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I bought a 1945 California license plate off ebay. It was supposed to be "restored". It was horrible. They guy even smeared some RTV over a crack and painted over that. That gives you an idea of the rest of the plate. I took it to work and glass beaded it clean. There were a couple spots I missed, so a quick touch up with some sand paper took care of that also. To fix the crack, which was maybe an inch long in the center of the plate, I soldered over the area on the rear of the plate. I leveled that pretty much, but left some thickness for strength. It's been humid around San Diego, so even over night there was some minor surface rust starting, especially in the pits where it was rusted before I'm guessing. I took a paper towel and some Corroseal and wiped the surface of both sides of the plate. I started with a thicker layer, so it got down into the pits, then wiped most of it off. You could see the typical blue tint from the chemical reaction. Next I went to the store and got some Rustoleum spray paints. Clean metal primer (light rust or none the can says), gloss black and gloss white. So far I've primered the rear of the plate, to make sure there was no reactions. I figured I could test there After I've given it enough time, I'll do the front with the primer and let that dry in the sun also. Last for today is a couple coats of gloss black. I'll continue tomorrow. Almost forgot to mention, I got one of the '46 plates to make my new plate GTG for my truck. It was in pretty much new condition. No work there required. It is interesting to note that although the 1944/46 plates were black with white lettering, the tag is yellow with black lettering. I wonder why? I know that's the correct colors and I'm pretty sure this has original paint on it also. Later that day... Way to optimistic about the surface. Lot's of wet sanding and it's still a bit rough in places. It's a lot harder to sand a license plate than a nice big flat truck panel. Anyway, one more coat of primer and I'll see what it looks like tomorrow. Might go right to black, might sand some more. Sunday 1/26/2020 Did a bit more wet sanding today and got most of the pits out. I went ahead and sprayed the back side with the gloss black. I put three coats on and it looks pretty darn good. I'm going to just let the paint cure for a few days now. Then I'll mask off the whole rear and put one more coat of primer on the front. I exposed a bit of metal on some edges, just a bit. I quick spray and then later that day...maybe not until next Saturday...I'll spray some black on the front. Monday 1/27/2020 OK, paint was no longer soft to the touch, so I continued. Put two coat of black on the front today. I'll add another tomorrow. I also bought a set of silicone rubber rollers today. I'm going to put paint on them and roll it on like was originally done. I'm going to go for many light coats until I get the coverage I want. Worst that can happen is I start over. The roller is thin enough so that I can follow the top of the letters and number, rather than just going across them all side to side. The CAL and 45 at the top of plate is recessed, so that will need a brush. Picture once I'm happy. You will excuse me for blocking a bunch of the letters thought Thursday 1/30/2020 DAMN! Had two perfect looking coats and went for one more...late in the evening...low light...it wrinkled. Crap. Taking it back to work tomorrow to start over. Oh well, it's only time. Saturday 2/1/2020 After going down to Bonita for the Saturday morning cruise, I dumped some MEK over it and used a steel brush. Clean Jean. Now after a wash and dry...self etching primer. Very light coats Two on the front drying in the warm sun, then an hour from now, two on the back. More sun drying, then a single light coat of black on the rear again. Tomorrow will be the second coat. I'm taking it slowly this time and not rushing the dry times. Since I won't get more than two on the rear (black) tomorrow probably, I'll wait until next weekend and another day of sun to finish the black.