Hello ive just bought a 2015 A5 from the UK and i need to replace the plates, maybe a stupid question but how the hell do these things come off there aren't any screws i can see

Hello Kevin,

Thanks for being in touch. 

I take it you want to renew the current number plate, rather than take it off and put it back on again. 

No screws = stuck on, and they do stick well! 

To get them off entails the use of a hair dryer and carefully pulling (not levering). Getting the remnants of the patches off? Take it as not worth the effort - just reposition the new patches so they don’t overlap the old.

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

ahh so just stuck on i was afraid to pull on them

Thanks

I just changed mine yesterday. I prefer to remove as much of the previous sticky pads as I can so that the new sticky pads have as much bodywork to stick to as possible.

I use a combination of the edge of a loyalty card ( I didn't want to write off my bank card ) to scrape as much as I can off and Sticky Stuff Remover to get the rest with a microfibre cloth. Also as it's getting colder now I used a hairdryer to heat up the sticky pads after attaching them to the plates before sticking them to the car to allow the pads the best chance of sticking properly.

edit

2 hours ago, Delberthot said:

I just changed mine yesterday. I prefer to remove as much of the previous sticky pads as I can so that the new sticky pads have as much bodywork to stick to as possible.

I use a combination of the edge of a loyalty card ( I didn't want to write off my bank card ) to scrape as much as I can off and Sticky Stuff Remover to get the rest with a microfibre cloth. Also as it's getting colder now I used a hairdryer to heat up the sticky pads after attaching them to the plates before sticking them to the car to allow the pads the best chance of sticking properly.

Thanks for the reply

great tip to heat up the sticky pads with hairdryer, I am picking up the new plates tomorrow and get some strong double sided sticky pads

Hello Kevin,

You will certainly need a hair dryer to remove the old plate, and judging by Derek’s experience -to remove the tape remnants. 

You will usually find that the plates are stuck on by 3 strips of pads, and as I said, you can attempt to remove as much of the old pads as possible, but with the potential to damaging paintwork. 

I tend to leave the old sticky pads where they are, since they tend to retain some of their adhesion, and I cannot really see much advantage in removing all of that. Again as said, I simply stick the new pads alongside the old and all is well, without extra effort, no damage and no great downside. 

Its probably worth getting your new pads from the plate suppliers to ensure they are the correct external useable type.

Worth cleaning the body area where the pad goes with meths - also the corresponding section of the plate. 

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

Thanks for the tips guys Plates fitted today 🙂