Above 1200 Sq/FT building my BIG PARTY garage

[jeffmoss26]

amazing as always Don!

 

[WarrenJ]

Great job on the Freeze sign.

 

[don long]

I have to admit. One of the things I was concerned about with the site upgrade was if pics from this thread would still be here. I occasionally check in for inspiration (and of course the eye candy). I am contemplating a career change so I have more “me” time for projects I have on the table. I’m glad your pics remain and I hope you’re soon fixed as good as new Don.

Thanks for the visit O.T.
Good luck on your job decision. You are welcome to stop by anytime

What can I say but "Awesome" to see the Model Teers party, the sign, and the general stuff you do.
Your thread is one of my "GO TO" threads I visit first thing when I log on to the forum.
Keep it coming and "really", thanks for sharing!
Keeping you in my thoughts during your neck surgery and recovery during your down time.
That goes for your wife too, as she will have to find the strength to keep you grounded for a few days!

Thanks for the good wishes and the visit ambenz

was the stencil/vinyl worth paying for? from my chair it looks great, but you might have had to give it a DON LONG tweak.

No tweeks Drives
I haven't turned the sign back over to compare sides yet but the stencil sure made the job easier. And at my age that's worth alot

Looks like stencil is Mylar. Did you use stencil as a tracing guide then tape to your drawn line? If the stencil was used as a mask, how’d you adhere it around the letters for spraying?

Going to be awwwwesome!


Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

Hi Shorty
The stencil is some type of plastic with a light adhesive on the back. I sprayed the sign surface with a mist of soapy water so I could move the stencil around to get it placed perfectly, then with a squeegee I pushed the water out of the way and out from under the stencil so it would stick. I then sprayed the blue paint over the letters and pulled up the stencil leaving the white letters

 

[don long]

amazing as always Don!

Thank you Jeff
It's always nice to have you drop by

Great job on the Freeze sign.

Thanks Warren
Good to see you again

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Hey Don,
Not that it is any of our business (like that's ever stopped us before!) but are you scheduled for your surgery yet? If there's stuff you or your wife needs done like taking out trash cans/bringing them back in, lawn mowing, driving classic cars around (see how I slipped that in?!) let us know and I'm sure a contingent of us will come down and help out til you're up and moving again. Have as relaxing a Memorial Day weekend as you can. Best, Dan

 

[don long]

Today I manages to finish painting the Freeze sign. Now it's time to get the neon repaired and the sign tested

I had to go back and paint the top section white again because the (ICE MILK PRODUCT) letters were in blue.

 

[don long]

Hey Don,
Not that it is any of our business (like that's ever stopped us before!) but are you scheduled for your surgery yet? If there's stuff you or your wife needs done like taking out trash cans/bringing them back in, lawn mowing, driving classic cars around (see how I slipped that in?!) let us know and I'm sure a contingent of us will come down and help out til you're up and moving again. Have as relaxing a Memorial Day weekend as you can. Best, Dan

That is very kind of you Dan
Yes I'm scheduled for neck surgery on June 3rd. I am trying to get all the honey do's done so Ann will be more willing to take care of me lol
I took the 54 chev convertible out Wednesday night and had it towed home so I don't think having you guys driving them while I'm down is a good idea. Jose my laborer will handle all the yard and trash details so that's out too. But I would like it if you just stop by to visit when I get back home.
It's great to have thoughtful friends
Thank you

Don

 

[mybigwarwagon]

Looks terrific

 

[bugnut]

Don, I am awed by you work, and your willingness to share. I have run out of superlatives for the work you do! Just awesome!

 

[jeepxj]

.

 

[Bears Fan]

The Fosters sign looks amazing!!! I would had loved to been at The Big Party Garage when the model A guys came over, it would be awesome to listen to all of their old stories.

 

[don long]

Looks terrific

Thanks uncle Willie
It's turning out to my satisfaction

Don, I am awed by you work, and your willingness to share. I have run out of superlatives for the work you do! Just awesome!

Thanks Bugnut
Just knowing that you like what I'm doing is good for me

The Fosters sign looks amazing!!! I would had loved to been at The Big Party Garage when the model A guys came over, it would be awesome to listen to all of their old stories.

Thanks B.F.
The guys that drove those old cars must have bought them when the cars were new. And they drive them everywhere on their tours

 

[don long]

I sent the neon glass over to my neon guy to repair and tune up earlier this week. He called and said he is ready to come back over and get the sign ready to light up and mount on the pole. I thought it will be easier to work on the sign if it were standing. So I brought around the mount base that the sign was on when I bought it. Not wanting to move the sign around any more than necessary, I put the mount down in front of the diner where the sign will be permanently. I went to the spray booth and grabbed the sign and moved it to the diner drive way and stood it up in the base mount.

 

[Grizz1963]

Smart.

as always Don.

 

[T-handle]

Great work Don! It's already amazing without the neon, can't wait when it's all lit up

 

[Bears Fan]

That sign looks amazing out in the sun

 

[drivesitfar]

even hurt you are doing a fantastic job and your helpers seem to have their part in this figured out to a T too. My father in law who just had his CHEEMO port removed that is now cancer free after 2 years of dealing with that recommended this marijuana product for aches and pains.

I bought a bottle for my arthritic left knee that wakes me up most nights now and it seems to help a bit. Advil gel works better, but long term I don't think Advil is that great for my kidneys so trying something else. if you have a store handy that you can go buy this at it's about $40 for a small bottle and a syringe of it under your tongue for a minute seems to work for me.

your sign does look AMAZING!!

 

[Davenr]

The sign looks great Don!

Vanley and David from Down Under

 

[Jayman17]

Don fantastic work on your latest sign project. Can’t wait to see the nighttime photo with the sign lit up.

Jay

 

[don long]

Smart.

as always Don.

Thanks Grizz
Nice to have you drop by

Great work Don! It's already amazing without the neon, can't wait when it's all lit up

"T"
That is a nice complement coming from you, who makes everything you do go over the top

That sign looks amazing out in the sun

Thanks Tony
I wish I had taken a better shot earlier in the day.
How's the knee coming along?

even hurt you are doing a fantastic job and your helpers seem to have their part in this figured out to a T too. My father in law who just had his CHEEMO port removed that is now cancer free after 2 years of dealing with that recommended this marijuana product for aches and pains.

I bought a bottle for my arthritic left knee that wakes me up most nights now and it seems to help a bit. Advil gel works better, but long term I don't think Advil is that great for my kidneys so trying something else. if you have a store handy that you can go buy this at it's about $40 for a small bottle and a syringe of it under your tongue for a minute seems to work for me.

your sign does look AMAZING!!

Drives
That is how I stay young. lol
Thank you. I've tried that jungle juice and it does work 1/2 way for a short time. It is only a mask for the pain but does offer some relief

The sign looks great Don!

Vanley and David from Down Under

Nice hearing from you again David

Thank you
You are just coming into your winter aren't you

Don fantastic work on your latest sign project. Can’t wait to see the nighttime photo with the sign lit up.

Jay

Thanks Jay
That makes 2 of us

 

[don long]

As of tonight the sign is standing on its pole. The one side has the neon on it and it partly lights up.
The circles on the bottom of the sign need to say a price for the burger. They had the words drive thru on them but when I took them off I discovered that they had been reversed and used to say 19 cents so the neon guy took them to make the new glass for them.

Here is the sign as of this evening and I'm beat

 

[mybigwarwagon]

A 19 cent burger. I can get behind that.

 

[drivesitfar]

I still remember the Dag's burgers 10 for $1 specials when with my parents in the early 60's driving to the post office (paper thin, mustard/ketchup/pickle) or eating $4 lunches of hamburgers, fries and Pepsi at Herfy's for lunch in high school and barely being able to walk out of the restaurant. BTW I grew 8 inches my senior year so I it was hard to not be hungry, but I wish I knew a bit more about nutrition then and i might still have a gallbladder. oh well it sure was tasty.

great looking sign and looks like the spot you picked is a winner too.

best of luck with the new NEON LIGHTING too.

 

[Homebody]

Holy **** that looks awesome! Nighttime should be spectacular!

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Man oh man, Don! Some of these pictures look SO much like my teen years. Can it really be that long ago I could buy 19 cent burgers from McDonalds and I sold gas for 38.9 at the Sears gas island?

A company named Geno's (or was it spelled Jino's?) opened a hamburger stand not far from our high school in Whittier (Monte Vista H.S. is now the L.A. Sheriff Academy) and sold burgers for 15 cents. The chain went out of business fairly quickly. Groups of us guys would drive over at lunch and eat a dollar's worth - (UGH, I hate to think what they may have been made of!) But we thought we were being smart.

Now, we REALLY need to see an assortment of night shots with the neon and the yard lights and/or shop lights on and off. I bet there are some nicely artistic shots to be taken with the right light combo and maybe a mid 60's pony car or two posed in it too.

 

[don long]

A 19 cent burger. I can get behind that.

Yep uncle Willie
Those were the days

I still remember the Dag's burgers 10 for $1 specials when with my parents in the early 60's driving to the post office (paper thin, mustard/ketchup/pickle) or eating $4 lunches of hamburgers, fries and Pepsi at Herfy's for lunch in high school and barely being able to walk out of the restaurant. BTW I grew 8 inches my senior year so I it was hard to not be hungry, but I wish I knew a bit more about nutrition then and i might still have a gallbladder. oh well it sure was tasty.

great looking sign and looks like the spot you picked is a winner too.

best of luck with the new NEON LIGHTING too.

Yes Drives
Life was simple back then. Good memories

Holy **** that looks awesome! Nighttime should be spectacular!

Thanks Homebody
I'll work on that

Man oh man, Don! Some of these pictures look SO much like my teen years. Can it really be that long ago I could buy 19 cent burgers from McDonalds and I sold gas for 38.9 at the Sears gas island?

A company named Geno's (or was it spelled Jino's?) opened a hamburger stand not far from our high school in Whittier (Monte Vista H.S. is now the L.A. Sheriff Academy) and sold burgers for 15 cents. The chain went out of business fairly quickly. Groups of us guys would drive over at lunch and eat a dollar's worth - (UGH, I hate to think what they may have been made of!) But we thought we were being smart.

Now, we REALLY need to see an assortment of night shots with the neon and the yard lights and/or shop lights on and off. I bet there are some nicely artistic shots to be taken with the right light combo and maybe a mid 60's pony car or two posed in it too.

Ok Dan
After reading your comments I went out and turned on the lights.
Actually I left the neon guy here working on the sign while I went out to meet a guy who was turning a few parts for a scale I'm working on and when I got back he had the sign lit

 

[don long]

Here is what I've been waiting for for some time. Night shots of my garage with all the outside lights burning.
The place is too big to get them all in one shot

 

[Krfjkm]

Wow! Amazing place Don!

 

[mybigwarwagon]

That is terrific.

 

[akasrick]

I'm at a loss for words.

akasrick

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Just love it. The shop looks great. The shot with the neon sign, the phone booth and the clock (which kinda looks like an old residential street light in that pic) could easily be from 1930-1960. Thanks for giving us the vicarious thrill. Such a cool *** place!

 

[Bears Fan]

AMAZING!!!

Disney World for gear heads

 

[y'sguy]

Very nice Don! Can't wait to see it some day soon I hope!

 

[Jayman17]

Don, congratulations on becoming the first to create a time machine! All of that neon really looks great!

Jay

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Don, congratulations on becoming the first to create a time machine!

Jay

EXACTLY!

 

[drivesitfar]

I hope you like it as much as we do cause I know it's a TON OF WORK for you.

thanks again for doing what you do and sharing it with us.

 

[rharman]

It's like looking thru a time machine..... Just beautiful.

 

[bugnut]

I passed a Dairy Queen and noticed the vintage 1950s sign and could only imagine how it looked. Thought of your newly freshened sign and how wonderfully it would light up.
I love the lighted pics, Thanks for sharing!

 

[don long]

Thanks for all the comments on my new sign guys

Well I'm off to the hospital for a neck operation so I'll be away for a few days Wish me luck please

Don

 

[Chrisb62]

Best of luck,and a prayer, and we will wait.