License Plate Letters

[Dick Deegan]

I have just aquired a 1930 Ontario license plate. I have it stripped down to bare metal ready for primer and paint. I have two questions:

1. What is the correct colour for the plate background and letters - from the Ontario crowd. I think the background is yellow, but I'm not sure.

2. I'm sure there are those in the "barn who have restored plates. Is there a trick to painting the letters so they have nice sharp edges etc.? My hands shake so I'm reluctant to try it freehand. Any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks
Dick

[C26Pinelake]

just google Ontario license plates and they have pictures of every year. Wayne in Ontario

[clo2jim]

Temclad "Recreation White" from Canadian Tire is a match for the background white on a 1930 Ontario Plate. I have painted this on a set of plates which I intend to put on my 30 Town Sedan but haven't painted the black letters yet. This plate matched the 30 Ontario plates on my Roadster which have been approved by the Ontario MTO. The Roadster plates, which I bought, were restored by Jon Upton - ontplates.com - out of Ottawa

I am still working on an approach to paint the black letters

[29spcoupe]

I have a set of 29 NY plates that I am doing now. I am going today to a sign maker to discuss the use of stick on vinyl letters to cover the numbers on the plate. He says he can make them. I will let you know what I find out. John

[pgerhardt]

Originally Posted by Dick Deegan

I have just aquired a 1930 Ontario license plate. I have it stripped down to bare metal ready for primer and paint. I have two questions:

1. What is the correct colour for the plate background and letters - from the Ontario crowd. I think the background is yellow, but I'm not sure.

2. I'm sure there are those in the "barn who have restored plates. Is there a trick to painting the letters so they have nice sharp edges etc.? My hands shake so I'm reluctant to try it freehand. Any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks
Dick

I have been told to paint the entire plate the color of the letters, let it dry completely, then paint the background color, and wipe it off the letters revealing the letter color. It sounds like it might work, but I have not tried it.

[Dick Deegan]

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Thanks for the replies. I did Google 1930 Ontario license plates and it gave me some pictures etc. pgerhardt's approach is not one that I would have thought of, but it just may work. I think that I might try it. It will report on its success or not.

I also had not thought of going to a sign maker to get stick on letters etc.

Dick

[glenn in camino]

Originally Posted by pgerhardt

I have been told to paint the entire plate the color of the letters, let it dry completely, then paint the background color, and wipe it off the letters revealing the letter color. It sounds like it might work, but I have not tried it.

I paint the back round color first, then outline the letters with thinned out paint and a ruling pen before filling in the interior.

[PeteCruz2715]

All, if you want the plates to look good there is no way around hand lettering. That being said, masking them off is probably the best bet if you don't want to hand letter. Just take your time and use a VERY good tape made for paint otherwise the paint will wick under the tape and look bad. Unfortunately the depth and "roundness" of the pressing on the letters makes the "painting then wiping" process extremely difficult. I've seen this process done more than a few times and they never look right so if clean edges is your goal I'm pretty sure you won't be happy. There are a LOT of lettering videos on YouTube that show how to hand letter for signs. The process here is very much the same. Use a long quill brush and move steadily. The length of the bristles "cleans up" the line so if you are a bit shakey that will help a lot. Just practice on another material before you try it on your freshly painted plates! If you do make a mistake you can wipe the paint off and try again. By all means if you decide to hand paint, do NOT use a small brush! The key is to let the length of the bristles keep your line straight. A small brush will mean you'll make a ton of small strokes that look BAD. You could paint each letter in two strokes for each direction change in the letter or number with a lettering brush (most sign painters paint freehand letters in one stroke but since you have two predefined edges you'll need to paint each side of the letter independently). Or you could use a long "liner" brush to outline the letter/number then fill it in with a lettering brush. Use "1 shot" lettering enamel for the characters. Or, you could ask a pin-striper or sign painter to do them for you. Myself I'd probably charge $50 to do a set that was already painted the background color. Good luck and check out YouTube for sign lettering!

[PeteCruz2715]

All, if you want the plates to look good there is no way around hand lettering. That being said, masking them off is probably the best bet if you don't want to hand letter. Just take your time and use a VERY good tape made for paint otherwise the paint will wick under the tape and look bad. Unfortunately the depth and "roundness" of the pressing on the letters makes the "painting then wiping" process extremely difficult. I've seen this process done more than a few times and they never look right so if clean edges is your goal I'm pretty sure you won't be happy. There are a LOT of lettering videos on YouTube that show how to hand letter for signs. The process here is very much the same. Use a long quill brush and move steadily. The length of the bristles "cleans up" the line so if you are a bit shakey that will help a lot. Just practice on another material before you try it on your freshly painted plates! If you do make a mistake you can wipe the paint off and try again. By all means if you decide to hand paint, do NOT use a small brush! The key is to let the length of the bristles keep your line straight. A small brush will mean you'll make a ton of small strokes that look BAD. You could paint each letter in two strokes for each direction change in the letter or number with a lettering brush (most sign painters paint freehand letters in one stroke but since you have two predefined edges you'll need to paint each side of the letter independently). Or you could use a long "liner" brush to outline the letter/number then fill it in with a lettering brush. Use "1 shot" lettering enamel for the characters. Or, you could ask a pin-striper or sign painter to do them for you. Myself I'd probably charge $50 to do a set that was already painted the background color. Good luck and check out YouTube for sign lettering!

[TCap]

I painted the plate first, let fully dry. Then put blue masking tape over numbers/lettering, covered rest of plate with newspaper (or you can mask the whole thing off). Took a light to mid sandpaper and sanded the edges of the numbers cutting the tape, then removed the tape revealing the number. Painted the numbers/lettering and let dry, removed all tape. Then lightly wet sanded the edges of the numbers with ultra fine sandpaper and polished out the plate. Gave the numbers a nice faded edge like original, not too sharp. Worked great on the smaller lettering on the plate too and a lot easier as all you need to do is sand right on top of the letters to reveal the metal.

[Charlie Stephens]

You might want to check with your local DMV, some states will not accept restored plates.

Charlie Stephens

[CWilson]

[Dick Deegan]

Well, I tried the wipe method today. I first painted the plate the colour of the letters (black). I did this outside using a hook to hold the plate while I sprayed it. Just when I had finished, the plate slipped off the hook and fell on the ground painted side down in grass, mud and dried up dog doo doo. I then proceeded to demonstrate to my neighbour my considerable expertise in the use of descriptive adjectives.

I then stripped the paint off and started over (used laquer thinners). I oven baked the black enamel and painted the plate with white paint and tried to wipe off the white paint before it dried. It did not go well. In fact it was a mess. So I again stripped off the paint and I have painted the plate white.

I will try to paint the letters/numbers by hand as suggested by PeteCruz2715.

BTW Glenn in Camino - what is a ruling pen?

Thanks to all again for the replies.

Dick

[Tom Wesenberg]

I too have never heard of a ruling pen, and was wondering what that is?

[colin1928]

The way that works for me using a printers roller (rubber roller) much like they were done originally

[Bruce of MN]

Originally Posted by colin1928

The way that works for me using a printers roller (rubber roller) much like they were done originally

The term for the roller is a brayer. Can't believe I remember that from Print Shop at NYC JHS 104 in 1962!

[Dan/Kzo]

The easiest method is spray 4 coats of the letter color over the entire plate then 2 coats of the background color. Then lightly sand over the letters with fine sand paper to bring out your color The letters will be perfect.

[harleytoprock]

The brayer roller method is the easiest, the fastest and gives the best professional result.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by harleytoprock

The brayer roller method is the easiest, the fastest and gives the best professional result.

I would think so. A couple years ago I found a couple medium hard rubber rollers at a second had store, and will give them a try someday. Too many projects.

[oldmtdew1950]

Try a craft store. They have paint in pens. Have a very fine head on them

[4port]

For best results use "1 Shot" enamel applied with a Speedball brayer from Michaels. All materials needed are shown in this picture I took at the Chickasha OK Prewar meet. A couple of our club members have perfected this method and taught many others at seminars. Put some paint on a piece of tin foil and roll it out until it covers the roller evenly. The straighter the plate the less touchup work you will have. The enamel letters can be corrected after rolling with a Q-tip and turpentine for excess paint removal. And an artists brush for addition of color at edges of letters and beads where lacking. If you screw up just clean the whole thing with turpentine and a rag and start over. After you are satisfied with the letters you shoot a clear coat. Read the "1 Shot" urethane clear coat tutorial on their website. I am presently using Nason 2K paint. Without the clear coat the letters will eventually start to come off over the long run of several years as did a set I have that are about 15 years old.

[ModelAMike1930]

I did my plate using masking tape and a small artists brush. Mine look good from 50 feet---lol

[FL&WVMIKE]

Instead of wiping off the wet paint, let it dry and use rubbing compound to clean off the top of the letters, down to the first coat.
I have never done his, but read about it.
MIKE (mikeburch)

[Walt Ebie]

I'm assuming (which is never good) that you spray all the background color first, then use the brayer to apply the numbering. Yes?

[glenn in camino]

I paint the straight lines with an old ruling pen. Then I fill in between the lines and carefully free hand the curves. I use One Shot enamel that I mix to the proper color. It takes me about an hour for one plate.

[2manycars]

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I have used the brayer method, but the paint for the numbers must be thick enough to cover the background color, but if too thick, it will leave wisps of paint at the edges as the brayer is rolled.
I have also painted the numbers by hand with a soft artist's brush. After my stroke I could not do that very well, but after a few years my hand is steady enough to do it again.

[Terry, NJ]

A friend who does them uses paint sticks/pens. Go to my profile and albums. In there, I have some pics of my attempts at lettering a 1930 Pa plate.
Terry

Originally Posted by clo2jim

Temclad "Recreation White" from Canadian Tire is a match for the background white on a 1930 Ontario Plate. I have painted this on a set of plates which I intend to put on my 30 Town Sedan but haven't painted the black letters yet. This plate matched the 30 Ontario plates on my Roadster which have been approved by the Ontario MTO. The Roadster plates, which I bought, were restored by Jon Upton - ontplates.com - out of Ottawa

I am still working on an approach to paint the black letters

[joe plumber]

I have restored at least 85 plates and tried all methods and ideas.The best that works for me is to use a eco friendly chemical remover.Much easier on the plate than media blasting.Paint the background and then use a paint pen with a fine tip for the letters and numbers.Outline them first and then fill in.Works for me.omo

[glenn in camino]

Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

I too have never heard of a ruling pen, and was wondering what that is?

A ruling pen is an old time drafting tool usually used with ink, but it works well with slow drying enamel also. Most drafting sets have one.

[amodel25]

It's been many years ago, but my wife at the time did a '31 Texas plate using one of the cheapy foam rubber brushes that you can get at the hardware store. Sprayed the background color and let it dry good then she trimmed the width of the brush to the width of the numbers/letters and used hardware store enamel. It's got a few dings but it is still on the front of my "A" today and still looks decent.

[Pete in Michigan]

I tried rolling, brushing and even blotting. Paint to thin or to thick. Finally did what Dan/Kzo said. Primed and shot 4 or 5 coats of numeral color, followed by 1 good coat of background color. Let it set overnight and sanded with 500 grit wet. These were done last week.

[ian Simpson]

Originally Posted by TCap

I painted the plate first, let fully dry. Then put blue masking tape over numbers/lettering, covered rest of plate with newspaper (or you can mask the whole thing off). Took a light to mid sandpaper and sanded the edges of the numbers cutting the tape, then removed the tape revealing the number. Painted the numbers/lettering and let dry, removed all tape. Then lightly wet sanded the edges of the numbers with ultra fine sandpaper and polished out the plate. Gave the numbers a nice faded edge like original, not too sharp. Worked great on the smaller lettering on the plate too and a lot easier as all you need to do is sand right on top of the letters to reveal the metal.

I am doing some 1957 Alberta plates for the wife's Bel Air. This sounds like it might work for me.

I was going to try and emulate the original process by painting the back ground and then rolling paint on the letters with a hard rubber roller.

[Mike V. Florida]

Here is what I did,

I painted the number/letters color first.

I placed a piece on "contact" paper over the plate. Using a sharp hobby knife I cut around the raised portion leaving about 1/8 inch hanging over. Once all the raised areas were covered and the rest removed I once again used my finger and light pressure to be sure the areas were covered with the 1/8 inch still hanging over the edge in the air. I then take the background color and spray on an angle so the paint goes under the 1/8" hang over. Spray the rest of the plate and let dry. Remove the contact paper and touch up if needed. Then apply a coat or two of clear. This will soften the base colors a little and smooth any touch ups as well as giving a nice shine and protection to the paint.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by Pete in Michigan

I tried rolling, brushing and even blotting. Paint to thin or to thick. Finally did what Dan/Kzo said. Primed and shot 4 or 5 coats of numeral color, followed by 1 good coat of background color. Let it set overnight and sanded with 500 grit wet. These were done last week.

Your method worked great.
I never would have expected the numbers to come out so perfect this way.