Data Plates |
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jpet
Moderator Group Sponsor Member x 5 Joined: 30 Apr. 2008 Location: Ramsey, IL Status: Offline Points: 11173 |
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Posted: 25 Mar. 2011 at 4:50am |
This is my first attempt to make a reproduction data plate from aluminum:
First. I reverse designed the data plate in a word processor. The Willys logo I drew in CAD. Then I printed a mirror image of the plate on some PNP blue paper, You need to do this with a laser printer: Next I tape the blue paper to a piece of aluminum plate with the toner side towards the aluminum: We have a laminator at work so I sandwiched the aluminum plate with pnp blue paper between some heavy paper stock, set the temperature on the laminator to 285°F and ran it through 20 times: If you don't have a laminator, you can use an iron. Lay a piece of cloth over the setup and iron until the toner sticks to the aluminum. When I was finished running it through the machine, I cooled the plate with running water and pealed the blue paper back: You may have to touch up a few spots where the toner did not take. You can do that with a sharpee: Next I will etch the plate with a mixture of peroxide and muriatic acid. 2 parts peroxide to 1 part acid I'm not a chemist. I got the recipe from browsing the internet: This is nasty stuff. Don't breath it. Wear gloves, goggles and work in a well ventilated area. I poured just enough of the mixture in a cookie sheet that it would cover the plates: Edit: I put packaging tape on the back side of the metal so that the acid would not etch the back side. Edit2 05-06-11: The acid worked quickly because I actually used a 50/50 mix. If you use a 2 parts peroxide mix to 1 part acid, the solution will work slower and you can control the etching better. Have a bucket of water handy. You can always rinse the plates off, inspect them, and then put them back in the acid bath to etch some more. Another problem with the above experiment is that I had got the toner too hot. This I believe is the main reason that the acid dissolved the toner. If you read on in the thread, you will see that it works better with the laminator set to 300° and I ran the pieces through individually about 12 times. Since the acid ate some of the toner off, and since this is an experiment, I went ahead and cleaned up the plate to see what it looks likes. If the toner was intact, i would just steel wool the part, off, rinse it off and paint it. As you can see, the acid ate into some areas that I did not want to. but oh well, that's how experiments go. Let's move on: Paint the tags: Let the paint dry and then I used Scotch brite to rub the paint off the high spots. i also want to dull the paint somewhat because I want the plates to look vintage: On the first plate, I got a little carried away. The middle one turned out the best: They are not perfect but not bad for my first try. I think I will try it again but next time I will run the parts through the laminator a few more times. I don't think the toner stuck good enough. Also, i won't leave it in the acid as long. I think that was biggest problem. All in all, that middle plate doesn not look so bad if you don't sit and study it. It would not bother me to use it, but i can do better now that I have a little experience. I'll try it again when i have a chance and post my results. Edited by jpet - 06 May 2011 at 7:34pm |
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CJ2A #29110 "General Willys"
MB #204827 "BAM BAM" "We do what we can, and we try what we can't" |
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Harriet
Member Sponsor Member Joined: 20 July 2005 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1136 |
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Blimey Jeff, is there no end to your talents? And tell me, do you ever sleep?
Good job ... |
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46 CJ2A 14509
50 Jeepster 58 4WD Truck My Link I AM the understanding wife! Anyone seen my marbles? Always hoisted by my own petard! |
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all4jpn
Member Joined: 10 Sep. 2006 Location: f-burg,VA Status: Offline Points: 1778 |
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you seriously have some crazy abilities...
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46 cj/06 lj/ and mb/2a/38 hybrid project
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Night0wl
Member Sponsor Member Joined: 29 May 2008 Location: StephensCity VA Status: Offline Points: 1645 |
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Jeff,
That looks great. Is that a military plate? Do you have some good prints of a 2A serial plate that is on the dash?
I think the early ones say Willys and the later ones say Jeep
You did a great job on your first run!
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Night0wl
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose" Jim Elliot 45 CJ-2A My Project |
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jpet
Moderator Group Sponsor Member x 5 Joined: 30 Apr. 2008 Location: Ramsey, IL Status: Offline Points: 11173 |
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Not really. Read it on the internet. It's about as easy as it looks. It just takes some practice. I got five 8-1/2 x 11 sheets of paper for about 15 bucks. The acid was about 4 bucks and the peroxide maybe a buck. You can buy a 4" by 48" strip of aluminum for 16 bucks. It would be a neat side gig for one of you guys. Edited by jpet - 25 Mar. 2011 at 11:56am |
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CJ2A #29110 "General Willys"
MB #204827 "BAM BAM" "We do what we can, and we try what we can't" |
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jpet
Moderator Group Sponsor Member x 5 Joined: 30 Apr. 2008 Location: Ramsey, IL Status: Offline Points: 11173 |
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I made that plate for my MB. If I were making a 2A plate, I would take a picture of an original straight on to limit the amount of fish-eye and parallax of the image. Give the photo a high contrast to accent the features, scale the photo, and then print a reverse image of the plate onto the pnp blue. Edit: Oh and I would probably open the photo in an editor to take the serial number off of the photograph and maybe clean up the photo some. Probably on the 2A plate, you would want to just use the artwork and logos from the plate and retype all of the wording in a word processor with the correct font. Edit 2: Maybe some of youns' have done this before. Any suggestions to make it better/easier? Edited by jpet - 25 Mar. 2011 at 12:32pm |
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CJ2A #29110 "General Willys"
MB #204827 "BAM BAM" "We do what we can, and we try what we can't" |
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lowenuf
Member Sponsor Member x 2 Joined: 29 Aug. 2006 Location: Ohio Status: Offline Points: 9122 |
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i wonder if this is how Robert DeRuyter does it?
that process is neat.....
here is a picture of 2 plates that Robert recently completed for me......
the top plate has been sealed using Eastwood's Diamond Clear for painted surfaces, in satin, the bottom one is natural as i received it.
There are also 2 different number/letter stamping fonts that were used, study still remains on this issue, but to date, it appears the font changed in the serial number range of 10200 or thereabouts..... Edited by lowenuf - 25 Mar. 2011 at 1:33pm |
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45 #10012
45 #10033 ACM #47 45 #10163 ACM #188 57 CJ5 Dauntless V6, T-18 4-speed, D-44 rear/D-30 front, D-20 twin stick |
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Joe Friday
Moderator Group Sponsor Member x 2 Joined: 26 Dec. 2010 Location: Jeep Central Status: Offline Points: 3654 |
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I could be wrong, but i don't think aluminum was ever used on the originals. I think it was Zinc or brass only.
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jpet
Moderator Group Sponsor Member x 5 Joined: 30 Apr. 2008 Location: Ramsey, IL Status: Offline Points: 11173 |
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I think that the originals for '44 MB were zinc.
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CJ2A #29110 "General Willys"
MB #204827 "BAM BAM" "We do what we can, and we try what we can't" |
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russnj
Admin Webmaster Joined: 20 July 2005 Location: W. Windsor, NJ Status: Offline Points: 3943 |
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Great work!
Early were brass late models were zinc. It's spelled out on this page. http://www.xs4all.nl/~rdrnl/4UWPWillysMB.html I'll still keep my originals, even thought they are all buggered up. Edited by russnj - 25 Mar. 2011 at 3:55pm |
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43 MB, 48 CJ2A, 50 CJ3A, 55 M38A1, 56 CJ5, 79 M151A2, M100 ,65 M416 |
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jpet
Moderator Group Sponsor Member x 5 Joined: 30 Apr. 2008 Location: Ramsey, IL Status: Offline Points: 11173 |
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This is just an experiment. I don't have any zinc plates laying around to test. I'm pretty sure, although not certain, that the same procedure works with zinc.
Edited by jpet - 25 Mar. 2011 at 4:08pm |
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CJ2A #29110 "General Willys"
MB #204827 "BAM BAM" "We do what we can, and we try what we can't" |
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russnj
Admin Webmaster Joined: 20 July 2005 Location: W. Windsor, NJ Status: Offline Points: 3943 |
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That's kinda what I thought. What font did you use for the lettering? |
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43 MB, 48 CJ2A, 50 CJ3A, 55 M38A1, 56 CJ5, 79 M151A2, M100 ,65 M416 |
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jpet
Moderator Group Sponsor Member x 5 Joined: 30 Apr. 2008 Location: Ramsey, IL Status: Offline Points: 11173 |
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Tunga Bold Size 8 for most of the txt and 12 for the word "NOMENCLATURE"
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CJ2A #29110 "General Willys"
MB #204827 "BAM BAM" "We do what we can, and we try what we can't" |
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jpet
Moderator Group Sponsor Member x 5 Joined: 30 Apr. 2008 Location: Ramsey, IL Status: Offline Points: 11173 |
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FWIW, You would probably want to cut the plates to size before you do all this stuff. That way you don't chance damaging the plates after they have been finished. Again I was just messing around.
Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. |
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CJ2A #29110 "General Willys"
MB #204827 "BAM BAM" "We do what we can, and we try what we can't" |
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dennisanvil
Member Joined: 07 June 2008 Location: ia Status: Offline Points: 1645 |
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nice job jeff;
dennis
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dennisanvil 1948 cj2a, maker of tailgate hooks & hand forge iron ware
there not any knowen cure for jeep fever. serial # 164136< |
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ndrtkr
Member Sponsor Member Joined: 18 Mar. 2009 Location: Mississippi Status: Offline Points: 884 |
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I'd like to see your version of a Governors Warning tag .
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"Life is tough, it's even tougher if you're stupid"- John Wayne
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jpet
Moderator Group Sponsor Member x 5 Joined: 30 Apr. 2008 Location: Ramsey, IL Status: Offline Points: 11173 |
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It's not that hard. Give it a try.
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CJ2A #29110 "General Willys"
MB #204827 "BAM BAM" "We do what we can, and we try what we can't" |
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woody
Member Joined: 04 May 2008 Location: ST.Louis,Mo. Status: Offline Points: 339 |
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Hey Jeff ,
what do you do on your spare time?
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