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How to update an erased license plate. The license plates have been erased. What to do? For what reasons can a car license plate wear out?

How to paint a license plate? Read our article. Click on photo to enlarge.

How to paint a car license plate with your own hands and should you do it? The answer to this question is of interest to many car owners, because during the operation of the car, gradual abrasion of the paint on license plates is inevitable.

Painting the number plate is a responsible matter, because this small detail is, in fact, a mini-passport of the car. Driving a car without license plates is against the law, but even if you have a license plate, it is attached in the wrong place or is difficult to read, you may also face a hefty fine.

For what reasons can a car license plate wear out?

For various reasons, the paint on the license plates sooner or later begins to wear off. Click on photo to enlarge.

Painting the license plates is necessary if this part of the car is damaged in an accident or during everyday use. The reason for the rapid abrasion of paint on the surface of license plates may also be a violation of the manufacturing technology of these parts. There are known cases when defective numbers were erased in just a week! Finally, the paint coating of car license plates can be damaged due to deliberate mechanical impact or, for example, due to careless parking.

Some car owners deliberately spoil the number. Painting with special sprays or covering with mesh can be a way to protect license plates from being read by video recorders.

Is it possible to restore a car license plate yourself?

Neither service center specialists nor traffic police officers will be able to give you a clear answer to the question: is it allowed to paint partially worn car license plates yourself? There are different ways to think about this. A license plate is the same vehicle document as a technical passport, therefore no unauthorized corrections are allowed in it. At the same time, if the number is damaged and not all of its data can be easily read, the car owner faces a substantial fine. Well, you must admit that each time going through the procedure of replacing license plates or issuing duplicates of existing plates is a significant time and financial investment.

So, we can conclude that painting a partially damaged license plate is more of a benefit than a detriment. Firstly, those who decided to paint the license plate themselves are not trying to hide or distort its data, but only want to restore the original appearance of this mini car passport. Secondly, even with a strong desire, it will not be possible to find a single regulatory act that would prohibit carrying out this procedure with your own hands.

However, all this does not negate a responsible approach to the restoration of car license plates. After completion of all painting work, the number must meet all the requirements of GOST R 50577-93.

Technical aspects

When factory painting license plates, black and white paint + colored pigments are used to apply the national flag. The main function of black paint is to ensure easy reading of license plate data, and white paint contains special reflective particles that make it easier to identify signs in the dark.

Please note that you can only paint the part that is applied with black paint yourself, otherwise, if the reflective properties of the white background are changed, the license plate will not meet the requirements of GOST! This, in turn, is an excellent reason for the traffic police officers to issue you a receipt for paying the fine.

Restoring a license plate with a marker

If you use a black permanent marker that does not wash off with plain water, you can carefully restore the outline of letters and numbers painted with black paint. The white background will not be affected.

Before painting license plates with a marker, their surface must be thoroughly washed, degreased and wiped dry. Prefer a marker with a blunt tip. To be sure, place cardboard or thin plastic along the outline of letters and numbers so that the marker does not get on the white paint.

If such a problem does occur, use a cloth lightly moistened with white spirit. If you don’t have a solvent on hand, you can remove unnecessary marks with baking soda applied to an old toothbrush. However, this product should be handled carefully so as not to erase the white paint of the car license plate along with the marker.

Touching up the number with paint

If you have free time and are not afraid of painstaking work, you can cut out a stencil from paper or transparent film, and then use it to repaint the number with paint from a spray can or spray gun.

Of course, preparing the stencil will take much longer than painting itself. If you want to make it out of paper, apply some smudgeable substance around the letters and numbers on the number, and then stamp the number on a piece of paper or cardboard. With film, the situation is simpler: you can apply it to the license plate and immediately cut out the outlines of the letters or trace the license plate with a pen and then cut it out.

In this case, it is also necessary to prepare the license plate for painting: wash it, degrease it and wipe it dry. It would also be a good idea to lightly sand the letters and numbers with fine-grain sandpaper P1000 - P1200 so that the new paint adheres better. Do this carefully so as not to touch the white background!

Is it possible to tint the state paint yourself? license plates on a car if their condition has become poor? Operating the machine causes the signs to lose their appearance. Exposure to rain, stones, sand and various reagents from the road causes the symbols on the license plate to be erased. It is prohibited to operate a vehicle with unreadable registration plates. How to paint a car license plate with your own hands? It's easy to do, but you need to follow certain rules.

The degree of wear depends on various factors. The more mileage the car has, the worse the condition of the license plate. Plates are also affected by the conditions under which the vehicle is used. Operating a car in the city has less impact on the condition of the paint than in more severe conditions.

Also, the license plate can quickly wear off if the workmanship is poor. For example, a person ordered a duplicate from a private company, but low-quality materials were used for production. This caused it to wear off and become unreadable after just a few months.

It is prohibited to operate a vehicle with unreadable license plates. Ignoring this requirement will result in a fine of 500 rubles. But you can protect yourself from the fact that the signs are erased. For this purpose, special frames are used in which the numbers are placed.

Is it possible to paint numbers

Many car owners are familiar with the situation when a number or letter has been erased and the number has become unreadable. If the number is damaged, it can be touched up. However, the plates are issued by the state and cannot be altered. However, the vehicle cannot be driven with an unreadable license plate.

Restoring yourself has many benefits. Firstly, it’s cheap, because the materials for painting the license plate will cost several hundred rubles. Secondly, immediate recovery will take a little time. After painting, the license plate will look normal, so you can drive the car without any problems.

Important! Self-recovery should not violate the number requirements. White color is the background and has reflective characteristics.

How to paint correctly

It is allowed to tint the numbers: if they are erased, you can restore them with your own hands. However, there are certain nuances. Since the signs are made using special paint, it is necessary to purchase a similar material for touch-up. Thus, the symbols on the numbers are painted black, and the background is painted white, which has reflective properties. All letters and numbers are clearly visible against its background.

If you decide to tint the number yourself, you only need to do this for the symbols. Painting a white background will cause it to lose its characteristics and will not reflect light, as required by GOST. And this will lead to the fact that the police can stop you and issue you a fine. If you paint the signs, there will be no problems, but you need to choose the right materials.

There are no special requirements for paint, but its choice should be based on the following rules:

• do not use watercolor or gouache, because such paint does not have waterproof qualities;
• use a thin brush to apply paint;
• You can use a black marker.

The problem is that not everyone will be able to paint it perfectly, and therefore the letters and numbers themselves may turn out crooked and uneven. If you decide to do the recovery yourself, do it in a comfortable place and without rushing.

If the license plates on your car are erased and you use a marker, it should be a waterproof black marker. You can buy it in any store, but it must have the inscription “permanent” on it. It is made on the basis of alcohol, so it will not wear off quickly. A thick marker that has a cut at the end is best.

Before you start painting, the sign must be washed well in warm water and degreased. Next, dry it and get to work.

After this, the status will be updated, and a car with such a state number can be operated without hindrance. If you managed to restore it yourself, the result will not last long. After 2-3 months, the paint will come off again, and you will have to repeat the procedure or get a new number.

Making new signs

If you do not want to paint the numbers yourself, you can contact a company that issues duplicates. They will not make a copy of the numbers for long - up to 1 day.

Some cities do not have such organizations. What should you do if your car's license plate is damaged in this case? The easiest option is to involve the traffic police and re-register the car. After completing the documents and paying the state fee, you will have new state license plates.

Attention! Due to recent changes in legislation, the legal information in this article may be out of date!

Our lawyer can advise you free of charge - write your question in the form below:

There are many circumstances that
may result in abrasion of the number and paint from it. The most common of them: damage to
disasters, poor quality of stamping (there is a known case when they made a whole
defective batch, the numbers were erased in almost a week), also the impact on
number with hard objects, which can be either deliberate or accidental. But
there are drivers who deliberately damage their license plates so that they cannot be detected
video recorder. Some people use special sprays, others wear nets or number frames. U
Every person has their own tricks.

Is it possible to tint
number?

Many people are interested in this question, but let’s answer it
Even police officers cannot give a 100% answer. From 1st angle,
registration number - state document and entering configurations into it is prohibited. WITH
from a different angle, if even a particle of a letter or number is erased from the number, this
may serve as a basis for imposing penalties on the driver. Have to
constantly go through the shift function
numbers, or receiving duplicates. In any case, the procedure is not the most pleasant.

It turns out that you can touch up the number faster. The arguments will be
like this:

• Touch up
  does not in any way affect the correction of the number or the inclusion of any
  configurations. Instead it happens
  restoration of information, moreover, it becomes more visible to everyone.
• Not
  there are laws or regulations that prohibit this
  action.

But we should not forget that after all
actions, the number must correspond to the guest. Otherwise, you will create even more troubles for yourself.

Techno side

During production of standard car number plate
They use paint of two basic colors: dark and snow-white, not counting the flag.
Snow-white paint is the background. She also has
qualities to reflect light. Letters and numbers that should be marked with dark paint
clearly readable against a snow-white background.

So, never touch the snow-white paint! If you start tinting
background, reflective characteristics will be lost,
Ultimately, the number will not meet the requirements of the guest. And this is a good chance
for traffic cops to once again issue a fine and cause you unnecessary trouble. And if you tint the letters and
numbers in dark paint, then there will be nothing illegal in this.

What to paint with?

There is a lot of room for creativity here. Do not use
non-waterproof paint, like watercolor or gouache. It is very necessary to apply paint
carefully, preferably with a narrow brush. But not everyone will be able to apply a completely even straight line.
line, sitting on your knees in your own yard, because the letters may become skewed, and
the number will get dirty with paint, and eventually it will completely deteriorate.

Many motorists believe that a dark-colored permanent marker will also work here.
Maybe they're right and this is a good thing
candidate for paints. The marker must be permanently waterproof (they have
inscription PERMANENT). The base is alcohol. You can purchase markers at any stationery store.
stall or store.

Some tips for touch up paint

• Better
  Choose a marker that has a thick shaft and the end is cut at an angle.
• Before
  Before you start restoring the number, you need to rinse it in warm water with car shampoo
  and dry well.
• By
  abilities - before touch-up, you can remove the license plates from the car and carry out
  restoration in a comfortable, dry and well-lit room.
• So that
  to get even stripes, you need to use a piece of cardboard or thick
  paper You need to place it next to the letters and quietly begin to trace them.
  The outline will be even, and the excess paint will remain on the cardboard.
• For what
  time will stretch out the work, it depends only on the marker, but “new”
  the numbers will last for at least 2 months.

Candidacy

In some towns there are companies that legally issue
duplicate numbers. If in your town or other populated area, for such
no one has taken over the business, you will have to go through the tedious re-registration function
car and receive new numbers, and maybe duplicates. For this you will have to
visit the traffic police department at your place of residence. If the number is very damaged, then others
there are no options.

Many car owners are familiar with the situation when the symbols on the car’s state registration plate lose color and clarity. Over time, the process of paint abrasion leads to the fact that the license plate becomes difficult to read, attracting unnecessary attention from traffic police inspectors.

Dear readers! The article talks about typical ways to resolve legal issues, but each case is individual. If you want to know how solve exactly your problem- contact a consultant:

APPLICATIONS AND CALLS ARE ACCEPTED 24/7 and 7 days a week.

It's fast and FOR FREE!

This effect is most noticeable on the front license plate, so to avoid additional stops on the road, motorists swap the front and rear license plates.

For some time, this method copes well with the task, but what to do when the second number begins to deteriorate? We will try to find the answer to this question in this article.

Is it possible to restore it yourself?

So, you have a situation where you need to restore your license plate because the paint on its symbols has rubbed off. There may be several reasons for this: from banal defects in the production of license plates to the consequences of physical impact.

Also, do not forget about the loads the front number plate is exposed to during the operation of the car - the abrasive effect of falling stones or sand, reaction with chemical de-icing reagents.

It is impossible to give an unambiguous answer to the question about the right to independent restoration, since it is not regulated by law:

1. On the one hand, the car number can be considered a state document, the independent modification or modification of which is unacceptable.
2. On the other hand, it is prohibited to operate a vehicle with unreadable license plates, and if this fact is discovered, the driver faces a fine for violating traffic rules.

If you look from the technical side, restoration within the framework of the established GOST will not be interpreted as a violation. According to clause 4.8, when making a number, white paint is used as a background and black paint to highlight the characters.

Moreover, the white background has a special coating with reflective properties. There are no strict regulations regarding the black paint used, so tinting the symbols alone will not be considered a violation.

How to tint a car license plate with your own hands

Considering the technical simplicity of the issue (black paint rubbing off on a white background), the first thought would be to tint the number yourself. To avoid complications in the future, it is necessary to approach this step with all responsibility and take into account all the available nuances.

To restore the number, you can only use waterproof paint, otherwise all your work will “flow” at the first contact with water. Any large hardware store or auto market will always help you choose a quality product.

Most often, the following materials are used when tinting license plates:

1. Oil based paint.
2. Nitro paint.
3. Alkyd enamel.
4. Alcohol-based permanent marker.
5. Marker-paint containing nitro enamel.

Applying such paint will save you from the need for constant touch-ups and eliminate the risk of symbols “running down.”

If you intend to tint the worn-out symbols of the license plate yourself, we recommend that you first familiarize yourself with the technology of a particular method in order to avoid mistakes and damage to the license plate. Let's take a closer look at several basic methods.

Spray painting

Suitable for this purpose is black paint in cans, used to eliminate defects in car paintwork. You can buy it at almost any auto store.

At first glance, it may seem that painting with aerosol paint from a can will be the easiest way, but this is not entirely true.

Let's look at the whole process step by step:

1. We thoroughly wash and dry the license plates; the area to be painted must be degreased. The final result will depend on the quality of this stage, since the paint will lie unevenly on a contaminated or non-greased surface.
2. We cover the number with masking tape so that the white background is completely covered and the letters have smooth outlines.

   

3. Shake the can of paint and spray it evenly over the sign.
4. Wait 5 minutes and apply the next layer. Ideally, it is better to apply 3 layers of paint.
5. We wait for the last layer of paint to dry and remove all the masking tape.
6. It is recommended to let the signs dry for 1-2 hours before using them.

The complexity of this method lies in the fact that it will be extremely difficult to draw an even border between the white background and the outlines of the numbers. Usually a stationery knife is used for this, but in this case there is a risk of damaging the plate coating, which will subsequently lead to rust and corrosion.

Dipping method

This method gives an even and clear boundary of the painting area, but requires a lot of attention and concentration, since there is a risk of completely ruining the number.

Nitroenamel or other waterproof paint is used for painting; the whole process can be divided into the following stages:

1. To obtain a high-quality result, it is necessary to thoroughly wash and degrease the working surface of the room.
2. Choose a flat board no smaller than the license plate size.
3. We wrap the board with thick fabric, stretch it and secure it with a construction stapler or nails.
4. The fabric on the board is generously wetted with paint; to obtain a good result, paint application must be uniform.
5. Take the prepared number and place it face down on the fabric. Since when the number is produced using the stamping method, the symbols and the border of the sign are convex, only they will be painted.
6. Hold for a few seconds and carefully raise the number.
7. Dry the room in a horizontal position to avoid drips.
8. If necessary, the staining procedure can be repeated several times.
9. We repeat the entire process for the second license plate.

When using this method, you need to be aware that if you press too hard on the number upon contact with the fabric, the paint may also get onto the white fields of the sign. In this case, you must immediately remove excess paint using a solvent.

Restoration with a marker

The simplest way to restore a shabby number, while also having minimal financial costs. On the prepared surface of the license plate, all symbols are tinted using marker paint; excess strokes are removed with a cloth soaked in a solvent.



To obtain even outlines during the coloring process, you can use unnecessary plastic card or thick paper, separating the white area from the black.

Restoration of rooms

If you have neither the time nor the inclination to touch up the license plates yourself, then it would be advisable to contact specialized companies. There is no specific fixed price for license plate restoration; options for solving the problem are offered directly when inspecting license plates.

If the number is almost completely erased and is damaged, you will be asked. Moreover, there is no need to order 2 license plates at once; if the paint has come off from one of them, then you can limit yourself to replacing only one license plate.

In order to order and receive a ready-made duplicate, you will only need to spend from 15 minutes to 1 hour of your time, in addition, many organizations provide their clients with the opportunity to place an order on the website and arrange delivery of ready-made numbers, paying for the work upon receipt.



For most car owners, having a license plate produced by a licensed private organization will be much more profitable than contacting the traffic police MREO directly.

This is due to the fact that the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate does not make duplicates; here you will have to go through the re-registration procedure to receive new numbers and STS at the standard cost for 2019 in the amount of 2,850 rubles.

Required documents

So, touching up the numbers yourself is the easiest and most cost-effective way out of the situation if you have the time and desire to do it yourself. If you contact any organization to restore or restore a license plate, then it becomes necessary to confirm your identity.

To do this you will need to present the following documents:

• passport of the owner of the vehicle or;

When contacting the traffic police, the list of documents will be slightly wider, since in this case new numbers with different symbols are issued. Accordingly, a new STS is manufactured and a mark is made in the PTS.

For this you need a standard list of documents:

• passport.

Price

Let's do a comparative analysis of the cost of all the considered methods of restoring license plates.

Naturally, the comparison will be approximate, since prices for the necessary materials vary depending on the volume of packaging, the manufacturer’s brand, the city and region of purchase.

Table 1. Comparison of costs of different methods.

In the case of producing a duplicate number, the cost of producing two license plates is indicated; if it is necessary to replace only one number, the cost will also be halved.

Imposing a fine for a poorly readable state sign

The Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation contains several articles related to the presence/absence or condition of license plates.

Table 2. Responsibility for indistinguishable numbers.

As can be seen from the table, the lightest punishment is imposed for using numbers with unreadable characters. If you paint over the white background of the license plate with regular, non-reflective paint, or allow the vehicle to be used with license plates removed for restoration, then the penalty imposed will be much more serious.

During operation, the car inevitably receives small scratches, chips and other damage to the paintwork. In order for the car to always look new and fresh, car enthusiasts eliminate all these shortcomings, but do not always pay attention to the condition of the registration plates.

It is necessary to periodically check their appearance, since not only the aesthetic appearance of the car depends on this, but also compliance with current legislation.

The presence of a readable license plate, installed in accordance with the approved Technical Regulations, is mandatory for all types of transport that have been registered with the State Traffic Inspectorate. Driving in a car if the license plate has been erased, making it impossible to identify the car, will result in a traffic police inspector issuing a fine of 500 rubles.

Is touch-up allowed?

The law prohibits any modification of a state document that may be recognized as a state registration number. At the same time, frequent replacement of license plates through the traffic police causes a lot of trouble, and among the laws there is no clear indication of the prohibition of such actions.

It is important to determine the degree of permissibility of self-corrections that will not be recognized as a fake by the traffic police inspector. To put it simply, You can tint it with paint or a marker if you do it in accordance with the standards of ST RK 986-2012.

Self-tinting has its advantages:

• the readability of signs improves;
• the car can be operated on the roads without the risk of a fine;
• the machine can be identified;
• extending the service life of previous state signs.

Since there is no direct prohibition on touching up paint on your own in the laws, this means that this procedure can be performed, especially if we are talking about minor scratches and chips. It is important to comply with the following requirements:

• corresponds to the font, size of characters;
• letters and numbers are applied at the same thickness;
• Protective holograms in the form of ellipses and three-dimensional waves are preserved intact.

Duplicate or complete replacement of numbers in the traffic police

A more complex, but effective way to resolve the issue is to order duplicates from specialized companies that have the right to carry out this activity. This solution to the problem is effective, takes little time, but is quite expensive.

To make a duplicate, you must submit documentation for the vehicle to the company.

If there are doubts that painting it yourself will not give the desired effect, the motorist can contact the department directly, since it is possible to completely change the license plates only with the assistance of the traffic police.

The following information will help you determine what to do to replace your license plate if it becomes worn:

1. Report to the traffic police.
2. Compile and submit an application.
3. Pay the state fee.
4. Pick up the signs you made.

As can be seen from the algorithm, it does not provide for any special approvals or additional documentation to solve the replacement problem. This procedure is carried out in full compliance with the law and established standards, so in the future, after replacement, the problem with the number is solved for a long time.

Video about touching up license plates

By doing touch-up painting with your own hands, a person risks damaging the plate with state signs. In addition, not every car owner will be able to carefully and accurately make paint corrections. If the painting is of poor quality, the first traffic police inspector will suspect that the plate with state signs is fake and will bring serious charges. Only an official appeal to a government agency will allow you to avoid them.