Filling Front License Plate Holes DIY

15395 Views 12 Replies 10 Participants Last post by xxbenbenxx, Nov 12, 2013

sfm6s524

Discussion Starter · Nov 4, 2013

I'm sure this has been covered before, but here's how I filled my front license plate bracket holes that the dealer was kind enough to drill into our new Sport. I installed a different bracket to lower the plate below the bumper and this weekend's project was to get rid of the holes. I normally don't run a front plate, even in California, but since my wife drive this car 80% of the time, she didn't want to worry about it.
So, here's what I did. Sorry for the long post, and I'm definitely not a pro. First shows the before picture. Actually this was taken after I trimmed the area as shown in the next step. I didn't drill the holes to make them any bigger than they already were.

Since the screws tend to create a raised mound of material, the area was first leveled with a sharp razor.

A small fine stone ball was used to further work the area to slightly below surface.

Other options I considered, but didn't do. And I didn't want to pay $25 + $8 shipping from bumperplugs.com.

Bumper repair epoxy kit purchased at local auto parts store for $9.

Used a toothpick to get the material deep into the hole and left enough to be able to swipe down towards the tape to level.

Before drying quickly remove the tape and carefully clean up the area around the hole to remove all excess epoxy. Repeated a second time to get a more even surface.

I used a 1/4" punch to create a hole in regular painters tape matching the size of the area to be painted.

Using the Honda touch up paint ($10) applied 3 thin coats, allowing at least 30 minutes between coats.

Just before removing the tape.

Finished look. Not perfect, but if you didn't know they were there, hardly noticeable.

Done!

See less See more

Save

1 - 13 of 13 Posts

BigSwede

· #2 · Nov 4, 2013

I relocated my plate just like you did. Made a nice aluminum bracket mounted to the underside of the bumper and a smaller bracket at the bottom to keep the plate solid. I just used two small circles of vinyl to cover the holes though. Can't be seen from more than 10 feet away. It'll look even better when I get my black and yellow 60's legacy plates (if the DMV gets the minimum 7500 orders. They're up to around 5300 so far!)

See less See more

Save

Alex185

· #3 · Nov 4, 2013

BigSwede said:
I relocated my plate just like you did. Made a nice aluminum bracket mounted to the underside of the bumper and a smaller bracket at the bottom to keep the plate solid. I just used two small circles of vinyl to cover the holes though. Can't be seen from more than 10 feet away. It'll look even better when I get my black and yellow 60's legacy plates (if the DMV gets the minimum 7500 orders. They're up to around 5300 so far!)

I got my car from the same dealer :wave:

Save

BigSwede

· #4 · Nov 4, 2013

Haha, nice! I think I'll eventually replace the dealer frames with some plain black ones.

Save

Accord207

· #5 · Nov 4, 2013

BigSwede said:
I relocated my plate just like you did. Made a nice aluminum bracket mounted to the underside of the bumper and a smaller bracket at the bottom to keep the plate solid. I just used two small circles of vinyl to cover the holes though. Can't be seen from more than 10 feet away. It'll look even better when I get my black and yellow 60's legacy plates (if the DMV gets the minimum 7500 orders. They're up to around 5300 so far!)

Clean brother

Save

LAF

· #6 · Nov 4, 2013

I told my salesman if they "tagged" my front bumper they could keep the car. They love to advertise at our expense.

He opened the trunk and handed me the front plate holder to take home until I picked the car up the next day.

Save

sheltbt

· #7 · Nov 4, 2013

My dealer uses a bracket that does not require drill holes. I can't see why all Honda Dealers do not do this.

Save

Gator_CR2

· #8 · Nov 4, 2013

I told them if they drilled the holes in the bumper I wasn't taking the car, and I didn't want the dealer sticker on the back. On delivery day I was glad I got there early because I pulled up and saw what I assumed was my car in front of one of the garage bays. There was a guy at the trunk putting on the dealer sticker and the front license plate bracket was laying on the ground in front of the car (ready to be put on). I sprinted to find my salesman to check if that was my car and sure enough it was. Stopped the guy before the bracket went on and the sticker peeled right off.

Save

Route 66

· #9 · Nov 4, 2013

BigSwede said:
I relocated my plate just like you did. Made a nice aluminum bracket mounted to the underside of the bumper and a smaller bracket at the bottom to keep the plate solid. I just used two small circles of vinyl to cover the holes though. Can't be seen from more than 10 feet away. It'll look even better when I get my black and yellow 60's legacy plates (if the DMV gets the minimum 7500 orders. They're up to around 5300 so far!)

I would so get rid of that advertisement frame for your dealer and replace it with a plain black one or use none at all.

Save

BigSwede

· #10 · Nov 4, 2013

Route 66 said:
I would so get rid of that advertisement frame for your dealer and replace it with a plain black one or use none at all.

I'm going to. I just haven't gotten around to it. Because of the way I made the lower bracket, the frame hides what would be some ugly hardware. I'm heading over to the accessory shop today and see what I can find.

Save

BigSwede

· #11 · Nov 4, 2013

Went to get the car washed today, and they have a little accessory shop in there. They happened to have a couple of black metal frames in there for $5 each. So now the dealer frames are gone. I also took a pic of my DIY bracket while the plate was off. Now I just need some black bolts.

This pic also shows my vinyl covers and the damage the stock plate mount did to my bumper. It shows up very well in this pic, in real life it's not this noticable.

See less See more

Save

Blorzoga

· #12 · Nov 4, 2013

sfm6s524 said:
I'm sure this has been covered before, but here's how I filled my front license plate bracket holes that the dealer was kind enough to drill into our new Sport. I installed a different bracket to lower the plate below the bumper and this weekend's project was to get rid of the holes. I normally don't run a front plate, even in California, but since my wife drive this car 80% of the time, she didn't want to worry about it.
So, here's what I did. Sorry for the long post, and I'm definitely not a pro. First shows the before picture. Actually this was taken after I trimmed the area as shown in the next step. I didn't drill the holes to make them any bigger than they already were.

Nice work. I considered the bumper plugs but decided they were actually more noticeable than the holes themselves (I have MSM). I may try your solution eventually, but then again I may just say F**K it and leave as is. Before I bought the car, I didn't even think of telling the dealer not to drill, and the holes may have already been there when I testdrove it, I didn't notice. Live and learn.

Save

xxbenbenxx

· #13 · Nov 12, 2013

BigSwede said:
Went to get the car washed today, and they have a little accessory shop in there. They happened to have a couple of black metal frames in there for $5 each. So now the dealer frames are gone. I also took a pic of my DIY bracket while the plate was off. Now I just need some black bolts.

This pic also shows my vinyl covers and the damage the stock plate mount did to my bumper. It shows up very well in this pic, in real life it's not this noticable.

Whoa.. it looks pretty good! I was wondering if you just bought everything from Home Depot and did you just screw the metal bar up into the bumper?

Thanks! I'm hoping to do this soon!

Save

1 - 13 of 13 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top Contributors this Month