How to: have tmz3.ca sticker and logo on lic plate cover

[McGuyver_3]

What you will need
1 or 2 lic plate covers of your choice
1Can of black paint or primer
1Can of clear coat
1 sheet of fine sanding paper
1 Roll of masking tape
Estimated time 30 minutes to let the paint dry properly

the things you need
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a190/bmw_racing/CIMG1749.jpg

1)take licence plate cover that is currently on your car
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a190/bmw_racing/CIMG1750.jpg

2)sand off all of the frame around the plate cover.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a190/bmw_racing/CIMG1751.jpg

3)mask off the area of the plate cover to be shown
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a190/bmw_racing/CIMG1754.jpg

4)Paint the outside egdes with the colour of your choice (black works best)
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a190/bmw_racing/CIMG1755.jpg

5)Apply the torontomazda3.ca sticker to the plate cover clear coat the plate cover Let it dry and remove the masked off parts
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a190/bmw_racing/CIMG1756.jpg
************^^^^THIS COVER WAS TE FIRST I DID AND RUSHED IT THATS WHY TERE ARE MINOR CRACKS ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE. tHE SECOND ONE I DID WAS MUCH BETTER BUT RAN OUT OF STICKERS SO I USED THE FIRST ONE I DID AS AN EXAMPLE VVVV************************

6)reinstall lic plate cover
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a190/bmw_racing/DSC00001.jpg

[doughboyr6]

that's not too bad of an idea....i might try it when i'm bored

[royroy]

nice write-up! =P

[Skarbro]

Mine is similar except I only painted one black strip along the bottom. I didn't do the other parts of the frame. I painted mine on the inside of the frame though, which turns out really nice.

[3GFX]

Nice job! Good write up hehe :)

[MazdaTree]

good job!
nice diy!

[McGuyver_3]

Mine is similar except I only painted one black strip along the bottom. I didn't do the other parts of the frame. I painted mine on the inside of the frame though, which turns out really nice.

yah i thaught of that but i decided not to because i figured there would be to much stuff in the way and wouldnt look good but either way it worked

thanks for all of the input

[Wild Weasel]

WTF? Morningside Mazda? Did they go out of business or something?

[EvilEric]

Hey that's really cool :P I can see that looking nice on the car as well.

[Chuckie]

WTF? Morningside Mazda? Did they go out of business or something?

morningside became agincourt

anyway
very nicely done..

[Broli]

that is very nice!!

good work!

[Wild Weasel]

Ah. I can see why then. The Agincourt facility is really nice (that's Markham/Finch, right?) while the Morningside Automall is pretty ghetto, though it has a wicked road through it that I drive way too fast almost every day. :chuckle

[cyberscorpi0]

That's pretty good Bro!

[Xenon]

Awesome job!

Specifically on the plate covers that come from Ontario Mazda, Erin Mills Mazda and Morningside Mazda:

Instead of sanding the plate down, and making it rough, you can use paint thinner and rub off the paint. Plate covers from the above listed dealerships are just painted on and not silkscreened, so they are easily removed. DO NOT use Lacquer thinner, as that will eat away at the plastic. That is what my current plate covers are. They used to be Erin Mills Mazda ones, but I just removed the paint using paint thinner, to get me a clear plate cover.

[McGuyver_3]

Awesome job!

Specifically on the plate covers that come from Ontario Mazda, Erin Mills Mazda and Morningside Mazda:

Instead of sanding the plate down, and making it rough, you can use paint thinner and rub off the paint. Plate covers from the above listed dealerships are just painted on and not silkscreened, so they are easily removed. DO NOT use Lacquer thinner, as that will eat away at the plastic. That is what my current plate covers are. They used to be Erin Mills Mazda ones, but I just removed the paint using paint thinner, to get me a clear plate cover.



why didnt i think of that sanding it down is such a pain
Cool thanks for sharing

[MattC]

I was bored today and found some black paint,

Shabang!

http://mattcarson.ca/pics/platecover.jpg

Now I just need black screws to match...

[b]

Mattc. That came out really nice. Good job! The corners look really sharp & crisp.

[McGuyver_3]

MattC. looking good (Y) much better then mine

[MattC]

Thanks,

One thing i totally forgot to do was add a layer of clearcoat.
Do you guys think clearcoat over the whole cover could get me a ticket if i get pulled over?

I mean i could just tape the un-painted area off again, but I am lazy! :)

[McGuyver_3]

Thanks,

One thing i totally forgot to do was add a layer of clearcoat.
Do you guys think clearcoat over the whole cover could get me a ticket if i get pulled over?

I mean i could just tape the un-painted area off again, but I am lazy! :)

on my plate i just added the clearcoat to the taped off parts but if you clear coat the whole thing i dont think it would be that visibleand i dont think that the cops would notice

[Caz]

Nice wrtie up.
If you use Xenon's method of cleaning the existing paint off and then paint the inside it won't chip and you don't have to worry about clear coating.

[MattC]

I am less worried about the black paint chipping, than the little frail bits of the Tmz3.ca sticker peeling off when hit by rocks/sand/squirrels.

I think i wil loosely tape off the "clean" area, since all I am really worried about is the sticker.

[Seliina]

Squirrels?!?!

[MattC]

don't play squirrel football with your car? You're missing out!

On a side note, I added clear coat to the plate covers, and just a heads up kiddies, when doing this, make 100% sure to keep the spray can around 10" away from the thing you are spraying, and don't over spray.

one of my covers ended up getting a "lizard scale" type texture because i was too close with the can.

All those years of NOT spray painting buildings is working against me now...

(if that does happen to you, don't fret just keep adding layer after layer of clear coat till it evens out!)

[Caz]

You are learning young grasshopper.

Light coats from a distance is the key to good spray painting. Also make sure you start spraying before and end after the piece you are painting to prevent dripping.

[MattC]

turned out ok, you cant see it unless you get 5" from it

+1 for a good write up, and +2 for a kicker-asser plate cover!

[McGuyver_3]

^^ trust me though you put my plate cover to shame lol

[jedd999]

I think that would look amazing on my black car... gonna give it a shot as soon as I have a chance (and when I get some stickers from Jeff)!

Wondering what kinda paint you used... was it just normal black spray paint, or is there something that will stand up to the elements a bit better?

[McGuyver_3]

i used black primer lol

[MattC]

Just make sure your paint will work on plastic.

It also doesn't hurt to lightly sand the area, that will only add to the ease of application.

the spraypaint I got was from canadian tire, just generic black plastic/wood/stone spray paint, also get a can of clear coat, it really adds to the look, and will protect from the elements.

I have been dinged already by a rock on my cover, and it didnt even get past the clear coat!

[jedd999]

Just make sure your paint will work on plastic.

It also doesn't hurt to lightly sand the area, that will only add to the ease of application.

the spraypaint I got was from canadian tire, just generic black plastic/wood/stone spray paint, also get a can of clear coat, it really adds to the look, and will protect from the elements.

I have been dinged already by a rock on my cover, and it didnt even get past the clear coat!

Aight... I guess I have a project for next weekend :bana2

[IMHIP2]

Another success!
http://www.mustangmods.com/ims/u/1952/9409/170590.jpg

[MattC]

check that out, you can see you're whole sticker!

[IMHIP2]

check that out, you can see you're whole sticker!
Ah yes but my plate cover is not completely clear plastic but rather just the outer rim which made this real easy to paint and put on the TM3 sticker.

[MattC]

Ahh I see, i was noting the perfect lines!

either way top notch job.

[McGuyver_3]

(Y) nice

[jedd999]

Another success!
http://www.mustangmods.com/ims/u/1952/9409/170590.jpg

Thats a great idea using just the frame, but I wanna protect my plate :)

Where did you get just the frame...? I might do that if my second attempt goes bad.

I went out and bought a clear one, but the cheapest one I could find had maple leafs all over it... I sanded it and painted and it looked good, but I was impatient and I went and put the sticker on and I didnt wait long enough, so it got totally destroyed.

Then (stupid me) went and used lacquer thinner to clean the paint so I could repaint without having to sand again :bang

Oh well, guess I will try again tomorrow if its not raining outside and go spend another $10 on a clear plate.

[IMHIP2]

Thats a great idea using just the frame, but I wanna protect my plate :)

Where did you get just the frame...? I might do that if my second attempt goes bad.

"Looks around"


"In a whisper...... Prima Mazda, I used the plate covers that came with the car."

I did buy the plastic covers and was originally going to try the method sugested but I ended up getting the wrong ones whicht had the holes for the screws in the bottom of the plate cover and the TM3 logo just wouldn't fit.

[M3!]

I didn't even get plate covers when I picked up my car from Downtown Mazda.

[jedd999]

"Looks around"


"In a whisper...... Prima Mazda, I used the plate covers that came with the car."

I did buy the plastic covers and was originally going to try the method sugested but I ended up getting the wrong ones whicht had the holes for the screws in the bottom of the plate cover and the TM3 logo just wouldn't fit.

Hahaha, I was gonna get that one also, it was $5 at Crappy Tire as opposed to the one that screams "Im an immigrant" with Canadian flags all over it that I bought for $10. I realized the sticker wouldnt fit, and so I splurged - I had to do a lot more work (sanding), but whatever, I think it was fun.

Here is a pic of my handy work - you might say "WTF, the sticker is off center, you could have done better than that" and my response is simply "if I knew how to put on a decal it would have been, I tried to apply it slowly and ended up totally f-ing it up. I literally had to pull off each letter (while being so careful as to not destroy my beautiful paint job) and re-apply them. SO, all things considering, I think I did a pretty good job, and when I make the one for the front (next weekend) I will have learned from my mistakes, and I will do a better job :chuckle

The fact that the "Ontario" is half cut off kinda bugs me, but I can live with it. Also, the work I had to do to remove the old license stickers so that I could lower this one so it would show was a HUGE pain in the arse.

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s142/jedd999/IMG_1833.jpg

EDIT: Maybe I will move this one to the Front and make sure that everything is visible properly when I make a new one!

[WLS ZMZM]

I think both of your plate covers are PIMP!!! Thats a great idea and those plate covers from the dealers are good ones too... so now I have a use for them. YAY!!!! :chuckle:chuckle

[Razzaq]

that looks awesome!!...anyone know where i can get the sticker from?? i want onee too now

[S.F.W.]

you can purchase decals from myself, Broli, The Biz, or Year of The Rat

[b]

Thanks for the idea. I had the clear Canadian Tire plate covers on my car. Took them off taped it off with painters tape. Painted the inside black. So the stones will hit the clear front and not touch the paint.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k233/blackman99/m3-1.jpg

[b3GS]

I'd like to pick up some TM3 decals at the next Oakville meet if anyone has them

[S.F.W.]

I'd like to pick up some TM3 decals at the next Oakville meet if anyone has them
Doughboy should have some if he makes the meet. If not, come to the next Dixie/Aimco meet(likely Monday), and Broli has decals.

[b]

Ya doughboy has them. I picked up another one off him last weekend. He'll take care of ya.

[Ghost]

Doughboy should have some if he makes the meet. If not, come to the next Dixie/Aimco meet(likely Monday), and Broli has decals.

how much do they run?- nevermind.. did a search.

[Shotta-KB]

I was bored today and found some black paint,

Shabang!

http://mattcarson.ca/pics/platecover.jpg

Now I just need black screws to match...

So I'm wondering where can I get the TM3.ca stickers? I wanna do my plate covers too:chuckle

[tweak_s]

If you look a few posts up, SFW says you can get the decals from himself or broli or a few others.

SFW might also have a few plate covers left... to save yourself the work :chuckle

[S.F.W.]

So I'm wondering where can I get the TM3.ca stickers? I wanna do my plate covers too:chuckle

I have both the decals, and the TM3 plate covers in stock.

[yearoftherat]

I'll have a few stickers w/me on the meet this Sunday

[erratic]

Awesome job!

Specifically on the plate covers that come from Ontario Mazda, Erin Mills Mazda and Morningside Mazda:

Instead of sanding the plate down, and making it rough, you can use paint thinner and rub off the paint. Plate covers from the above listed dealerships are just painted on and not silkscreened, so they are easily removed. DO NOT use Lacquer thinner, as that will eat away at the plastic. That is what my current plate covers are. They used to be Erin Mills Mazda ones, but I just removed the paint using paint thinner, to get me a clear plate cover.

Just wondering if anyone has had any luck removing the paint from the "Erin Mills Mazda" plate cover recently. I told a friend of mine to try paint thinner and it didn't work..