>I have one of, what I beleive to be original, license plates for my truck.
>This plate is pretty rough, but i think it can be restored. Is there a way
>to reproduce the other half of the pair?
Hi Mark,
Funny you should ask. I also have an orphan plate I'd like to have a mate
for. I consulted a metal working list about this question a few months ago,
and I got a response that seemed likely.
The suggestion was to make a wooden frame a little bigger than the plate and
fill it with Quickcrete type concrete patch. As this is drying, put the old
plate, liberally coated with oil, into the surface to make a die. When the
'crete is set, remove the old plate and nail a thin gauge aluminum sheet
into the wooden frame. Then using a light hammer and a steel bar with a
rounded end of sufficiently narrow diameter to match the curves, gently tap
the aluminum into the die. Remove the plate from the wooden frame and trim
to size.
Another method, if you had a shop press, would be to make a set of male and
female dies with bondo in steel frames and use them to press aluminum or
thin steel sheet into the pattern. I saw an article on panel embossing by
this method in one of the truck mags a couple years ago.
Haven't tried either method yet.
Regards,
Grant S.
54 3100 (mostly all there)
54 3100 (mostly not there)
55 1st 3100 (mostly rust)
Los Angeles, CA
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