Restore License Plate

Jakno

Jakno

Senior Member
When I bought my 35 Pickup the previous owner gave me the original License Plate for the truck. (He is a kind man). The condition of the plate is decent with only surface rust and minor pitting. I know of no way to remove the rust without removing most or all of the paint.
Should I leave it as is ??
 

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I good plate restorer can make you plate look new. But, He will have to Clean the rust and repaint. I think if you were just going to hang it on your wall then leave it as if, but for your car..I would go with restored, especially if you car is clean and newer looking.
If you have a non-restored looking car then the non restored plate will look good on the car.
Drive with the original plate for a month or so and see how it looks on the car...Your eye will tell you if it looks good or not.
Once i get my vintage plate approved by the DMV I will be doing the same thing soon.
Put it on the car for a while and see how it looks.
 
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That is nice patined plate great for a driver.However if it was frame of restored truck I would restore the tag ,that may I opinion .Good luck
 
Some states require only a single plate for YOM (year of manufacture) registration, is yours one of them? If the answer is only a single late is required find out if if can be restored? Many states will not accept a restored plate for YOM registration. If you want to sell your plate to a license plate collector it should be unrestored to get the highest value. Do you know what makes yours a commercial plate? In California the commercial plate has the small letters "PC" standing for "pneumatic commercial". Be careful, that plate may be worth more than you think.

Charlie Stephens
 
Charlie Stephens said:
Some states require only a single plate for YOM (year of manufacture) registration, is yours one of them? If the answer is only a single late is required find out if if can be restored? Many states will not accept a restored plate for YOM registration. If you want to sell your plate to a license plate collector it should be unrestored to get the highest value. Do you know what makes yours a commercial plate? In California the commercial plate has the small letters "PC" standing for "pneumatic commercial". Be careful, that plate may be worth more than you think.

Charlie Stephens
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Mr.Stephens, thanks for your reply. It's the kind of information I was hoping to get. I'm plan on contacting the Maine DMV Monday to see if I can use this plate. I also want to find out if I can track this plate registration back.
 
You can remove the rust by dipping it n "EvapoRust" for about 12 hours (the time will vary depending on the temperature and the amount of rust). The stuff is amazing; it will remove the rust and not touch the paint. I had a '50 Ford grille that looked OK from the out side, but was rusted on the inside. I soaked it in "EvapoRust" and it cleaned up really well. The original black paint in the grooves in the grille extensions (parking light units) was not touched. It's a little expensive ($80 for 5 gallons), but the stuff is really useful for lots of purposes. It is one product that does what it says.

It works by an ion exchange process called "chellation". It is not a solvent or and acid, so it won't hurt anything. I recently did a pair of Corvette seat belts and it removed all the rust and didn't affect the webbing at all. Try it on something else (an old rusty tool, etc.) first, and prepare to be amazed. You can also get a gallon from Amazon for about $30 with shipping.
 
tubman said:
You can remove the rust by dipping it n "EvapoRust" for about 12 hours (the time will vary depending on the temperature and the amount of rust). The stuff is amazing; it will remove the rust and not touch the paint. I had a '50 Ford grille that looked OK from the out side, but was rusted on the inside. I soaked it in "EvapoRust" and it cleaned up really well. The original black paint in the grooves in the grille extensions (parking light units) was not touched. It's a little expensive ($80 for 5 gallons), but the stuff is really useful for lots of purposes. It is one product that does what it says.

It works by an ion exchange process called "chellation". It is not a solvent or and acid, so it won't hurt anything. I recently did a pair of Corvette seat belts and it removed all the rust and didn't affect the webbing at all. Try it on something else (an old rusty tool, etc.) first, and prepare to be amazed. You can also get a gallon from Amazon for about $30 with shipping.
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You can get it at Horrible Freight as well.
 
As a license plate collector, I'd urge you to leave it as you received it, if you have only one plate. Restored plates to a collector, at least, are not very desirable and if you restored it, it would almost surely diminish the value.

On the other hand, I believe Maine issued plates in pairs that year and if you have a pair and want to sell them to someone that wants to display them on a vintage car that's been restored, then restoration of the plates would increase their value - enough to cover the cost of restoration? Probably not.........
 
Make sure you get the real stuff. In a pinch, I bought something called "Metal Restore" at Home Depot. It works the same way, but not nearly as well. (If "Horrible Freight" has the real deal, it's probably the cheapest place to get it.)
 
Leave that plate as-is, display it in a shadow box w/ other '35 PU stuff, noting this is the original plate for this truck, and seek out another set of plates restored or needing restored and run them on your truck.
 
I really like the original 1946 Texas License plate on my restored Woodie. Just something about the look of the aged plate that goes well with a restored car. Leave it original. JMO
 

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As noted beforehand, if you want to use vintage plate(s) on your road vehicle, the condition of the plate(s) must comply with Maine's regulations. State-to-State the regulations vary. Here in NY State the plates must be in good condition and "readable" by these new instant live video cameras mounted on the exterior of enforcement vehicles. I was lucky to obtain a vintage '47 plate in very good condition - no rust - and my DMV accepted it (NY in '47 only issued one plate per vehicle).
 
tubman said:
Make sure you get the real stuff. In a pinch, I bought something called "Metal Restore" at Home Depot. It works the same way, but not nearly as well. (If "Horrible Freight" has the real deal, it's probably the cheapest place to get it.)
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Yes, HF has the real deal.
 
I see a lot of guys saying "leave it alone". This may be fine if you have the perfect environment to store it in, but who has that? As I said above "Rust never sleeps"; you have to do something to arrest it. To the O/P; here's what I suggest you do. I am sure you can find an old license plate in the same condition somewhere for a minimal cost. Get a gallon of "Evapo-Rust" and place the junk plate in it for however long it takes to dissolve the rust. (You may have to replace the solution, as the ion exchange process depletes the solution.) Once it get where you like it, take it out, rinse in plain water, carefully dry it off, and leave it sit for a couple of weeks and see what happens. I believe you will be pleasantly surprised, and can then decide for yourself what to do with the original plate. The "Evapo-Rust" not only removes the existing rust from the surface, but also combines with the iron atoms on the surface to inhibit further rust. It's sure not POR-15 protection, but it's a lot better than nothing.
 
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