Mine had been painted over and trying to remove the new paint also was removing the original paint. I ended up having to buy & stamp a reproduction data plate. Electrolysis won't help unless your issue is rust. You should be able to get a replacement data plate from one or more of the vendors. If you are a VCCA member there's a fellow making & selling data plates to members already correctly stamped for $15. All of the repop data plates I've seen are aluminum instead of the original material (galvanized steel???).
Save a life, adopt a senior shelter pet.
The three main causes of blindness: Cataracts, Politics, Religion.
Name your dog Naked so you can walk Naked in the park.
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