....anyone know of a place that cleans up and straightens out your original plates? I like mine but it looks like someone tried to touch them up and failed, lol.... -Cin
Is your original plate the one that came with the car in 1969? Or just a plate you've had a while? I've straightened a few plates out after some damage caused by trailer hitches, etc. The problem is some states use reflective paint on the numbers and letters, which is impossible to match.
Im not sure about that. They appear to be black & yellows that someone tried to "improve" upon by touching them up with paint, only they did a crappy job, lol... I am wondering if the paint could be removed and the actual metal straightened out a bit.
https://www.yelp.com/biz/jims-ca-license-plates-pleasanton License Plates AND FRAMES (New!)Restorations PLATES: Specializing in restoration of old plates from any state. They are sand blasted and powder coated. My rates depend on the condition of the plates. If they are in excellent condition and just need to be painted/powder coated, my rate is $200/pair or $100/single. If damaged and required body work (pounding and straightening) my rate is an additional $100/hour depending on the condition. Turn around time is generally 7-10 days. http://www.mojoartworks.com/ http://www.vintageplaterestoration.com/
Mojo did the plates for my '67 Chevelle, did a good job, Next time I think I will send a set to the Guy in California just to try his services and quality. http://www.calicenseplates.com/index.html
$200 to restore plates?!!!! I bought a pair of new, never registered, still in original envelope, 1971 Michigan truck plates for mine on eBay 12 years ago. $35 (I bought a pair of 'M' plates for $40, but later found out I couldn't use them, because of the 'M'). There is no way I'd pay $100+ to have one redone, especially when they won't even have reflective numbers.
In CA there is no need to as the DMV will issue new black and yellow plates to replace damaged or worn ones. There is a fee, I have no idea how much it is.
$50 bucks for a new set of black and yellow plates from the CA DMV https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/legacyplates/index PLUS I think they charge an extra 40 bucks per year for the "Legacy Plates"
Only if they are a vanity plate, and you don't already have black plates. When I got replacement blue plates years back, it was only one charge, but the plates were already blue and the tag number didn't change.
I reckon you could do a pretty decent home job with a foam brush/roller. Paint the black on first, then use the roller on the raised lettering.
On my recent trip to Ca looking at the new old black plates you can tell they are not the originals, different dies, aluminum vs steel. I'd either redo them myself or have someone do them. Paint the yellow first, then the black, carefully sand the black off the numbers. practice on a junk plate first. A friend does his old plates this way.
