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Thread: My DIY License Plate Bracket

  1. #1
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    My DIY License Plate Bracket

    Hi all,

    Just thought I'd share what I did to 'clean up' my license plate mounting solution:

    As the car came from the dealer the plates are just bolted on with two flimsy screws and then the typical shroud with the dealer details is attached. It's not great and I find the plate often sits funny on the bumper. Lakin brackets are great (a friend bought a set very recently) but to my DIY addled brain they're just too costly. instead I figured I'd have a crack at coming up with my own solution and making them myself.

    I've only completed the rear bracket for now. The front plate will take a bit more work because I want to mould it to the curve of the bumper, which given my chosen material (acrylic) should be easily doable in a regular oven or with a heat gun. I'll add the front bracket once I'm done but it could be a while as I am waiting on a new slimline number plate

    I bought the Kingpin covers because they're cheap enough and making something of equivalent quality would be fairly tricky:
    My DIY License Plate Bracket-kingpin-plate-cover-jpg

    8mm thick Suntuf acrylic. Thick and strong, but easy to work with and dirt cheap. More than enough material to do front and rear brackets:
    My DIY License Plate Bracket-suntuf-acrylic-jpg

    Rough cut done on the drop-saw, and the corners marked for rounding:
    My DIY License Plate Bracket-rough-cut-bracket-jpg

    Manually rounding the corners. It was at this point I wished I had a spindle sander as it would have given much better results. That being said I still got decent finish, it just took a bit of effort:
    My DIY License Plate Bracket-shaping-bracket-jpg

    Counter sunk mounting points to attached the bracket to the car. I used the rubber grommet things Lakin sells (threw a few in with my friends order):
    My DIY License Plate Bracket-counter-sunk-brack-mount-jpg

    Counter sunk mounting points for the plate and the Kingpin cover to attach to the bracket. It still needed more finishing work at this point:
    My DIY License Plate Bracket-countersunk-plate-mounts-jpg

    Test Fit. I thought about leaving the acrylic clear, but it wouldn't have given me the look I was after I kept going with my intended plan:
    My DIY License Plate Bracket-test-fit-jpg

    Sanded to help the paint stick:
    My DIY License Plate Bracket-sanded-ready-painting-jpg

    After a few coats of satin black:
    My DIY License Plate Bracket-first-coat-jpg

    Ready to roll! Please excuse my office worker tan:
    My DIY License Plate Bracket-ready-installation-jpg

    Mounted to the car. Cleeeeaaaaannnnnn:
    My DIY License Plate Bracket-mounted-jpg

    Fin. Looks solid. Is solid:
    My DIY License Plate Bracket-fin-jpg

    From a distance. Pretty hard to capture but I guess that's the point - it looks clean!

    My DIY License Plate Bracket-wide-jpg

    Probably won't get anyone excited but for me it's the little things. Thanks for looking

    - Matt
    Last edited by mattaus; 05-10-2015 at 07:04 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Looks good! Can you get a larger photo from behind of the car?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  3. #3
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  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by ASR36 View Post
    Looks good! Can you get a larger photo from behind of the car?
    Thanks! Will do in the morning right after I've shaked the inevitable hangover I'm going to have due to the game of NRL I just watched...

  5. #5
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    Picture added to the original post as requested.

  6. #6
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    Jan 2015
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    Thanks. It definitely does look good.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by mattaus View Post
    Picture added to the original post as requested.

    mattaus, have you done anything about the front license plate yet? (that ugly black euro plate mount)

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
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    Newcastle NSW
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    Awesome work!

    I had thought of something similiar, and i agree the lakin stuff is great but damn its pricey....

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