How to clean plates?

[Rhino]

Something else to mention. Older plates (I only have experience with Kansas '68 and '69) seem to have had a reflective substance sprinkled into the highlight paint when it was wet. You don't want to scrub on it too hard. The more you scrub, the more of these beads you lose.



Even though it's considered illegal, I usually paint the tag back to original colors. The reflective beads can be purchased from hobby stores. After it's complete you can create a wash of brown paint and thinner to rub over the plate surface. It gives it a slightly weathered look. It doesn't look quite so freshly painted and reflects really well at night.