Great work George. Super signs.

bacco

I was never satisfied with my few attempts at restoration. I think you MUST use an air-brush to apply the paint and remember that whatever paint you use is never the same as finely powdered glass (real enamel) But having said that I have over the years seen some superb examples of well executed restoredenamels.

Fred Kite

Hello to everybody who has replied and I thank you for all the kind comments.

I certainly love doing the restoration stuff and the way I work does take time. Many hours are allowed for whilst the paint dries between coats.Because these signs are mostly beyond simple restoration I usually redo them which is of course realluy just painting.

I have done plenty where a simple touch up is all that is needed and they are just as rewarding.

Now, to get the deep blue you will need to go to an art shop and get some ultramarine blue and some mars violet. Expensive little tubes of paint however when mixed right you will get a very deep blue/purple. No tin of paint that I have used comes anywhere near the end result. You will simply need to experiment until you get the required match. First coat is usually done with turps added and the final coat/coats I add stand oil to give it some real depth. Each coat will take a long time to dry so be very patient. It is good to work on a couple at a time or if that is not possible you just have to wait. The art paints are much grainier that tinned pants so you will need to watch that too.

When I am finished the "repainted" signs I apply at least four coats of marine ply varnish and you must wait 24 hours between coats and make doubly sure that you do not work from the same jar as the day before. You must strain the varnish through a muslin cloth to get all the junky bits out--very important. When I am finished that I cut the sign back with very fine, good quality, garnet paper and the apply a coat of good quality wax or furniture polish. The final result is a lovely soft feel that replicates enamel, but is really only paint.

One final word and that is I do intricate work with a 000 art brush. They are very fine indeed and you only need a very small amount of paint on the brush.

Regards, George Gramt

MASTERCLASS  !!!!!!

Thanx George

Lummox

Hi George

Reading your description reminds me just why I gave up restoring my signs in the 70's. If you want to get a good finish, the only way is long painstaking hours of careful work. The filling alone takes so much time! 

However one thing we used to do, which you may care to try, was to spray the signs with cellulose paints using a spray gun and compressor, with an airbrush for fine work . Again preparation is all, in that the atmosphere had to be totally dust free. We used to use Frisk masking film and a scalpel to cut the shapes, then spray evenly across the sign in long strokes making sure to turn and return, off the sign, otherwise you got pools of stronger colour. You must allow time for each coat to dry . The other point to remember is to wear a mask and to make sure the room is propery ventilated.Of course anything else in the room gets a light coating of colour but  we were art students then and had studios to play in.

We also used cans of car paint spray, which must  be used in a similar fashion. Ideally if you know someone who sprays cars they will have the right set up and look at just how shiny car paint is!

The biggest sign I did was a Mitchell and Butlers leaping deer which was 6ft by 4ft, I must have put two square foot back in and then added the lettering  - happy days! 

Best Regards for a job well done

Richard