How to Make Magnets From Old License Plates

Break out the tin snips and learn how to repurpose colorful old license plates into handy magnets for your fridge or message board.

By Brian Patrick Flynn
Filed under: Recycling, How To

Looking for a vintage way to display kids’ artwork and post their soccer schedule, birthday invitations and your bills in a place where you can see them? Tack them on a refrigerator or message board with letter magnets made from old license plates. Aaron Foster, an artist who has made a career out of turning license plates into art, shows how to make your own letter magnets.

Materials Needed:

vintage license plates
tin snips
ruler, yardstick or straightedge
black permanent marker
sponge
spray cleaner or degreaser

work gloves
coarse grit sanding block
liquid bonding adhesive
magnets
hammer
block of wood

Choose License Plates

Gather a variety of vintage license plates (Image 1). You can find them at flea markets, thrift stores and antique malls, and at state and government websites and online auction sites. Be sure you get steel license plates, not aluminum ones. You can check whether or not a plate is steel by holding a magnet to it. If the magnet sticks, the plate is steel. If it doesn’t, the plate is made of aluminum. Decide what letters to use. Keep in mind that E’s, N’s and L’s can be difficult to find so you may need to substitute 3’s, Z’s and 7’s. Turn a 3 backward to create the look of an E. Lay a Z on its side to make an N. Turn a 7 upside down to make an L (Image 2). Don’t overlook special characters on state tags, such as animal shapes or hearts (Image 3).

Degrease License Plates

Lay license plates on a flat outdoor surface. Use a household spray cleaner and a sponge to thoroughly rid license plates of dust, dirt, grease and road residue.

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Mark Back of Plate With Horizontal Line

Once plates are dry, turn each over and lay on a flat surface. Use a ruler or straightedge and a black marker to make a horizontal line above the top and below the bottom of each letter. For best results, leave about 1/8 of an inch of space around each letter or number you will cut out.