ASTM E2885-13
Definition
ASTM International standard practice for restoration of obliterated vehicle identification numbers; the reference protocol for VIN casework in US and internationally aligned laboratories.
- Field
- Restoration of obliterated vehicle identification numbers
- Scope
- US and internationally aligned laboratories
- Issuing body
- ASTM International
- Use case
- Stolen vehicle and firearm serial number casework
Common questions
What physical principle lets an obliterated VIN be restored at all?+
Stamping a number work-hardens and deforms the metal beneath the visible surface more deeply than a grinder or file typically removes, so an etchant applied under E2885's procedure can reveal the residual strain pattern even after the stamped digits are no longer visible.
Does E2885 apply to serial numbers on other items besides vehicles?+
The standard is written for vehicle identification numbers specifically, though the underlying restoration chemistry it describes is the same one commonly used for obliterated serial numbers on firearms and other stamped metal goods.
Related terms
- Backscattered Electron (BSE) Imaging
- An SEM imaging mode sensitive to atomic number and crystallographic texture; can reveal grain-boundary elongation patterns in the sub-surface cold-worked zone after...
- Cold-Working Stress Field
- Residual plastic deformation and elevated dislocation density in a metal lattice created by stamping; persists below the visible surface even after surface...
- Davis Reagent
- Variant etchant for steel using cupric ammonium chloride (Cu(NH4)2Cl4) in dilute HCl. Slower acting than Fry's, sometimes preferred when contrast on Fry's...
- Electrolytic Etching
- Electrochemical alternative to chemical etchants. The part is the anode in an electrolyte bath; controlled current selectively dissolves the strained metal at...
- Fry's Reagent
- Classical etchant for plain carbon and low-alloy steel: 40 g cupric chloride (CuCl2) + 90 mL concentrated HCl + 100 mL water....
- INTERPOL iARMS
- INTERPOL's Illicit Arms Records and tracing Management System. Multilateral database enabling law enforcement in INTERPOL member countries to trace recovered or seized...
- Magnetic Particle Inspection (MPI)
- A non-destructive testing method that reveals magnetic-domain contrast between cold-worked and unstressed zones in ferromagnetic metals using a ferrofluid under UV illumination;...
- Neutron-Induced X-Ray Fluorescence (NIXRF)
- A synchrotron-based method using neutrons to probe deep obliterations; can detect digit geometry buried several millimetres beneath a machined surface, entirely non-destructively.
- Profilometry
- White-light interferometry or confocal laser scanning to detect nanometre-scale height differences on a metal surface; can reveal topographic ghost images of obliterated...
- Turner's Reagent
- A ferric chloride solution used to etch copper, brass, and cuprous alloy substrates; the high-potential Fe3+ ion preferentially oxidises the cold-worked zone.
- Ultrasonic Cavitation
- High-frequency pressure waves that collapse cavitation bubbles preferentially at high-energy surface zones; an alternative physical restoration method for stainless-steel and titanium substrates.