Advice For Fitting Metal Number Plates

Introduction – Fitting Metal Number Plates

The following information is designed as a useful guide to help you prepare for fitting pressed metal number plates to a vehicle. Of course, each vehicle is different and you might choose your own method of fitting the plates. This guide is for reference purposes only and you must ultimately decide what works best for you.

Plate Frames

We always recommend using plate frames, wherever possible, when fitting metal number plates to a vehicle. Used correctly, frames will hold the plates firmly in place, they allow the water to drain away more easily from behind your plates and they look great.

Plate frames are very easy to fit. Our plate frames have multiple screw holes making it very easy to line them up with the existing screw holes on your vehicle’s bumper or bodywork. You can use as many screws as you want to secure the plate frames but we usually find four is sufficient, as close to the corners of the frame as possible is usually best but just whatever works for your vehicle.

Once you have the plate frames attached to your vehicle, just fit the metal number plates inside and snap shut the frame surround ensuring it is closed tightly the whole way around. Your metal number plates are now held securely in place.

You can buy plate frames from us or from any other supplier. Most plate frames are a standard size but the quality can vary greatly, so make sure to buy good quality plate frames and do not be tempted to just go for the cheapest option.

Many of our plates frames have the added advantage of containing little rubber bumpers which rest against the back of the metal number plates to prevent movement and vibration when the vehicle is travelling. Our plate frames are very durable and are made from a flexible material which allows you to bend them, for example when fitting to a curved bumper.

Screw Fixings

Screw fixings can be used when fitting metal number plates but proceed with care. You will have to drill the plates when using screw fixings and there is a risk of damaging the plate surface. Here are useful tips before you start to drill:

If you are not confident using a drill, then stop and find someone to help!

Carefully measure where you need to drill the holes and check again before drilling.

Place a piece of masking tape over the area where you are going to drill. This allows you to make a small pen or pencil mark on the tape instead of the plate surface. It will also help to prevent the drill bit from slipping during the drilling process.

Place the plate, face up, on a flat stable surface before you start to drill.

Drill from front to back.

Use a new or very sharp drill bit suitable for drilling aluminium.

Only apply light pressure to the drill during the drilling process to help prevent causing any damage to the plate surface.

Sticky Pads

We do not recommend using sticky pads at all. Sticky pads come in variety of different levels of quality and can very often fail. The glue on sticky pads can be adversely affected by wet, by hot and cold temperatures, by vibrations and it will degrade through time. When the glue fails your plates will start to slide down the vehicle surface or even fall off completely.

More Help or Advice

If you need more advice please contact us and we will do our best to help.

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