gasoline tank name plate for 1955-1956 KH

[Coolbreeze]

When my gasoline tank was refurbished, the original tank name plates were replaced with repops attached with an adhesive. On a recent trip, the right name plate took a dive, never to be seen again. My originals have been stripped of chrome and paint, but it looks like they can be brought back to new condition. This gives rise to several questions:
1. Is there a replater in the Springfield, IL area that can be trusted to work on the name plates?
2. Is there supposed to be a gasket between the name plate and the gasoline tank?
3. What is the correct size for the attachment screws? My guess is either 4-40 X 3/16 or 6-32 X 3/8 self-tapping.
4. Is there a mounting plate on the tank that the name plate is attached to?

The bike runs fine without the name plate, but I want it to look right.

George

[Rubone]

The nameplate screws are readily available. The K nameplate is the same as Big Twin of the same year so search for BT screws. No gaskets.
If your mounting strips have been removed it could be an issue as they are spot welded to the tank.

[exeric]

George, I had the same issue with the mounting strip on my '48FL. The spot weld on the right side strip let go at the front. The paint was undisturbed and in nice shape but spot welding, soldering, or brazing would mean a lot of work and a new paint job. A friend suggested 3M panel bond which is a modern glue that is used to put new car body panels together. It was expensive but I can say it did the deed (way cheaper than a welding/repaint fix) and that has been 7 or 8 years ago now. Perhaps you could get a paint and body shop to do that and save yourself the expense. The hard part was making a clamp to secure the strip in place while the panel bond cured.