MTFCA Forum

\Who does reasonable porcelain license plate restoration ?
It Doesn't have to be perfect, a little patina is ok.
Thanks in advance Rich J 561 262 0393

Shawn with Restroe-A-Tag (www.restoreatag.com) restored my '12 KY plate. He does prefer to leave the back to be untouched in case there was ever question of the plates authenticity. If he can do this, I'm sure he can get the patina you're looking for.

My father restored the Minnesota 1911 number three license plate below and is currently in the process of restoring a second one.

In 1911, the original owner drilled two holes, one to the right of the "3" and one to left, creating major chips, instead of utilizing the factory holes to mount the plate on the back of the car,

He filled in the chips with JB Weld as level as possible and then sanded the fill. He followed with body glazing/spot putty.

For the background paint, he got a digital color scan match packed in a rattle can at a local automotive paint supply.

The numbers and lettering he did by hand.

NOTE: He only painted the areas that are filled/repaired, not the entire plate.

First photo is before.

Second photo is after.

I apologize for not having better close-up photos. Both were cropped from larger photos that I happened to have in my computer.

I had a sign maker exactly replicate my damaged 1915 CA plates. I carry the originals under my back seat in the event some authority needs to see them.

Is it possible to restore enamel signs and license plates with actual fired enamel?

"Is it possible to restore enamel signs and license plates with actual fired enamel?"

I am not an expert on this, however, I have read several debates on that subject on this and other forums in past years. The general consensus of opinion seemed to mostly believe that the required heating of the base metals would most likely have a disastrous effect on the long set original porcelain.
It may be possible, and could maybe work well? But most collectors I have spoken with have not been willing to take the risk of destroying the original by thermal expansion of the base steel. Nearly all the collectors I have spoken with use some sort of epoxy to fill with, and then careful painting to match.

That was what I did with a 'wall-hanger' 1914 Califunny single I bought cheap at a swap meet a few years back. It was in very poor condition with two sizeable holes. One hole was about the size of an old half dollar coin, the other about the size of a dime. I used some scrap wire window screen I had (carefully cut to size and shape), and epoxy to bridge the holes (the epoxy flows throughout the screen wires!). Then mixed enamel paint and clear epoxy to paint the surface. The epoxy and enamel mixed together well, and gave an aged shine that mimicked the old porcelain well. I didn't get a perfect color match (especially the red?), however the plate looks great on my wall from a few feet away.
Another trick? I used electrical tape, NOT stretched, taped on the downside (front or back doesn't really matter?) as a form for filling the holes with epoxy. The electrical tape holds well, and when the epoxy has fully set, pulls off easily.

Years ago I visited Harold Bowden. He was the guy who developed Kwik Poly. He used to be at a lot of swap meets with his product. The day I was there he was messing around with coloring some Kwik Poly to repair chips on a porcelain sign. I don't remember what he was using to color the Kwik Poly. If you have ever messed with it Kwik Poly it sets up hard and fast. It is also shiny but can also be sanded. It is the same idea as stated by others above here but the color was already in the epoxy.

Thanks to all for the info. does anyone know what pigment can be used to tint clear epoxy?

I just used some enamel paint I had left over. Mixed about 50/50 for the final color coat. I didn't know what to expect, but I thought it came out pretty good. It has been hanging on my barn door for about five years now.

Wayne when II tried to use enamel , the epoxy never completely cured !

Interesting. I wonder if it could have been a variation of the epoxy? Or the enamel? The enamel I used was Rustoleum oil base or a knockoff. The epoxy I think was the slow set two ton off clear.

Wayne
Definitely trial and error
I'm sure there is color additive that is compatible to epoxy kinda makes it a 3 part mix !

A two pack urethane paint such as used on motor vehicles now ( there is even a high end clear ceramic version used on top line cars) would be far better than epoxy clear.

Epoxy is great for protection such as lining corrosive substances but normally it is not meant for exposure to sunlight as is the car paint version.
Use the base color for the top coat clear and then coat it with the clear. Adding pigment to the clear will make it muddy and it will need a massive amount to cover any different color. The reason for a base coat under the clear is to eliminate this problem the base color blocks out primers and filler used to level the surface but has no great gloss the high opacity base color blocks out those coats and the clear provides the gloss.

Peter
I knew epoxy doesn't weather well,Thanks for the additional Info.
I don't think there is any one place in the world ,that one can get knowledgeable info on any subject; from rocket science to computers to elementary question !! Thanks MTFCA .

Yeah, don't give that autocorrect any help at all.