Any ideas anyone...

[GemGTI]

I noticed a while ago that my rear number plate was stuck to the top of another number plate. At the weekend I bought some new number plates and took the rear one off to find the one underneath it is completely glued solid to the tailgate!  So had to stick my new number plate ontop of it with (strong) double sided tape. My problem now is... I wanted to get some german plates. Front one - no probs, back one - how do I attach it? I cant stick it to the top of my new plate as it would ruin it and also then I would have 3 plates stuck on top of each other! 2 looks bad enough! Any ideas anyone?

Cheers,

Gem

[topher]

If its stuck solid after all this time I would imagine the old hotair gun or hairdryer trick wont work.. eventually you'll have to snap it off carefully and try not to lose any paint around the edges. Any paint that comes off under the plate you can just treat with hammerite as it'll be covered by the new plate anyway.

[Agreeable Slick]

Try to break down the glue with either petrol or meths first, will take a while but might work.

[GemGTI]

So you think I should try and get the old one underneath off? I've already stuck my new one on top of it. How would I attach german plate?

Cheers
G

[Agreeable Slick]

I would try to get all the plates off, then redrill the holes for the plate holder, prep and paint them so they won't rust, then away you go. 

[topher]

Unscrew and pop the panel off the inside of the tailgate and have a looksee, should see two square holes.. usually has threaded plastic grommets in them.. but sounds like they either broke or fell out and the previous owner was lazy so just glued the plate on. Or worst case scenario they might have rusted out

[Thom89]

Gem, sounds like your plates have been stuck on with PU sealer, a common trick played by garages for a fast fix for a small problem!!
Heres what I would do,   stuck on No plates can be removed without damage very easily, you need a legnth of MIG welding wire (1mtr) or a length of the wire used by windscreen fitters to slice out broken windscreens, attach small screwdrivers to each end of the wire, to make handles, place the wire behind the plate you want to cut off, and pull on the handles.. the wire will slice right through the sealer.. dead easy
If when you get down to your boot lid, its a mess of sealer, the best way to get this removed is to go to your friendly bodyshop, and ask them to remove the sealer with the rubber wheel that they use to remove stubborn decals, and the remnants of double sided tape, no solvents are used, and no paint damage should occur, and should take no longer than 5 mins!
Refit your new plates with 8mm thick, double sided sticky foam pads, anyone that supplies plates should be able to supply these..
hope this helps
Tom