BUILDING a new NEON SIGN

[don long]

I have started a new project
About 5 years ago I was visiting with a good friend. As we walked around his place looking at his many collectibles I noticed an old tin sign can sitting in the corner. He offered it to me saying that I could make a nice sign for my wifes Barbie doll store. I took the can home and let it sit on my work bench for about a week while I looked at it trying to visualize a sign on the blank can.

The can was in pretty poor condition being twisted and dented and coming apart

The left side

1 by don long, on Flickr

The right side

2 by don long, on Flickr

I decided to straighten out the can and put it back together. First I took the right skin off the frame to repair the frame.

3 by don long, on Flickr

Then I removed the end cap and repaired it

4 by don long, on Flickr

Next the end panel and the right side skin were fastened back onto the can.

5 by don long, on Flickr

And the sign can went into the booth for a coat of primer.

7 by don long, on Flickr

At this point the sign can went into a storage container because I hadn't decided on what the sign should look like.

Rolling the clock forward 5 years. I was emptying out the storage container to move it around the yard when I noticed the sign can.

8 by don long, on Flickr

Then I ran into my old friend at a vintage sign trading party and he asked me if I had ever done anything with that old sign can. I mentioned that I straightened it up a bit but that was it.

Walking through the party garage a few days later, it hit me, a good place for that old sign can.
I had changed the location of my wife's country store by building a bigger one deeper into the garage and am in the process of converting the old store into a Signal gas station and it needs a sign hanging on it.

That got the wheels in my head turning. After consulting with my artist friend we came up with the design for the Signal sign

9 by don long, on Flickr

 

[don long]

I took the sign drawing over to my noen sign guy along with the sign can to determine where we would need holes for the neon tubes and which holes I should fill in.
We decided that all the holes in the can were in the wrong spots and they all need to be filled in.

10 by don long, on Flickr

After looking closely at the can I decided that I could fill in the holes on the right side but with the condition of the left side being all dented up I would have a better sign if I replaced the left side.

So the work started
First I plugged up the holes on the right side

11 by don long, on Flickr

12 by don long, on Flickr

And next I smoothed them out with a little bondo

13 by don long, on Flickr

Now it's time to work on the other side.
I cut the old skin off leaving some metal to support the new skin.

14 by don long, on Flickr

Then measured and cut out the new panel from a sheet of 22 gauge sheet metal.

16 by don long, on Flickr

After installing the new panel on the can It went to the paint booth for some primer

17 by don long, on Flickr

The new panel

18 by don long, on Flickr

The repaired panel

19 by don long, on Flickr

At this point I took the sign copy over to a sign shop and asked them to make me some decals to put on the can.
They took a week but came back with a product called paint mask and it looks great

After the primer dried I painted both sides of the can with yellow paint.
Mixing it a little thick, spraying it a little dry and using lower air pressure to create orange peel to duplicate the looks of porcelain.

2019-05-28 08.00.41 by don long, on Flickr

After letting the yellow paint cure, it was time to measure and mark the can to determine where the script would go on the can. To do this I took the pattern that the sign co. used to create the paint mask and layed it on the can and marked several places where the mask would be applied

2019-05-28 08.00.29 by don long, on Flickr

Today was a very rewarding day
I was able to apply the paint mask over the yellow paint

2019-05-29 10.59.59 by don long, on Flickr

Tomorrow starts with another paint color.

Thanks for looking in

Don

 

[royce]

Right on Don,
Another treat in the making.

Royce

 

[dwysywd]

That’s a really cool project. Have you learned how to make neon tubes as well? Or is you sign buddy bending all the tubes?



Sent from my iPhone using a facsimile machine.

 

[KSB]

Nice work. I’ll be following to see how it turns out.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[don long]

Right on Don,
Another treat in the making.

Royce

Thank you royce
Happy to have you along for the ride

That’s a really cool project. Have you learned how to make neon tubes as well? Or is you sign buddy bending all the tubes?

Sent from my iPhone using a facsimile machine.

Thanks dwysywd
There is a lot more to the neon than just bending the glass. No I will let the pro's handle the lighting of the sign

Nice work. I’ll be following to see how it turns out.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks KSB
I'll be working on the sign tomorrow

 

[sberry]

Neon is neat. I have built several and installed a garage full. The market in my area is poor but if it was a bit better would consider a plant for it as it is rather simple in terms of infrastructure. I think some guys make and ship it at competitive prices but it's got to be packed fussy.
In your case probably someone local you already know.

 

[don long]

Neon is neat. I have built several and installed a garage full. The market in my area is poor but if it was a bit better would consider a plant for it as it is rather simple in terms of infrastructure. I think some guys make and ship it at competitive prices but it's got to be packed fussy.
In your case probably someone local you already know.

Sberry
You are right. There is little overhead and less equipment to make neon
I have a good friend in the neon business here in town and he makes house calls

 

[dr_clyde]

I have always been interested in glass working. My folks did stained glass back in the day, but they got out of it when I was a kid, my dad got cut real bad and they gave it up.

I would love to apprentice under a good neon guy, such a cool trade.

 

[sberry]

There used to be,, may very still be a school in Wisconsin, seems it was about 6 weeks though that did it all. It's been 30 years though.since I heard of it.
I lived next door to a plant at one time, should have went there to work a bit but it was in a converted bar or night club type place. The didn't even have a sign but seems there 3 or 4 of them blowing glass as fast as they could. Not sure what happen to it.

 

[don long]

I've pushed the sign closer to the finish line this week

The white paint was sprayed and the decals were applied.

2019-05-31 10.07.16 by don long, on Flickr

Then the sign went back to the booth for the red paint for the borders and the word QUALITY then I covered the red paint with tape and decals.

2019-06-01 16.01.13 by don long, on Flickr

 

[Bears Fan]

Awesome! Thanks for giving us a step by step on the process, its a great teachable moment from the master. It will help me and give me some ideas for a can that I started, I will post some picks soon, I have just been really busy! This will be one great sign when finished

Love all you projects

 

[Bill Bowman]

Really nice project Don. Thanks for sharing.

 

[WarrenJ]

Enjoyed the step by step on another of your projects

 

[kazlx]

Neon is so rad. I'd love to do something like this. Definitely want to see the rest.

 

[don long]

Awesome! Thanks for giving us a step by step on the process, its a great teachable moment from the master. It will help me and give me some ideas for a can that I started, I will post some picks soon, I have just been really busy! This will be one great sign when finished

Love all you projects

Thank you B.F.
I enjoy all your projects too

Really nice project Don. Thanks for sharing.

You are welcome Bill
Thank you for those nice words

Enjoyed the step by step on another of your projects

Nice to have you along Warren

Neon is so rad. I'd love to do something like this. Definitely want to see the rest.

kazlx
I agree neon is a great way to light up an old sign.
I finished my part of the sign tonight

 

[PugetDude]

Don, thanks for taking us along on the journey... Now, rip off that masking and show us the finished product!

 

[don long]

I managed to get the final color on the sign today.

Here is the process again as I remove the masking in reverse of how it was put on

I put the can back into the booth this afternoon to apply the black paint. I needed to paint the top and bottom of the can so I painted the back end of the sign with a rattle can earlier today so I could stand the sign on it's end to paint it this afternoon

IMG_1351 by don long, on Flicr


I painted the red on the sign last so after letting the black paint tack up I pulled the tape off the red area

IMG_1354 by don long, on Flickr

The white paint was applied before the red so I pulled the tape off the white paint next

IMG_1356 by don long, on Flickr

This left me with the big letters covering the yellow paint and so it was the last masking to be removed

IMG_1358 by don long, on Flickr

And that concludes the creating of a Signal sign.
I set the sign down on the lift so we could see what it looks like in its normal position.

IMG_1362 by don long, on Flickr

The sign will sit in the booth for the rest of the week letting the paint cure
Then the can will go over to my pin striper to have the letters outlined then the sign will go over to the neon shop for the glass

Thanks for following along

Don

 

[coljar]

That is great work Don. As usual, you've outdone yourself. Can't wait to see the neon.

 

[1949 caddyman]

Thanks for the photos of the restoration!

 

[shortykorte]

Thanks for posting the process. So this is how I comprehend the process.

Can primed
Spray yellow to cover all the areas that will need yellow.
Place yellow-only mask on can .
Spray white where white needs to be.
Add white-only mask to can
Spray red where red needs to be.
Place red-only mask and tape over red areas
Spray black.

Looking back at the untaping helps be see the process. I guess it depends on the project whether you paint then masked the fresh paint or remove a part of the mask and paint.

 

[aShop]

Any updates?

 

[californiamilleghia]

I took a Neon glass bending class years ago at UC San Diego in La Jolla,

You might ask around your area if there is a class near you.

 

[don long]

Any updates?

Here is the sign hanging for the past 4 years

I took a Neon glass bending class years ago at UC San Diego in La Jolla,

You might ask around your area if there is a class near you.

I have a good friend in the neon business

 

[gahrajmahal]

To those reading who enjoy signs and are traveling through the Midwest may I suggest the American Sign Museum located in my home town of Cincinnati Ohio. It’s definitely worth a visit.

American Sign Museum - American Sign Museum

The American Sign Museum at 1330 Monmouth Ave. in Cincinnati, Ohio covers more than 100 years of American sign history.

www.americansignmuseum.org

Don, nice work on the sign!