3D Domed lettering on number plates???

A2Steve said:
Hi David. No the panel the numberplate sits in is plastic and separate from the actual metal tailgate. It's been a while since I removed the ones I've got but they are simply clicked in from what I remember.
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Yes, I can see that it's plastic. The complete hatch does look very solid and integral, though? If that section was (fairly) easy to remove, it would make for better access and more straight-forward work? I'm thinking of purchasing a pair of blank plates from here : https://www.craigsplates.com/tvr-backlit-plate Then I'd attach raised, black plastic letters/numbers as appropriate. Here's an example :http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3D-Gel-Do...022959?hash=item235c8432af:g:MCkAAOSw~bFWO1Sd Luckily for my particular registration number, I'll only need 10! I would aim to achieve near-flush registration plates, so that would require suitable recesses to be cut in the lower front bumper and the rear hatch. I think that the LED back-lighting would need some experimentation, to ensure uniformity of light and also to obtain just the right level of illumination. My early attempt at rear-badge illumination had originally had the badge sitting proud of the hatch surface. The badge was still only about 10mm deep and the 4 LED lights were very close to the "lexan" sheet used to transmit the badge illumination. I still feel that these back-lit number-plates would look better if recessed, though. It is good to always have a few "projects" lined-up, for future improvements to the A2!

David
 
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I have spoken to this Firm :- https://www.craigsplates.com/ They only supply the rear plate, suitable for back-lighting, @ £29.88. They can't supply blank plates, for legal reasons. That's still a reasonable cost, though. It's the very latest "3M" material (2011 Yr) I'm still hopeful that I can obtain just the blank material

David
 
Philip said:
Saw a Phantom at the weekend with one of those illuminated plates and it looked sub-Halfords.
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Does that mean that it looked tacky and cheap? Another Company specialising in the complete fitting service for these back-lit plates seem to indicate that owners of top-end vehicles, (Bently's, Ferrari's) are among their clients? They even show a few examples on their web-site....

David
 
This is getting better (unless Philip was talking about seeing this very type of plate) ... http://www.ntrp.co.uk/#!find-a-fitting-centre/dls0g These plates are available for the front and rear. It's a different principle, because it's an edging around each number-plate character that illuminates. The rest of the plate is made of aluminium and whilst being reflective, (of course), it doesn't transmit light. The plate itself is about 5-6mm thick and the 3-D letters stand proud by about 2mm. They can be mounted directly in place of the existing number-plates and no recess is needed. The complete pair of plates, ready to fit, is £200. That includes VAT. I think that a minimal amount of wiring would be needed. I'd need to see the effect on a car, before going ahead with this, but it does seem to be very easy to fit and examples of cars on their web-site do look impressive .... Oh, I just noticed that one example shown has retained the standard lighting above the rear plate? I wonder why?

David
 
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They're the same product as the site I linked to from the look of it, and I'm pretty sure that's the same awful Mansory Phantom the plate was on the back of (albeit now wrapped in a darker matte blue/grey colour).
 
So, Philip, can I take it that you don't rate this particular design? Did it look THAT bad "in the flesh"? Don't you mean a Volkswagen Phaeton, or was it a Rolls Royce Phantom?

David
 
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They're not my thing.

It was the RR Phantom with the misspaced plate and Mansory tat (which I think may also have made an appearance on "Rich Kids of Instagram" last night).
 
Electroluminescent Sheet. It's a thin acetate like sheet that uses high voltage to cause it to fluoresce. You can cut it with scissors as it's so thin, and cut to shape etc providing you stick to a couple of simple ground rules about how you cut it and in what direction. Would be pretty easy to weather proof to be honest.

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It also comes in wire form (if you're into Star Trek TNG, some was used on the Borg costume designs)

Also comes in a few colours.
 
Stuebydoo .....

Thanks for that ...... There seems to be a couple of problems, here? You mention that it uses high voltage to fluoresce? So that's going to need to be generated.? Secondly, these plates also need to be reflective, and although you have said that the're availabe in a range of colours (maybe yellow?) , they wouldn't be reflective. I am making some good progress, however. I've listened to Philip and abandoned the front/rear system that has just the number-plate characters edge-illuminated. The TVR type of back-lit plates is good.Only the back plate can be back-lit. (3M only make a suitable yellow, translucent and reflective material for the rear). That is no problem to me ..... I've got plenty of "lighting" at the front, anyway! LOL! I'm now pretty confident that I'll be able to obtain a "TVR" type blank plate and be able to use 3D black "gel" characters for my registration number. I will probably duplicate those characters on the front plate, once again using a blank, but not back-lit, plate. When I've completed this project, I'll give you all full details and photos, of course! I'm feeling good about this!

David
 
Don't let me dissuade you - the plate I saw looked professionally-done and worked as advertised, just not for me.
 
Stuebydoo said:
Electroluminescent Sheet. It's a thin acetate like sheet that uses high voltage to cause it to fluoresce. You can cut it with scissors as it's so thin, and cut to shape etc providing you stick to a couple of simple ground rules about how you cut it and in what direction. Would be pretty easy to weather proof to be honest.

414-00.jpg


It also comes in wire form (if you're into Star Trek TNG, some was used on the Borg costume designs)

Also comes in a few colours.
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This is an excellent material for providing back-illumination for the number-plate, It is very reasonably priced and there are a range of transformers/inverters to allow the material to be powered from a 12v DC. source The only area that needs investigation is the level of illumination? That requires some experimentation, I think. As long as there is adequate initial illumination, the it could be reduced by incorporating additional tinting. I think that the end result could be a rear-plate that is little thicker that original plate and with perfect, uniform illumination! I would also need to investigate how susceptible the Electroluminescent Sheet is to water-damage? Still, this project has really caught my imagination! The front-plate, too? I think that a standard front-plate will transmit some
light, and if the Electroluminescent Sheet gave quite a high level of illumination, then the front-plate is also a possibility? I'm ordering two sets of 3-D "Gel" characters, anyway .... This is something to look-forward too, in the New Year ..... Just looked at this : http://electroluminescence-inc.com/whatisEL.htm It seems that the brightness can be adjusted electrically!

David
 
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From memory (this is 15 years ago mind) as long as the power strip is protected it should be ok, but personally I would look to water proof it further. One side of the sheet is glossy, and the other matte (the side coated with the material)
 
A2Steve said:
Hi David. No the panel the numberplate sits in is plastic and separate from the actual metal tailgate. It's been a while since I removed the ones I've got but they are simply clicked in from what I remember.
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I've successfully cut a rectangle in the plastic rear panel using a "Dremel" with a cutting disc. Just below is solid aluminium sheet, which is not so easy to cut through. When I've cut a perfect rectangle through both materials to mount the light-box, I'll be able to determine the maximum sensible insertion depth for the light-box, without causing too much intrusion into the boot area. It would be possible to fix the unit proud of the rear boot-surface, to gain more light-box depth? The project is progressing well!

David
 
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