Itinerant Air-Cooled

Big Blue's Driver noticed many cars in Taos with license plates that appeared to have been painted over, or had the paint stripped off (link). I suspect however it's a matter of fading color (doesn't red fade worst? and aren't the letters on NM plates red?), not intentional alteration.

Can you confirm that there exists a practice in New Mexico whereby people paint over or remove the paint from their license plates, and if so, for what reason?

Don't know about NM, however, in states where they use cameras to police traffic violations and issue citations, I have seen people put some kind of transparent 'gunk' over some, part, or all letters. In day light looks normal, but you shine a light on it (or a flash) and it turns black....just a thought.

Here in IL there was a bad batch of plates made and the paint or whatever they use bubbled and peeled. Those plates had to be replaced.

I have noticed quite a bit of plates here in Albuquerque that have bubbled and peeled due to the intense sunlight. another thing that people did here was to spray the plates with a product that dulls the plate so the traffic cameras could not get a clear reading. ( the product hindered the reflective surface of the plate so the flash from the cameras would not work.

we just have very poorly made printed plates plates here in my opinion. I have original steel stamped plates on my cars from the vehicles original year.