqfarn]

I would agree with most of the comments by thecanadian152002 except for the 400 grit. It would pass the 20-20 test (twenty feet away at twenty mph), but up close you would see scratches. I would finish with a grit of at least 800.

[@aqfarn]

Kansas, 1915.

[@aqfarn]

The screen material is a synthetic mesh made for screen printing. Window screen, whether metal or synthetic, is far too coarse and will not work. A mesh of 158 threads per inch will work fine. If I were setting up to do a lot of this work on a regular basis, I might make my own wood frame and stretch & staple the mesh on it. But it would probably be much easier and more effective to go to a local screen printing shop (think tee shirts) and buy a screen ready made.

[@negnewt]

these are exactly the videos i am looking for! simple restorations. btw- i went out and bought evaporust today. WORKS GREAT!!!! THANKS A TON

[@aqfarn]

I wish I could, but I don't know of a cheap way that will get the same results. I think the way you'll come closest is to spray on the background color then mask the background with masking tape and spray the other color on the numbers and letters, then peel the tape off the background when the paint is dry. Two cautions: Be sure the background color is completely dry before you paint the numbers. Wait a week, or bake overnight at 180º to 250º.

[@aqfarn]

Bead blasting probably would have been fine. I stripped and derusted chemically because I could do it indoors during cold weather. It was just more convenient. I did this work in a sign factory with a big walk-in oven, but for license plates a kitchen oven would work just as well. Nazdar recommends 180º, and that's what we used. I left the plate cooking overnight with the signs. If you're doing a plate that includes a dark blue, I'd cook it for at least a couple of days.

[@aqfarn]

Oh, don't do that. I'm retired from the sign factory and not set up for screening here at home. Being retired, I'm also too busy with other projects. :>) Contact GERALD THIELE 1955 CENTER DRIVE VERNON, TX 76384. He does beautiful license plate restorations.

[@MrWeedDaddy]

I also forgot to ask, when you painted the letters and numbers on the plate, what were you using? It looked like a silk screen and squeegee? It would be greatly appreciated to here back from you. I have been spending my summer break from high school restoring antiques. Thankyou, Kyle

[@scramblendan]

The echoing in the background gives away the fact that your work space is in the hull of a super tanker floating off the shore of Denver Ohio.

[@JeffreyIsbell]

Great video. Just fyi, some people add a list of products, tools, etc in the notes section. It is just above the top comment. Thanks!

[@JamesLeonMahan]

Tip, If you will apply the remover in one direction only and let it set for 30 minutes it will be easier to remove. has to be at least 74 degrees in the room you are working in. Great Video!

[@milanstankovic4149]

What screen he start to use on 15:04? Please if anybody know's...

[@aqfarn]

Nazdar 59 series enamel, no thinning. Screen was about 180 mesh if I recall correctly. Most of the work is in the "body repair", getting all the dents out and getting the surface flat.

[@milanstankovic4149]

Thank you for answer!

[@adrianmiramontes934]

Any info on what type of tools you used to hammer out the dents? Thanks

[@aqfarn]

This was six years ago, but as I remember it the plate didn't require much body work. It was good to start with. I think there was one small dent I fixed with a hammer and a drift. No special body tools.

[@adrianmiramontes934]

Thank you! Had no idea the tool was called a drift.

[@aqfarn]

It's just a brass or steel bar. Easier to keep it on the target than trying to hit a particular spot directly with the hammer.

[@aqfarn]

Yes, screen and squeegee with Nazdar 59000 series enamel, no thinning. Even a little thicker would have been better.

[@doctorwu222]

Great job! Interesting and informative. Thank you for posting.

[@roscoendixie]

MAINE had Porcelain plates up to '41. I actually have the Original Plate - from ALABAMA with the deler frame -

[@1stBorracho]

Nice work Sir. I wash you were doing my plates for my wife's car.

[@wearevenom74]

How much a job like this would cost to get done? For both plates?

[@rotaryaddict]

Very satisfying video. Thanks for the upload!

[@DILLIGAF2101]

Not too bad? Hell, that plate probably looks better than the day it was made!

[@xolomiquiztli5951]

what tools are the ones you used to straighten the plate and where can I buy them

[@drorandorly]

What will be the cost if I'll send you my plate ?

[@hovoratevosian8362]

I think you did an excellent job I enjoyed watching your video very much. Thank u for posting. :)

[@chgovfk1]

Great Video - Thanks !!

[@dougcoxon5472]

Looks great to me . Nice work.

[@mopeooo]

Hi great video I would like to ask , what was the fan or blower noise I heard just after you applied the black, before lifting the screen? Was it background shop noise or did it have something to do with the process?

[@aqfarn]

That's a shop vac. Look again at the plate being put on the table before screening. Notice the hole in the table. The hose from the vacuum is in that hole. It holds down the blank when you lift the screen. If the blank stuck to the screen and came up with it, you could get smears.

[@aqfarn]

Nazdar 59 series enamel, no thinning. Screen was about 180 mesh if I recall correctly. Most of the work is in the "body repair", getting all the dents out and getting the surface flat.

[@Nick-eu9sy]

aqfarn I have a set of 1936 Connecticut plates that I am doing I would just like you opinion on how to paint the numbers. It is proving quite difficult for me. Lmk thanks

[@chloek5705]

I mostly need help with the painting part though

[@MrPitorkas]

Can u restore my license plates? I got a ticket and I don't want to change them. How much $ and what's ur address.

[@aqfarn]

No, sorry. Since I retired I don't have the equipment for it. Try www.finishyourplates.com/.

[@aqfarn]

Nobody is making 1915 plates anymore. :>)

[@kc0jtl]

Looks great, are you working in a cave?

[@poochie49]

Nice video. Is there a reference site that gives you the original colors of each state/province?

[@aqfarn]

Yes, I've seen at least one. Try a Google search. It should turn up.

[@Metzuyan1980]

that is truly amazing...

[@irvincible]

Hello. Can you restore my plates? Also what's the price?

[@aqfarn2055]

No, I no longer have the equipment. Try here: www.finishyourplates.com/

[@MuzzaHukka]

How do I contact Gerald Thiele, and does he do European plates?

[@aqfarn2055]

I talked to Gerald last month at Chickasha. He's now doing plates on a "when I have the time and feel like it" basis. His email: [e-mail] If he declines, check out finishyourplates.com.

[@staceyfanny]

The black paint you use is very thick which is necessary for screen printing but what I need to know is what sort of paint is it. Is it ordinary enamel paint that is altra thick?? or is it screen printing ink?, need to know

[@aqfarn]

Nazdar 59 series screen printing enamel.

[@staceyfanny]

thanks for that reply appreciate itcheers

[@NineFourOneMedia]

Really nice work.

[@smvml89]

Hi. Great video, but what kind of painting did you use for both the background and the letters and numbers of the plate?

[@aqfarn2055]

Background was Rustoleum. Black was Nazdar 59000 series screening enamel with no thinning.

[@smvml89]

Oh ok. Thanks a lot!

[@reviewmaster4586]

Excellent Work....

[@TheSnake4149]

excellent job!!!!!!!!

[@leroyduran2234]

who can make new mexico front plate with logo? ?

[@aqfarn]

I don't know. Have you tried a Google search? There's probably somebody who makes plates.

[@earlrobinson4600]

Hi

[@xxxxzenonxxxx]

I use to make license plates in jail, are you looking for help?

[@SuperCody1124]

LOL ,with experience. one could even say an, Authority on the Subject

[@xolomiquiztli5951]

+aqfarn

[@drorandorly]

Thank you

[@Emanistan]

What grit sandpaper do you use for this type of job?

[@aqfarn]

800 for finish.

[@nickpranzetti805]

Use you're belt sander with 100 grit. You'll do fine just take er slow

[@TheCuber2400]

Where is this plate from?

[@davideulenstein187]

Kansas

[@davidteasdale1]

Anyone else think he sounds like Donald Sutherland? Is Donald Sutherland a licence plate restorer now?

[@Fucknuts4u]

no

[@puntangbandit3987]

Great video What material is the screen made of..

[@aqfarn]

+PUNTANG BANDIT It's a synthetic material from Nazdar called Saatilene. The mesh is 158.