One of the guys helping me bead blast got a little bit carried away around the vin tag and the edges of the tag are raised up off the metal cowl surface about a 1/4". Is there a preferred method to push or lower them with out causing damage to the tag or should it be called good?

Personally, I'd leave it alone. Tampering with the VIN tag is illegal pretty much everywhere. Different juristictions have different definitions of what constitutes "tampering".

I think you are talking about the trim tag. A VIN tag mounts frombelow the dash and sticks thru the hole in the dash metal. A trim tag rivets right to the top of the firewall. If it is the trim tag and it bothers you,then remove it,and get the right rivets to reattach it. If it is a 74 or later car it will have screws which is even easier.

As for a VIN tag,sometimes you gotta take the tag off. Sometimes when you have to fix rust in that area or replace that entire panel. The stock GM flower head rivets are available for that too.

Either way it would be O.K. to remove either tag to fix them.I have carefully drilled out trim tag rivets,worked the tag off,and then reglued the tag back on and get the rivets to stick back in the holes.

My lack of knowledge and experience is showing, please forgive. I was referring to the trim tag in my prior post not the vin tag. thank you for the information, I think we can clean up the situation with new rivets.