MetalworkingFun Forum

Kind of a dumb question probably, but how do people "restore" the finish on their equipment I D tags? Im certain there are methods, I just dont know about them and would like to. The tag on my Johnson Model B was somewhat battered, so I (Im ducking for cover now) filled in the black areas with black sharpie, it doesnt look as bad as it sounds, especially from 25 feet away. It has raised letters that I cleaned up with fine grit paper first, then filled in the black area the best I could.....crude, yes......
So, is the normal method screen printing or something, or scanning it on a computer somehow??

A picture would help.

Most of the ones I have are screen printed and there is not much I can do other than clean the grime off, scrape off the paint from where the previous owners have painted 'around them' and generally try to make them look pretty.

I had a set of Aluminium M/T rocker covers on an old 350 that had fins along the length and raised lettering. I masked them up and painted them black. Then I rubbed them back with wet and dry paper until all the paint on the raised areas were gone. They looked nice once polished and this is how I would do a name plate that has raised lettering. In fact, the access door on the column of my mill has the name raised and I will take the same approach when I paint that.

I think Bill recently did the same on his mill but I could be wrong. As I said, a picture of what you have will help.

(02-05-2013, 09:25 AM)Mayhem Wrote: [ -> ]I had a set of Aluminium M/T rocker covers on an old 350 that had fins along the length and raised lettering.

Wow, that takes me back...
Mickey had his name all over everything.

Mickey Thompson was quite a character from reports i have read, His biography would make a very interesting read!!

Now,,,,,,,,,,, I too have wondered about how people are restoring tags on machines, i did see somewere an ad for someone who was making new ones somehow.

Anyone up to date on this?

heres the tag after I sharpied it ......it was gouged up before I got it

Isn't it a pain how the most important info is illegible.

Yes it is lol......

Monkers your'e tag looks pretty good.

Sad that so many of these tags are usually beat up, but to be expected i suppose being most seem to be aluminum.
I did find this:

http://www.etching-metal.com/nameplate.htm

Thanks sasquatch, Ill check out that link

hi well i will post a pic before and after this is haw i do it on brass ones any way i scrub the brass plate with a scratch brush i will post a pic of that to once all the crap is off i then polish the lettering then i give it a wash in soapy water then i spray the pant on if the lettering is well pronounced all you need to do is glue sum wet and dry sand paper to a hard and flat Peace of wood then rub over the lettering and buff up if on the other hand the lettering is well worn i use a scalpel to remove the pant from the lettering a bit time consuming but will look good when dun this is the before pic of the bit I'm working on at the moment