No Drill, No mount, No tow hook, License Plate mounting ( W/pICS !)
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 358
Likes: 88
C450,GLC 63,VW GTI
No Drill, No mount, No tow hook, License Plate mounting ( W/pICS !)
Just wanted to share this cool mod for those who hate front mounting their plates and destroying their clean aesthetic look.
I wasn’t too thrilled about the drilling holes in the front bumper and didn’t like the protruding look of the OEM license plate mount on the front as it stands out like a zit.
So I decided to use 3M double sided spoiler tape (rated at over 130 degrees hot and below freezing temps) and some careful bending, folding and molding of the aluminum license plate ( I had a spare “practice plate” to experiment on).
The trick is to find the right type of VHB tape, and to pre-prep the mounting surfaces to a pristine almost decontaminated finish so that there are no particles, grease, dust, grime or buildup between contact surfaces.
It’s a Bad and good thing that the AMG bumper has a lot of complex curves, dips and creases on the front, looks good but not the best for wanting to stick on a plate, so I had to be very diligent with the folding and molding.
I also creased and folded the bottom part of the plate over and toward the back to provide a smaller visual appearance, without cutting off the numbers and letters (yes I did blur them out :- P )
I’ve been in 20 degree weather, 110 degree weather and rain and snow and up to 100 mph for almost 1 year now…and its holding firm and solid. As a extra safety measure and as a “just in case” I have zip ties inserted into the license plate holes (on the folded part) and attached into the grill in a loop ( I made sure this cannot be seen).
I hope this can provide hope to those don’t want to drill and those who HAVE to have front plates in their states.
I wasn’t too thrilled about the drilling holes in the front bumper and didn’t like the protruding look of the OEM license plate mount on the front as it stands out like a zit.
So I decided to use 3M double sided spoiler tape (rated at over 130 degrees hot and below freezing temps) and some careful bending, folding and molding of the aluminum license plate ( I had a spare “practice plate” to experiment on).
The trick is to find the right type of VHB tape, and to pre-prep the mounting surfaces to a pristine almost decontaminated finish so that there are no particles, grease, dust, grime or buildup between contact surfaces.
It’s a Bad and good thing that the AMG bumper has a lot of complex curves, dips and creases on the front, looks good but not the best for wanting to stick on a plate, so I had to be very diligent with the folding and molding.
I also creased and folded the bottom part of the plate over and toward the back to provide a smaller visual appearance, without cutting off the numbers and letters (yes I did blur them out :- P )
I’ve been in 20 degree weather, 110 degree weather and rain and snow and up to 100 mph for almost 1 year now…and its holding firm and solid. As a extra safety measure and as a “just in case” I have zip ties inserted into the license plate holes (on the folded part) and attached into the grill in a loop ( I made sure this cannot be seen).
I hope this can provide hope to those don’t want to drill and those who HAVE to have front plates in their states.
Last edited by SilverBullet18; Aug 15, 2019 at 01:11 PM.
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 358
Likes: 88
C450,GLC 63,VW GTI
Its OEM Carlsson front lip ( not cheap ), there are some replicas out there but I don’t trust the fit and finish.
Received it from overseas….wanted the front end to have a completely different and aggressive yet clean look.
Received it from overseas….wanted the front end to have a completely different and aggressive yet clean look.
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 358
Likes: 88
C450,GLC 63,VW GTI
People have removed spoilers, lips and skirts for years without removing paint. It would be similar to de-badging the car.
I did the same thing to my VW years ago,,,just do it on a very hot day or use a low temp heat gun and fishing line to "saw" off the glue and just clean up.
you can look at youtube videos on De-badging to see what im talking about. Also...OEM Mercedes clearcoat is very high quality and a hard ( i.e. very resilient).
I did the same thing to my VW years ago,,,just do it on a very hot day or use a low temp heat gun and fishing line to "saw" off the glue and just clean up.
you can look at youtube videos on De-badging to see what im talking about. Also...OEM Mercedes clearcoat is very high quality and a hard ( i.e. very resilient).
