Maybe my morning caffeine hasn't kicked in yet, but which cop used a magnet to verify that the plates were not steel? Did you bring some old plates into DMV along with the new ones and point out that they were made of aluminum. Please explain the circumstances that brought this to their attention. How would they ever know?
Forgive me if you are one of those people who would never tear a label off a mattress or some commit some similar serious infraction like the one we are talking about, but like many laws issued by Big Brother some are just not enforced by the majority of law enforcement.
There are rules regarding the issuance or transfer of YOM plates to be sure, but if you already have a registered set of old plates and just want a sharp looking fresh set to replace them; there should be no problem. Simply put your registration sticker on the new aluminum plates and install them on the car. Who is ever going to know? Most cops I know respect the hobby. Only the California Highway Patrol really focus on such details in general.
If cost is an issue, I restored several sets of old black and yellow plates by straightening out the metal with a hammer and dolly, cleaned and painted the black background with a low sheen spray bomb, and had a pint of matching yellow made up at the local hardware store. They used a computer to get it close, and then we got it even closer by hand matching with a hair dryer to speed up the drying process. I tried to paint the letters and numbers myself, but it only looked good from 10 feet, so I hired a sign painter to repaint the text. Once done and cured, I sprayed them with a matt finish. They look great and it was inexpensive. I even did a few of my buddies plates. You are not allowed by law to do this by the way.
