Preparing the Plate

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	With your knife, cut back the wide vinyl strap until it can no longer be seen from the top. Make sure that you leave a little bit of strap around the rivets, because otherwise the rivets will dangle freely without the strap material.
	Remove the 2 rivets that are located next to the 2 slits on the front and rear of the plate. These rivets are alone on either side. Do not remove the rivets that are in a row of 3. Removing the rivets may be difficult. Try the following: 1) Pry up the washer as much as possible using a flathead screwdriver. 2) Grab the pried washer with a pair of pliers and roll the washer off over the rivet. 3) With the washer gone, cut away and remove all of the strap material. 4) With both the washer and strap gone, the rivet will be loose and exposed. With your wire cutters, snip the rivet in half and remove.
	Sand the plate with extra fine sandpaper. This will keep the paint from flaking off easily. Using coarser sandpaper may leave scratches that will show up after painting.
	Paint the plate. Try applying several light coats, adding coats as soon as the paint looks dry, until no white is showing through. Avoid creating runs in the paint.

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