25: VIN Door Plate

The small things matter. 

I mentioned that the exterior of the truck had been repainted (the original color) decades ago. They did a fine job and Abbey is of course beautiful, except that the little square VIN door plate was painted over. It bothered us. What was under the paint? What did it look like? Inquiring minds wanted to know.

So online research once again assisted us with information.

(Seriously this is a neat site, so go take a look at it.)

TD followed the instructions and sure enough, under the old paint was a nice (slightly scuffed) new little face waiting for a clear coat! It was a perfect inside project for a summer heat wave. Using fine steel wool, lots of patience, and
some WD-40, the old paint came off to reveal the shiny VIN face again. 

He opted not to touch up the scratches with paint like the website mentions, and decided to leave it looking as original as possible showing all the wear. 
I approve. I like seeing the scuff marks and imagine a farmer's boot and 60+ years of door openings and closings wearing on it. The clear coat will protect it from getting any more scuffs. Remember Abbey is not a show car, but a well cared for vintage truck. This plate suits her.

Sadly, I didn't take a Before photo so you get the "After" one.




For the "before" photo, just imagine this as a solid colored rectangle. 

The shiny clean VIN door plate is back on the truck and looks great. If we ever lose our minds completely and decide to totally detail Abbey and make her show-ready, the directions online are easy to follow and explain how to carefully fill in the scratches with model paint and make the VIN plate pristine. The website refurbished ones look like they just came from the factory.

We like the wear-and-tear quality of ours, and honestly...it was just fun unearthing it under the layers of old paint.

Kind of like finding a Monet under a painting of Poker Playing Dogs.