Help, cant read the stamped vin near smugglers box

[aftermath]

I can read the stamped vin on the tag that has the rivets, however the one near the smugglers box, I can only make out parts of the odd letter\number. How easy should this be to read? I was thinking of getting some paint remover so I can see the stamping. Would a second coat of paint make it near impossible to read? Or its it real easy to read and someone has scrubbed mine out?

[poorsha]

Any VIN should be easy to read.
Try the paint remover and see how she looks.

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

Sounds like maybe somebody has fiddled with it--tried to sand it off. Why don't you get something that creates a very fine powder, like a piece of chalk, and rub it all over the VIN, then wipe off the superficial chalk and see if enough gets embedded in what remains of the numbers and letters to make them readable. If that doesn't work, all you need to do is wipe it thoroughly with a wet rag and you're back where you started.

Another possibility: make a "rubbing" of the area. Put a piece of paper over it and then scribe rapidly back and forth with the side of the tip of a soft lead pencil--not too hard. It's possible that the resulting ghost image will be more readable than is the VIN in the metal.