Text 30188, 70 rader
Skriven 2009-03-23 13:42:44 av Roy Witt (1:397/22)
  Kommentar till text 30105 av Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555)
Ärende: The US wanna-be dictator
================================
22 Mar 09 01:26, Michiel van der Vlist wrote to Roy Witt:

 RW>> After checking further, the plates here are also made with
 RW>> reflective foil. However, our plates are silk screened and there is
 RW>> more than one color involved. Texas, for instance, uses a blue
 RW>> paint, top and bottom with a picture of the Space Shuttle, the moon
 RW>> and stars on top and a cowboy on a horse riding over rough terrain
 RW>> and brush with oil derricks in the background.

 MvdV> That makes things a bit more complicated. Are all these colours on
 MvdV> the foil or are they painted on top of the foil?

They look to be a part of the foil...There's no raised border around any
of the features. Either that or the reflective face is applied afterward.

 MvdV> Here the standard Dutch plate has just four colours. The yellow
 MvdV> backround, the blue rectangle on the left with the 12 stars of the
 MvdV> union and the country code (1-3 letters) in white and the numbers
 MvdV> in black. Only the black is paint, the other colours are part of
 MvdV> the reftelctive foil.

 MvdV> http://www.mobikit.nl/atotz/rubriek_9/10/2/get.aspx

 MvdV> Plates from most other EU countries only differ in main background
 MvdV> colour. Luxembourg uses yellow. Germany uses white. France and the
 MvdV> UK use yellow for the back plate and white for the front plate.
 MvdV> Belgium is a bit of an odd baal out. They still use the old plates
 MvdV> with red letters on a white backgorund. No blue rectangle on the
 MvdV> standard plate.


 MvdV>>> So the paint sticks to the foil, not the metal.

 RW>> I'm of the opinion that the foil won't last as long on the aluminum
 RW>> plate as it will on the steel plate. Basically because the aluminum
 RW>> will have a tendency to corrode sooner and faster than galvinized
 RW>> steel.

 MvdV> The reflective coating seals the aluminium off from the atmosphere,

The back of the plate is exposed to the elements. As in the past with
steel plates, mounting hardware would sometimes scratch the surface
leaving metal exposed, even if it were treated for corrosion.

 MvdV> so it won't corrode. Anyway, I have never seen plates where the
 MvdV> reflective coating has saperated from the metal. I still have a
 MvdV> plate from my '86 Citro‰n. No sign of degradation.

I've got some California plates here that are in the condition I described
above. The reflective film is scratched away and aluminum is showing
thru it.

 MvdV> I also have some *very* old plates that are still in the old white
 MvdV> letters on a dark blue background. Those antique plates are
 MvdV> painted. The oldest one I have is the one I salvaged from Rosa's
 MvdV> parent's home when it was cleared out. It was a plate from her
 MvdV> father's car. 1968. The paint is still in place.

I have several sets of 1956 Texas plates that are in various stages of
condition. At least two sets that are suitable for display on an antique
car of that year (which Texas allows) and a few more plates without
partners, which can't be used (Texas requires two plates)...

                R\%/itt




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