VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 License Plate Restoration

Folks,
I am not one to complain about work being done, but has anyone had year of manufacture plates restored by Darryl's in Pennsylvania? He has had my 1932 Virginia plates since October last year. I sent a check for 300 + bucks two weeks ago and was told that my plates were still two weeks away from being repaired. I called just a few minutes ago and was told that they are not ready and I simply asked for my plates to be returned. I was told that he will strip them, remove any work he has done and send them back to me. Might I make a suggestion? Do not use this service....

Mac

Hi Mac,
Sorry to hear that your plates are not done, and as far as the cost it is on the high side for restoration!
For the record doing that takes the value of that plate away and the best is to leave it in original condition if possible.
I have a few 32, 33, 34 Massachusetts plates all in original condition that I register and run on all of my cars. The funny thing on one of my cars I need to have a clear plexi glass window over it because the soap and water will wash the #s off of it!
Rory
1934 Chevrolet Standard DC Sport Roadster for sale
1933 Ford 3 Window Coupe
1934 Ford 4 Door Sedan under construction
1933 Ford 4 Door Phaeton

Thank you Rory...Since I have restored the car, I though restored plates would be a nice touch. Learned a hard lesson and probably will not get the two, very rare, 1932 Virginia plates back. If I do get them back, I can only guess what shape they might be in. Just be aware that this fellow might not be the one to do work for you.

Mac

Mac

thanks for the info, that was ONE of the places Darryl's i was looking at for resto plates. was also looking at Finish Your Plates

Keep us in the loop as to how things turn out. Did you pay for the Guaranteed Rush Service ?? or just standard Service ??

Just an FYI there are 2-3 Dealers here in VA that sale fully restored plates, and sometimes have some ORIGINAL Unrestored Sets, depending on Year. They actually come out to our Swap meet each year with Truck FULL !! Nice guys

You are welcome and I will keep updating my experience. I did pay the extra amount. Depending on what shape mine are in after they get here of if they do, I might need another set. The truly sad part of this is that our son and my wife bought them for me as a gift. I am truly not pleased with this situation. Take care and thanks my friend.

Mac

I used them (Daryl) one time, they had my plates for well over a year and never mentioned a quick service and said it was about a six week process. The next time around I used a fellow named Billy here is his email address 'MoJo@Mojoartworks.com' a four week turn around, cheaper and a great job.

Thanks Bob...If I ever get mine back, I will look into his service...

Mac

Continuing saga...I was told my plates would be here today. Nope, no plates. The story continues....

Mac

I restored a pair of '31 Texas plates for my Special Sedan. It was really easy. The pair I bought was full of small rust holes, pits, etc. but only cost $75.

Texas and some other states will not let you register old beat up, rusted plates. They must look like they were newly issued.

I found all this info on the web. First the paint was removed with a simple paint remover (or brake fluid). Then they were soaked in EvapoRust for a couple days. That's when all the holes showed up! Once dried and perfectly rust free, they were painted with spray etching primer. Now the best part: three coats of two part Marine expoxy were brushed on. Each coat (fronts first and then backs) was allowed to dry for a day or so. This stuff is amazing. Use wax paper under them when you do the fronts. The expoxy fills in the holes and the whole plate ends up looking like it never had any rust. After this you can spray the whole front with the letter's color and they spray the whole plate with the background color. They apply a few coats of clear coat. Now you can gently sand off the background color on the raised portions and the letter's color will show up. Use a very soft sandpaper like 300 grit and use a small wood sanding block so you keep it flat on the raised protions. Finally you can clear coat the whole plate a few more times.

Another approach is to hand paint the raised portions. Use painters tape very carefully to seal each letter; they cut the out with an X-acto knife and brush or spray the letter's color. Let it dry but don't leave the painters tape on for more than a day.

Happy Motoring,
Bill

Thanks Bill...I like this idea...Might try it if I get my plates back.

Mac

There is a good bit of information on this topic here:

https://www.alpca.org/

All the Best, Chip

Hi folks-

No plates; no answer to phone calls so I will move on. Just purchased a set restored. I really tried to convince the Virginia DMV that the 32 came with only one mount for one plate but they refused to acknowledge that!!! I learned a hard lesson with this and I could not, in good conscience, recommend Darryl's for plate restoration. I would hope the VCCA would look at this and post a warning perhaps.

Mac

Thanks for the Update Mac ie Darryl's

Yeah Virginia Requires 2 Plates to be shown NO MATTER WHAT, learned that over the years. Dont have a mount, they will tell you to get one or display it where it can be visibly seen, one from the front, one from the rear. At least it is easy to register Antique plates as long as the number on the plates is NOT registered you can register it :) I always check before i get plates, just to be safe, bc if someone has the schema you bought they will NOT let you register it.

Try small claims court, dont't let them win this battle

I sent a set of plates to Darryl's at the end of January 2017. They got the plates and told me four months. I have been calling regularly since June 6 and I get the same response: 'they are almost done.' In my recent call, she said they need the plates at least three months. When I expressed my frustration that they have had the plates since January, she said, quote, I can't help how long we have had them. close quote.
Darryl must think that because his work is so good that it does not matter how long it takes to get the plates back to the owner.
As of today, the plates are 'almost ready.' But they cannot tell me when they will actually be ready. When I pushed for an answer, she hung up on me.
I just wanted to relate my experience so others will be aware of what to expect if plates are sent to this company.

Sorry to hear this.....I finally received mine after a call to them from an attorney that is an old friend...Took them 8 months to get mine to me. They are nicely done and I have two sets now so I am willing to sell one set....Let me know if anyone needs a set of 1932 Virginia plates. I cannot, in good conscience, recommend them at all....

Glad to hear you finally got yours back. I guess I should have gone the attorney route to. It's a shame the hobby has these issues but forums like this educate others from our frustration.

I have not been on this forum for a long time, so I've been going through previous pages to try to catch up and came across this thread.

I normally would not chime in on something like this, but I have used Darryl's "service" in the past.

I think the last plates I sent to him took 18 months and many frustrating calls to get back. Obviously the woman who answers the phone is accustomed to irate customers. When I complained, she told me she didn't like my attitude, even though they'd had my plates and money for about a year at that time. It was one of my most frustrating experiences with anyone in any aspect of auto restoration.

The plates were nice when finally returned but there are other license plate restorers out there who do the same quality, so why put up with this?

All I can say is "Never again" when it comes to Darryl's

Tom

the answer to this is to create a new SECTION CATAGORY.........

Deadbeat sellers suppliers.
Not recommended by VCCA members

or something like the above titles

mike lynch.........

Very unfortunate....If and when you get your plates, they will be exceptional but darn, the attitude and wait is not worth it.

A list of recommended suppliers with option for feedback would be very useful.