RedDawg Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 Here in PA you don't get a front license plate, and of course when i picked my car up 2 weeks ago there's this awesome (sarcasm) dealership advertisement license plate screwed into my front bumper. I decided that needed to go asap and i didn't like the look of 2-screws sitting in my front bumper. The plugs i got at Lowe's in the screw/nuts/bolts aisle, there was a drawer filled with all different sizes. I went with the smallest one i could find, part #881204http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h42/RedDawg55/Legacy%20GT/bumper%20plugs/IMG_2055.jpg They look like this, pic was taking post-painted, they come all black.http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h42/RedDawg55/Legacy%20GT/bumper%20plugs/IMG_2061.jpg I scuffed them up by rubbing them around on some sandpaper first. Then using the 4oz. bottle w/ brush from www.automotivetouchup.com i applied about 6 coats of paint. It was $13 shipped for the little bottle of paint, but i figured this is going to be permanent on the front of my car i wanted it to be as perfect as possible. My fully-custom paint "table" i used to hold the plugs while i painted.http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h42/RedDawg55/Legacy%20GT/bumper%20plugs/IMG_2057.jpg After the 6th or so coat of paint dried i sprayed them with a few layers of clearcoat. Before installing i trimmed off one of the "prongs", i figured it would hold just fine with one prong, no need to have huge holes in my bumper just so both would slide in. (forgot to take a pic of it trimmed)http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h42/RedDawg55/Legacy%20GT/bumper%20plugs/IMG_2061-1.jpg Going to install them required the front bumper holes to be widened slightly. I drilled them out with a 15/64" bit. It allowed the plugs to push in easily but to fit snug. Very happy with the outcome.http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h42/RedDawg55/Legacy%20GT/bumper%20plugs/IMG_2069.jpghttp://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h42/RedDawg55/Legacy%20GT/bumper%20plugs/IMG_2070.jpg While i was doing all this I decided the rear license plate frame had to go also as it was a dealership frame too. I picked up one of the license plate frame + cover kits at pepboys and a set of screw covers. I went with a smoke tinted cover because i plan to get the rear brake light overlays at some point and figured they would look good together. I didn't spend the extra money on color-match paint for this because i want to clear my grill at some point and will just repaint the license plate frame at the same time. Picked up Silver metallic spray paint while i was at pepboys.http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h42/RedDawg55/Legacy%20GT/bumper%20plugs/IMG_2064.jpg Painting.http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h42/RedDawg55/Legacy%20GT/bumper%20plugs/IMG_2062.jpg again, about 6 coats of paint, then 2-3 of clearcoat. When i went to put it all together i realized my license plate was too large to fit into the frame, so i trimmed it with some tin snips. But this caused the edges of my plate to become jagged and sharp, not something i wanted pressed right up to my paint. So i picked this up at pepboyshttp://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h42/RedDawg55/Legacy%20GT/bumper%20plugs/IMG_2065.jpg That screws into the pre-existing holes in my rear bumper, then the plate and frame screw into that. Happy with the outcome, the cheap $5 can of paint matches pretty well. I will repaint it color-match when i clear my grill.http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h42/RedDawg55/Legacy%20GT/bumper%20plugs/IMG_2072.jpghttp://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h42/RedDawg55/Legacy%20GT/bumper%20plugs/IMG_2066.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whatisit Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 nice work!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fonts Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 +1 Well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gmoe Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 Nice, cheap fixes there. Painting my license plate frames RBP is now on the list for this summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theflystyle Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 what if you want to remove them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fonts Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Assume they would easily pop out with a slotted screwdriver...... Might have to do a little bit of paint touch ups afterwards though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ej25_TS Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 nice i have to do this when I switch my plates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedDawg Posted February 20, 2012 Author Share Posted February 20, 2012 an update since this got bumped. ~3yrs and they're still holding up perfect, no chips or touchups needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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