Number plate too shiny!

[507VBH]

Hi,

The new number plate for my rustoration series 2 is too new looking and looks out of place on a tatty scooter. Are there any tricks for giving it a realistic 55 year patina?

Cheers

[Digger]

Just ride your scooter regularly and it will soon get covered in crap.

[Tractorman]

Take the shine off with very fine wet&dry with water.

[MickYork]

is it a pressed steel or a Perspex one ?

[507VBH]

It is pressed aluminium sheet.

[johnnyXS]

thats an interesting question ...most folk are spending a fortune making their scoots look new

I'm in the same boat always looking for used parts to blend in .
How about trying some course grinding paste and a toothbrush that should take the shine off at least but it will still look far too sharp so you might need to scratch it up a bit with a screwdriver and run a sharp knife around the edge to get rid of the straight sharp edges.

[ToBoldlyGo]

Manufacturers produce new number plates shock.

[johnnyXS]

when you need a plate for a new registration, what option have we got.... other than to buy a brand new one ?

[St George]

steel wool or splash a bit of brake fluid on it for a couple of hours.

[citydaz]

throw in in a bucket of salty water, for a few hrs, then bury in soil for 24 hrs, then play Frisbee with it for an hr.

[507VBH]

Perhaps there is market for weathered number plates!

[Digger]

Perhaps there is market for weathered number plates!

I reckon you are probably correct - if people are willing to pay someone to do a NOVA application I'm sure they will pay to have their number plate "dirtied".

To be frank I can't understand what the issue is considering how difficult I find it to keep a number plate clean, be it on a car, bike, scooter or truck.

[johnnyXS]

I can dig why he wants to make the plate blend in.
I am keeping my scoot exactly how I got it from Italy. I aim to conserve it not restore so any new parts fitted would really stand out and annoy me because they go against what I'm trying to achieve.

Once you fit one brand new part then why stop there . If one or two new parts are ok then more new parts are justified and at some point you are going to think 'to hell with this scruffy scooter I'm going to restore it
Its a slippery slope

[Digger]

So what happens with things like silencers and tyres?

[johnnyXS]

yes I know ..... i've often thought that every time I think about restoring my 150LiS .
Sometimes I look at it and think I cannot bear the scruffiness and rust any more and I'm going to have to fit all those new parts I bought 2x years ago that are still sitting in a box.

Then I think hold on this is a very rare original example in very good condition and quite rare now so I feel obliged to keep it as it is.

I figure that things like exhausts and tyres etc are items that wear out ,expendibles, so thats ok and naturally accident damage and engine gearbox brake rebuilds are acceptable so what are you left with ? .... a new scoot in a rusty scruffy body I guess.

[ToBoldlyGo]

All scooters naturally evolve to the the bitsa. It's the way it is. It doesn't make you a bad person.

[coaster]

All scooters naturally evolve to the the bitsa. It's the way it is. It doesn't make you a bad person.

Got to agree with that, all scooters will have been maintained by their original owners to some extent. What we are now 'preserving' in a lot of cases is the shit condition that they have deteriorated to whilst being abandoned for decades. rust for rust's sake rather than a well earned 'patina'......I suspect I'm in a minority here though

[johnnyXS]

its a valid view shared by many especially those owners that buy a rusty scooter with the specific intention to restore them.

I think the restoration work to some is what scootering is all about to some. There is a lot of satisfaction in returning a rusty old hulk back to better than new condition and for some scoots that is the only way, otherwise they are only fit for scrap. There is no getting away from it what you end up with is essentially a new scooter with a few original bits.

However there is a case I think for conservation if the scoot is in basically sound original condition and can be run with just a little maintenance and replacement of perishables. If we didn't conserve anything we would have no period property or antiques left

[507VBH]

Rubbed the number plate with some wire wool and now it looks in keeping with the rest of the scooter.

I originally intended to fully restore it but everybody who has seen it has said don't. I am touching in the worst of the scratched paint and covering up the rusty floor with a rubber mat and some floorboard protectors.

For me, a Lambretta is a slight tatty thing at the back of my father's garage that I used to get shouted at for fiddling with, so a bit of scruffiness is OK! Sadly though he is no longer here to do the shouting this time around.

[johnnyXS]

I originally intended to fully restore it but everybody who has seen it has said don't. I am touching in the worst of the scratched paint and covering up the rusty floor with a rubber mat and some floorboard protectors.

F

sounds like a very good compromise . I think I'll see if I can find an auto spray can that matches my grey paint and do like you touch in the worst of the scratches with a cotton bud which should hopefully keep the rust at bay for a while and tidy the bodywork up a little without it looking tarted up.