Thread: Removing Olive Drab from information plates

Hi all,

I think I have found the ID tag under about 4 layers of olive drab paint on my '68 2A GS (172 294). Removing the paint but leaving the black silk screen artwork is giving me nightmares. Someone has evidently already had a go with something sharp, probably a screwdriver (and it looks like they tried to pinch it too!!) and damaged it.

I have seen paint removed by sticking in an airtight container with thinners and letting the fumes slowly remove the top layers, I was going to try this first. Any thoughts or does anyone know of a sure-safe method.

Restoring it would make re-registering easier I suppose, plus it would be handy to prove she is who I say she is without crawling under the back to look at the chassis number (plus if I am correct it has the census and contract number which would help me complete my REMLR entry)

The photo I took really shows the numbering, which is almost imperceptible to the naked eye, and it matches the chassis number - no surprises there thank god.

Anyway, any suggestions would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Gyro

ID tag.jpg ID tag CU.jpg

So, long story. first off, removing that plate is a little annoying. Screwdriver on one side and a nut driver on the other. Corroded threads made those four little screws a two man, half hour task. Anyway, its off and time to try some paint removal techniques.

I hit it with a hot air gun, no response. Hot enough to sizzle spit but no more

I filled a jar with little enamel thinners, put the plate in, suspended above the surface of the liquid, sealed the jar and placed it in the sun. Nothing. A full day of Feb sun, nothing. So I decide to knock it up a notch and wrap the plate in toilet paper, pour on the thinners and stick it back in the hermetically sealed jar. Three hours of direct contact - nothing.

Looking at the plate, because it was bolted over a hole, there is olive drab on the back over the black anodising. A nice circle of green on the black plate. I paint on some paint stripper to test for colour fastness of the black (its actually deep purple) but as I am applying the paint stripper, the paint starts shedding immediately. I moved it around a bit and rinsed it off straight away. No paint and I don't think any significant change to the original surface.

So I moved to the front. A thick layer of paint stripper, moved around and agitated constantly. Seconds later I was rinsing off the paint stripper. I could read all of the text that I expected to see. Even the very fine printing on the 3/4 and contract number was fine and undamaged. I did a second application as there was a little paint left that was stubborn. it stuck more where there was damage to the plate by my guess. Still only a few seconds, maybe 30 seconds of exposure to the paint stripper before rinsing and washing.

There is still some paint left on the plate, but as has been said before, if it was pristine, it would look odd! I am very happy with the result and can now confidently fill in the gaps on my REMLR entry.

I would not recommend leaving it unattended as I have no idea what would happen over a longer period of time, but as it only takes seconds, that shouldn't be an issue. It might be that the thinners exposure helped, but I cant be sure if it would take longer on a surface that hadn't had about 36 hours of exposure to thinners or not.


id back.jpg id front.jpg