Bending a Numberplate

[Mickyh7]

Hi, the numberplate holder on my car is angled at approximately 170°
I hate seeing screws in numberplates and have always used sticky pads to fit my numberplates over the years.
However this angle has got me stuck.
Normal sticky pads won't hold, and even '2 pack' adhesive, dabbed on the ends, comes away after a few weeks.
Has anyone successfully bent a plate using heat?
And, how, what with and any tips?
Thanks

 

[SpikyMikey]

Hi, the numberplate holder on my car is angled at approximately 170°
I hate seeing screws in numberplates and have always used sticky pads to fit my numberplates over the years.
However this angle has got me stuck.
Normal sticky pads won't hold, and even '2 pack' adhesive, dabbed on the ends, comes away after a few weeks.
Has anyone successfully bent a plate using heat?
And, how, what with and any tips?
Thanks

Heat shrink gun...carefully. Keep it moving and don't dwell in one place. Heat the front of the plate, not the rear.

 

[Mickyh7]

Heat shrink gun...carefully. Keep it moving and don't dwell in one place. Heat the front of the plate, not the rear.

Thanks for that, I'll have to try and borrow one.

 

[WilliamMaldivess211]

All our cars have metal number plates - the plastic ones that all the cars came with from the main dealers all gradually delaminated over time. The metal ones are easy enough to bend and seem to last long.

 

[ALFAitalia]

Not been legal for about 25 years though!! The law require that plates spring back to shape when bent....metal plates don't do that...they stay bent.

Are Pressed Number Plates Legal? | Metal Pressed Plates

Are metal pressed number plates legal? You may have seen them on the roads and are wondering if they are. Read more about what the factors are.

www.nationalnumbers.co.uk

BOT.....I tried bending my front plate enough to use sticker pads to hold it....just ended up delaminating it a bit at the crease point....so no doubt moisture will get in there soon and ruin it. I had to concede to the use of screws....only on the front though!!!

 

[WilliamMaldivess211]

Not been legal for about 25 years though!! The law require that plates spring back to shape when bent....metal plates don't do that...they stay bent.

Are Pressed Number Plates Legal? | Metal Pressed Plates

Are metal pressed number plates legal? You may have seen them on the roads and are wondering if they are. Read more about what the factors are.

www.nationalnumbers.co.uk

BOT.....I tried bending my front plate enough to use sticker pads to hold it....just ended up delaminating it a bit at the crease point....so no doubt moisture will get in there soon and ruin it. I had to concede to the use of screws....only on the front though!!!

I thought it was only pressed metal plates that are illegal, ours appear to be metal with the reflective vinyl stuck in top. They still have the legitimate stamp in the bottom right corner.

Either way doesn’t really matter for me as live in Jersey, but assumed they won’t be illegal in the UK

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Heat shrink gun...carefully. Keep it moving and don't dwell in one place. Heat the front of the plate, not the rear.

Heat gun used lightly is good, but if not available a hairdryer can generate enough warmth to ease the changes re books, weights or weights can held hold the changes until the plastic cools

 

[Bigdrew]

Hi, the numberplate holder on my car is angled at approximately 170°
I hate seeing screws in numberplates and have always used sticky pads to fit my numberplates over the years.
However this angle has got me stuck.
Normal sticky pads won't hold, and even '2 pack' adhesive, dabbed on the ends, comes away after a few weeks.
Has anyone successfully bent a plate using heat?
And, how, what with and any tips?
Thanks

Hi i have use these on ny car and when you sell your car you can just take them off the front one is shaped for the Mercedes and you don’t need any screws or number plate sticky pads

 

[Mickyh7]

Hi i have use these on ny car and when you sell your car you can just take them off the front one is shaped for the Mercedes and you don’t need any screws or number plate sticky pads

Thanks, I really don't like those.
I removed mine when I bought the car!
I prefer the cleaner lines.

 

[Bigdrew]

Thanks, I really don't like those.
I removed mine when I bought the car!
I prefer the cleaner lines.

Np at least it doesn’t need any screws or pads did you use one like the one for the front number plate that’s shaped for the bumper

 

[W1ghty]

Number plate holders with metal plates .
Mine look like plastic plates , they just bend if you need to for the front of the E class

 

[Mactech]

There are 'normal sticky pads' and then there is this: proper 3M badge tape VHB, Very High Bond

Pardon our interruption...

Just as long as you ensure the surfaces are forensically clean I have never have a failure from this proper badge tape...and I have used it on some seriously curved surfaces.

 

[Mickyh7]

There are 'normal sticky pads' and then there is this: proper 3M badge tape VHB, Very High Bond

Pardon our interruption...

Just as long as you ensure the surfaces are forensically clean I have never have a failure from this proper badge tape...and I have used it on some seriously curved surfaces.

I'll look at this.
Thanks.

 

[SpikyMikey]

There are 'normal sticky pads' and then there is this: proper 3M badge tape VHB, Very High Bond

Pardon our interruption...

Just as long as you ensure the surfaces are forensically clean I have never have a failure from this proper badge tape...and I have used it on some seriously curved surfaces.

^This
3M VHB is awesome ...just be aware that there's a lot of fake stuff around

 

[ray_hennig]

I read somewhere that there might be a move to make numberplates less easily changed. Here in France that means rivets, not screws.

RayH

 

[st13phil]

I hate seeing screws in numberplates and have always used sticky pads to fit my numberplates over the years.
However this angle has got me stuck.

Just use a Wurth number plate holder. Works a treat on the front of an SLK.

 

[Mickyh7]

Just use a Wurth number plate holder. Works a treat on the front of an SLK.

Thanks but personally, I find them bulky, not clean looking and the border is ugly.
I threw mine away when I first got the car.
I guess it's all down to what someone likes!
And of course, with a 'Wurth Holder', you can steal the plate in less than 5 seconds!
But thank you.

 

[BTB 500]

Not been legal for about 25 years though!! The law require that plates spring back to shape when bent....metal plates don't do that...they stay bent.

The standard number plates that Halfords sell are aluminium. I've had two made up in the last year, and very nice they are too. I seriously doubt they would sell them if they were illegal.

 

[WilliamMaldivess211]

The standard number plates that Halfords sell are aluminium. I've had two made up in the last year, and very nice they are too. I seriously doubt they would sell them if they were illegal.

Yes, I think it’s just the pressed ones

 

[ALFAitalia]

Yes....my mystake....I thought you meant the pressed ones. The alloy ones with reflective fronts are legal.....but not very nice and don't last five minutes compared to a good old Perspex one as the letters are not protected behind anything.