Stop wasting money fitting cover caps that don't protect your fixings
Problem 1 - Corrosion (Rusting) of fixings:
In the UK, many dealers & owners use Hinge-Caps to cover screws & fixings on vehicle Number Plates. Hinge-caps trap moisture under the cap, resulting in accelerated corrosion of the fixing (up to 20-times faster than if no cap was used!).
| Pics at right are from a vehicle just 11 months old. White Hinge cap on front plate is badly rust-stained. The screw has corroded so severely, the head broke off during removal - requiring partial drilling-out to remove. Black hinge cap on rear plate has been broken off, the base is colour-faded, and screw is also severely corroded. |
Click on pic for a HD image |
Even poly-head fixings (screws where the head of the screw is encased in plastic) may still suffer from accelerated corrosion. When tightening the screw into place, the pressure of the screwdriver causes fine cracks in the plastic head, allowing moisture to penetrate down to the metal.
Click on pic for a HD image |
These pics are from a 15 month-old vehicle. Polytop fixing on front plate is badly rust-stained. The Yellow polytop on the rear plate has faded to almost white, and the screw has so badly corroded, the recess ‘rounded’ (or 'cammed') during removal. |
Problem 2: Number Plate Theft:

Last year, more than 44,000 vehicles in the UK had one or both number plates stolen. Thefts have been steadily increasing each year.
Thieves only need one minute, and most vehicle number plates are easy to steal:
- if the screws are badly rusted, a numberplate can often be simply pulled off in seconds
- if hinge-caps have been used, they are easy to flip open, and a regular screwdriver does the rest in under a minute
Theives would like to use your numberplates to:
- drive away from petrol stations without paying
- avoid the London congestion charge.
- evade speed camera & red-light camera fines
- avoid ANPR recognition of out-of-date insurance & MOT &
- commit other more serious crimes
and YOU will be held responsible unless you can prove otherwise.
Because the relevant authorities apply a “Guilty until proven innocent” approach, anytime plates are stolen from your customer, you face the likelihood of wasted time, money, legal fees and lots of unnecessary grief (such as the gent in this story).
Problem 3: Aesthetics
You buy a new car - your Pride & Joy! You wash it every week and really look after it. So, you're horrified to see rust streaks emerging from the number plate fixings after about 6 months.
It really spoils the whole thing about having a new car when you see rust.
Fortunately, it's not your car that's rusting - just the number plate fixing which has been covered by a cap that lets in moisture
The solution is a Snap!
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Well, Snap-Caps anyway!
Snap-Caps provide an enhanced level of protection over other cover caps on the market:
- Snap-Caps cannot easily be picked off by hand (unlike ‘hinge’ caps), nor can the screw be unfastened by turning the cap (unlike Polytops).
- Because thieves cannot risk spending too long on any one car, Snap-Caps add to the time a thief requires. When combined with Security screws, the Snap-Caps disguise the presence of security screws - meaning the thief is less likely to have the necessary removal tools to hand.
- Snap-Caps achieve an airtight & watertight seal around the head of the fixing. This protects the head of the screw against rusting, avoiding rust stains on your car, and making your number plates MORE SECURE.
Despite the quality design and many advantages, Pro-Dec's Number Plate caps are not expensive, and pricing starts from less than 11p per vehicle¹ - cheap insurance to save lots of frustration.
¹ Based on Discounted Trade prices
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