Decided to paint my remaining plate

[MacAttack]

The wonderful person that took and subsequently trashed my 65’ C10 last February decided to discard my rear (tagged) license plate.

A couple of months ago I went to AAA and got both new state tags (year and month) so I could use the front plate (which was under the front seat and undiscovered by the perpetrator of the crime), as it was ‘Old School’.

In a fit of utter brilliance (NOT!) on my part, I thought I’d find the correct color and paint the plate to celebrate the truck’s rebirth. Went to Manny, Moe and Jack and procured the correct spray can (school bus yellow) and set to restoring the plate during the holiday break, while watching ‘Road House’ about nine times and the entire series of ‘Rambo’ and ‘Rocky’ movies.

Mistake.

While the plate came out "okay" (finish pictures are forthcoming) but damn - should have left the thing alone, rust and all.

Mac.

[MacAttack]

(final pics nest week)

[4dranch]

Nice,,,,
Can you register the old plates?

[502tripower]

Nice...Here is the plate I am using on my truck. I am just going to wax it up and call it good. I kind of like the original look.

[slepysal]

Cool !! I have used one shot brand "imitation gold" . One shot is lettering paint used for pinstriping.
and yea redoing plates is , well a pita !!
One trick is to use one of those small paint rollers ,the foam ones used for trim found at home depot. I will dab some paint on the letters/ numbers and roll over it using light pressure.

[oldblu65]

My understanding , in the state of Tennessee , is you must first register the vehicle as an antique , you may then use the plates that match your vehicle's year of manufacture as long as the " antique " tag is kept in the vehicle and available for display if requested . Not sure if this is applicable in other states ? A bonus of the antique registration is it's permanent and doesn't have to be renewed every year . A downside is it restricts when your vehicle may be driven .

[MacAttack]

Originally Posted by 4dranch

Can you register the old plates?

Well, that’s the kicker - this is the original plate that came with the truck (circa 63’ strike when convicts still made them) and that’s why I wanted to redo it. The local Imperial Authorities will no-doubt give me much grief for only having a rear license plate and a "Heartbeat of America" unit on the front - but I don’t really care. Until they make me buy new, white & blue plates - I’m going to stick it to The Man.

Originally Posted by 502tripower

Nice...Here is the plate I am using on my truck. I am just going to wax it up and call it good. I kind of like the original look.

Yep - exactly what I should have done.

Originally Posted by slepysal

One trick is to use one of those small paint rollers ,the foam ones used for trim found at home depot. I will dab some paint on the letters/ numbers and roll over it using light pressure.

Okay - I’ll do one more finish coat with this idea. The ‘Q-Tip’ method, the mask the letters and spray the black, and the mask the black and spray the letters ideas sucked incredibly, unless you stand about twenty feet back and don’t have real great eyesight.

Mac.

[slepysal]

The first one I did I spray painted it black, and used a flat art paint brush... not fun

[protrash64]

Hey Mac, I am also a fan of doing models. Testors makes 'paint pens' with enamel paint. Im not sure of their color selections, but Ive used a couple of them and they work nicely. You would just write on the plate with the pen.....they have about an 1/8" wide tip, similar to a sharpy.

[MacAttack]

Originally Posted by protrash64

Testors makes 'paint pens' with enamel paint.

Like this?:

[4dranch]

Originally Posted by oldblu65

A downside is it restricts when your vehicle may be driven .

Mac,
I don't meen to step all over your forum but I just got to ask OldBlu a question. can you explain the restriction on driving with the antique plates.
Thanks, David

[MacAttack]

Originally Posted by 4dranch

Mac, I don't mean to step all over your forum but I just got to ask OldBlu a question.

No worries.

[502tripower]

Originally Posted by oldblu65

My understanding , in the state of Tennessee , is you must first register the vehicle as an antique , you may then use the plates that match your vehicle's year of manufacture as long as the " antique " tag is kept in the vehicle and available for display if requested . Not sure if this is applicable in other states ? A bonus of the antique registration is it's permanent and doesn't have to be renewed every year . A downside is it restricts when your vehicle may be driven .

In Washington the vehicle can be registered as an antique if it is thirty years old and use the plate that matches the year of the vehicle. If the vehicle is an out of state vehicle you must first register and put a regular plate on the vehicle for the first year. Then when the renewal comes up you can register the vehicle as an Antique and use the plate that matches your vehicles year. Also Washington only requires the rear plate for the antique registration and it is a permanent.

[madmatt54]

Check this stuff out, it might work quite well for what you want.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXC099&P=ML

It is called liquid mask. It is basically a white paint that you put on with a brush. When it dries, it turns clear and has a rubbery almost silicone like feel to it. You can draw on it with a pen, then you just use and X-acto nife to cut out the line, then peel away what ever you want to paint. RC guys use it to paint all kinds of intricate little flames and designs on the RC cars. You have to be able to cut a straight line though. There are different size bottles if you search on the website if you think it will take more.

[TR65]

Hey MacAttack,

In South Carolina you are not supposed to re-finish the plate. If you do you can't run it. So that problem is solved. You have to send in a color picture of the plate you want to run. They then approve the number (can't be used by anyone else and a bunch of other number rules) and the plate finish (no rust, no refinish, etc.). If all OK they say you can use the plate. They then send date decals to carry in the glove box along with a letter to law enforcement in case you get stopped. But no restrictions, it works just like a regular plate. Renewal is like normal you just get new decals. They started this in mid 2007.

TR

[Micmac]

Here is one I did a few years back. North Carolina turns a blind eye what you run on vintage so long as you keep the current tag and registration in the vehicle. I run a 1947 tag on my Indian Chief. I have a 1963 Farm Truck I'm studyin on painting and putting on Ginger (my 63 C-10)

[MacAttack]

Thanks for all the input guys - I'll have to see what Kalifornia DMV says although I’ll probably just do a bit more fine touch-up on what I’ve got and put a clear coat on the entire thing and a nice polished frame with s/s hardware.

The Governator talks a great line about supporting all the after-market businesses and old school enthusiasts out here, but I know full well the State Legislators want anything over 10 years old removed from the highways of the Golden State. He’s famous for having as many faces as any current situation requires.

Mac.

[protrash64]

....imagine that!!! Over here in AZ there are more cameras up than cactus.......