Vin Tag rivets

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bjf

Member
Planing to paint my bike. Do most people remove the vin tag before paint? Is there a source for the closed head rivets that hold the plate on?
 
B

bjf

Member
IMG_4354.jpg

So removing the plate went well for top rivet. Bottom not so much.

Is it bad if I replace it with one of these:

http://www.khneisser.ch/products/62/honda-1970-vin-plate

I'm not going for a concourse restoration or anything but I figure if I'm painting the bike I might as well have a nice plate.

Thoughts?
 
B

bjf

Member
Actually after doing some searching I see those plates are not engraved properly. I will just put mine back on unless someone has a better idea.
 
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69ST

Well-Known Member
As much as my tendency is toward perfection, a VIN would have to be either missing or seriously :censored:up before I'd replace it. That one still looks pretty good, a little better than most. It's made from thick aluminum foil, so I'd work the deformed bits back into place, as much as possible, using a fingernail...then a dab of black Magic marker to touch-up the damaged black. All of the injury is tightly localized around the lower drive screw, so it's not going to be very noticeable.

IMHO, an original VIN just adds a little authenticity that a reproduction lacks. Only the original has the embossed (stamped from the reverse side) characters. Repops are usually engraved. I've seen some beautiful engraving work and most would never even notice the difference. But, this is one of those pieces where purist-originality is preferable. A slightly scarred VIN doesn't really hurt resale value of an otherwise 100-point resto. Plus, it saves you a few bucks.
 
6

69ST

Well-Known Member
bjf said:
You just tap these in?
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You could use the special screwdriver but, so far, no one has ever figured out what the drive end would look like.:34:

Just kidding around...they're meant to be lightly hammered, or pressed, into place. Ever hear of screws jokingly referred to as "nails with threads"? Well, that is exactly what drive screws are, no joke.
 
B

bjf

Member
Makes sense. Been buying random tools for things and clearly my rivet gun isn't going to work on this so before I ruin them I wanted to make sure there was no trick.
 
cjpayne

cjpayne

Well-Known Member
Since the plate has adhesive on the back of it, it's hard to remove without more damage. I read somewhere here that you can use some light fishing string to get under it, then pull it through. If I wasn't trying to save the paint or adhesive on the back, I would try spraying carb cleaner around it.
 
6

69ST

Well-Known Member
cjpayne said:
Since the plate has adhesive on the back of it, it's hard to remove without more damage. I read somewhere here that you can use some light fishing string to get under it, then pull it through. If I wasn't trying to save the paint or adhesive on the back, I would try spraying carb cleaner around it.
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That's okay if you're planning to replace the tag. Carb cleaner can damage the black coating. It'd be good for removing the adhesive residue, left behind from tag removal...probably take some paint with it. Carb cleaner is a lot more aggressive than brake parts cleaner, or lacquer thinner.
 
bc17a

bc17a

Well-Known Member
racerx said:
That's okay if you're planning to replace the tag. Carb cleaner can damage the black coating. It'd be good for removing the adhesive residue, left behind from tag removal...probably take some paint with it. Carb cleaner is a lot more aggressive than brake parts cleaner, or lacquer thinner.
Click to expand...

I use lacquer thinner or acetone along with dental floss to work the tag off. Patience is the key. The coating has never suffered from either solvent.
 
6

69ST

Well-Known Member
Trim & emblem adhesive would be my first choice. Weatherstrip adhesive is a reasonably close second; it's intended to bond rubber to metal.
 
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