Ageing Digits

[111Robin]

Nothing to do with a medical condition, are there any magic tricks to "yellowing" new plastic number plate digits ?. The original digits on the Wolseley are nicely patinated but those on the Cooper are like Rylan's teeth
I don't want to paint them, the thought of staining them with tea sprung to mind but thought I'd ask in case there's a better solution.

[Peter Laidler]

Rylans teeth....... rolling about laughing....... I like it Rob!

[111Robin]

You just know when something is too white, his teeth are the perfect example
I want the plate more akin to Shane's teeth

[surfblue63]

Smoky B-B-Q?

If you have one of those B-B-Qs that you can close up, why not put in some wood shavings, get them smouldering and smoky, and stick the plates in for a quick tanning. Obviously not to hot, as you do not want to melt the letters, but smoky enough to yellow the letters.

[Old English White]

Oh. Disappointed . I clicked on this thread hoping that somebody had a helpful tip regarding the onset of arthritis

I wouldn't worry about your lovely new number plates too much Robin. Enjoy them. They look GREAT to me What a lovely little car!

[gs.davies]

This gets done a lot when people want to make their guitars look older than they are. Leaving them in tea or coffee does stain them but a tan kind of colour which Is supposed to resemble years of gigs in smoky bars. I’d have thought these would have discoloured grey?

Maybe some of the techniques model makers employ would be more appropriate, weathering I think it’s called.

[111Robin]

I might try the tea or coffee soak with some spare letters,to see how they look. The Wolsley digits are a kind of yellowy off white, the new ones are just a bit too blingy to me, just being fussy. I suppose I could hunt around for used digits, if I had nothing else to do.

[peasantslife]

Surely it's an environmentally caused colour shift? In which case easy to replicate with a UV tanning lamp? A 500 Hr colour shift test is quite normal today. Alternative, instead of locking the car away in a dark garage when not in use - just pop the plates on your south facing window sills for the time you don't use the car, until you get the patina you wish for.

[111Robin]

The Wolseley was in a shed from 1987 until 2017 and may have been garaged during its previous twenty years so perhaps it doesn't take much UV exposure to discolour them. I'm guessing the materials are different though so who knows. I'll try some substances on spares to see how they look. Fake tan perhaps ?, even more like Rylan than before

[mk1]

I have exactly the same issue. And would be interested to hear a method of doing this. Don't fancy Stu's barbie method, but may try to modify it a bit.

[Nick W]

I painted mine with some yellow added to clear lacquer, give it that slightly yellowed look

[111Robin]

Looks good Nick, worth considering.

[Pandora]

I have a radical idea - drive it, if necessary with the choke out for added flavour, and it'll soon dirty 'em up a bit. The front with road spray, the rear with sooty goodness.

Simples!

Al

[111Robin]

That's a ridiculous suggestion Al, drive it !!!!!! As if

[InnoCooperExport]

This gets done a lot when people want to make their guitars look older than they are. Leaving them in tea or coffee does stain them but a tan kind of colour which Is supposed to resemble years of gigs in smoky bars. I’d have thought these would have discoloured grey?

Maybe some of the techniques model makers employ would be more appropriate, weathering I think it’s called.

A sideline of mine is guitars, I do setup, repair, restoration, and scratch/custom builds. I did some relic'ing -as they call it- once and used a foul concoction of coffee and tea.



Here it is next to some of the covers I didn't do



It works, but it takes time, I think I soaked these for a few days, and I'm not 100% sure as to it's hardiness. I think I roughed up the surface a bit as well so it could really soak in. I did this guitar years ago, and though I've had others in for work from the same chap, I've not had this particular one back the last few years. I think it's fallen out of his regular rotation.

[111Robin]

What material is used, for the guitars, plastic or wood ?.

[Oneball]

The Wolseley was in a shed from 1987 until 2017 and may have been garaged during its previous twenty years so perhaps it doesn't take much UV exposure to discolour them. I'm guessing the materials are different though so who knows. I'll try some substances on spares to see how they look. Fake tan perhaps ?, even more like Rylan than before

I think the discolouration is caused by bromine leaching out of the plastic. They don’t use bromine anymore so if the letters are modern reproductions they won’t go brownish in the same way.

[111Robin]

The Wolseley was in a shed from 1987 until 2017 and may have been garaged during its previous twenty years so perhaps it doesn't take much UV exposure to discolour them. I'm guessing the materials are different though so who knows. I'll try some substances on spares to see how they look. Fake tan perhaps ?, even more like Rylan than before

I think the discolouration is caused by bromine leaching out of the plastic. They don’t use bromine anymore so if the letters are modern reproductions they won’t go brownish in the same way.

Good point, these will be nothing like the 60s plastic so will probably never deteriorate. Why can't they do the same with current rubber products ?. A couple of months and you have something that looks 50 years old, annoying juxtaposition.

[InnoCooperExport]

What material is used, for the guitars, plastic or wood ?.

This is plastic. But I can't tell you what exactly other than something likely to be cheap. I would guess ABS.