I blame Viper Paul.......

[viper kev]

As much as I hate where a previous owner stuck the number plate on my car I have never dared to take it off, always worried that I would have to respray the bonnet. Whilst at a show a couple of weeks ago Paul couldn't resist a wiggle here and a pull there on the number plate.
Coming home today this happened......



So now have a sticky black double sided tape mess on the car, but no paint damage!!!



Actually I am glad the plate has come off it looked awful.

Couple of questions now:

Any thoughts on the best way to remove the tape left on the bonnet?

And of course, the best type of number plate to get and where to put it.

Thanks

[viper paul]

Big Kev, see I said it would come off without trouble and to be honest the wind was going to take it off sooner or later that big lump of plastic.

Easy way is to try your local body shop, they will have a adhesive removal rubber thios fits in a electric drill and is just simpl a rotating eraser, its what they use for dage and trim glue removal, use the edge and at speed run it along the black. In about 30 seconds that mess will be gone.

If you have a car body supplier near you then buy one they are about a tenner.

De badged my RAM completely in about 20 mins, best thing I ever bought.

[Don1]

Nail varnish remover, used gently and washed off will do the job. Also leave it in the sun - heat softens the material. Either that, or soap and hot water, with gentle elbow polish.

Edited by Don1 on Friday 7th September 16:40

[RT/10Dave]

Hi Kev,

Yeah looks like Paul is right, that was coming off in the wind sooner or later... (Sounds like he may have given it a helping hand though )

I mentioned this in a previous thread, (someone else was asking about plate plynths), when I bought my car there was no front plate, which I didn't feel comfortable with, (for obvious reasons, legally speaking), anyway, I had heard that a Mazda MX5 numberplate plynth fits pretty well, and as luck has it my dad has an MX5 so had a look at his to check it out and it looked pretty good. I bought the Number plate plynth from my local Mazda dealer, think it was about £16, it fit's a T-plate MX5 (whatever year that is, I think it's a MKII, the one after the pop-up headlights). The only down side of it was having to drill a couple of holes in the front fascia for the retaining clips to hold it in place, but my car had had some at some point which had been filled so it helps cover those as well.

If I can be of any further help let me know...
Here's a couple of pics...

[Viper]

if you dont need to cover drill holes this is the only way to go

http://partsrack.blastmart.com/customer/product.ph...

or a self adhesive vinyl plate

[Chesta]

Hi Kev, it was me that was asking about your bracket. I decided not to drill holes in my car, and bought one of jon B's brackets instead, as per the link above. Fit is great, but you'll need to cut off about 1 inch top & bottom of the upright number plate support if planning to use a UK/EU legal sized plate. That's not a problem though- it's made of rubber, and I did mine with a junior hacksaw and a little sandpaper to finish. The bracket comes with some sort of non-adhesive coating, so double sided tape won't stick the plate to it, so drill a couple of small holes to fix, and pop in some of the screw surrounds & caps available from Halfrauds (about 50p for a set of 4). Job done, and it is very easily removable, and good for speeds of 120+ so far (allegidly)

Edited by Chesta on Friday 7th September 22:37

[Jarama79]

Best stuff I've used for removing automotive double-sided tape (the foam-backed stuff) is Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover. It's about a fiver for a 325ml bottle and it's excellent for removing even the most stubborn adhesive residues. I've never had a problem with it marking paintwork and it comes in dead handy around the home too!

I bought one of these for my Mk1 MX-5: http://www.mx5parts.co.uk/product_info.php/products_id/222  - they even come with a rubber beading to stop the plinth edges from marking your front bumper! Would imagine they're easy enough to alter to fit Viper bumper contours - just a matter of reprofiling the plinth with a Dremel.

It's the best £14.99 I've spent because I have accidentally nerfed into both a carpark bollard and someones tow-bar - the nuberplate plinth acting as a mini crumple-zone, saving my bumper from damage on both occasions!

[viper kev]

Thanks for the advice, elbow grease plus a bit of soap and water worked just fine.
Car looks great without a front plate, shame I have to put one back on, enjoying driving it with just the back plate.
Have ordered the number plate holder from Partrack, waiting for it to arrive

[ViperGTS99]

You should try it without a front license plate - it works for me and for some others for years now.
And I have been stopped by police and yes I got tickets (for speeding, using the phone) BUT NEVER for having no front license plate! And we drive in Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco...

[zed sump]

viper paul said:

De badged my RAM completely in about 20 mins, best thing I ever bought.

Paul, could you pse say how exactly you removed the badges?? my sneaky petes might not stay for long.....

[N GTS]

Dental floss, work it under a corner and then 'saw' from side to side. You can get a fab adhesive remover from Maplins that wont harm paint, WD40's helpful too but takes some work.

[viper paul]

I would go with Nads way with the dental floss there is not much adhesive on the Pete's but for a full de badging the adhisive removing pad is brilliant.

Available from most body shop supply places it is just a large rubber wheel with an arbour for a electric drill, battery or air is best if you run to fast you will melt the paint, you simply use and edge an instantly the adhesive is gone.

Its not the advesive thats the problem its the sponge type material that is a bugger to get off, the rubber removes it all with just one pass. As I said de-badged the RAM and thats loads in 20 minutes, and some polish.

[zed sump]