This sign was a little different from our normal channel letters project. The business already had a sign. The issue was that the sign corroded and the custom paint job peeled and looked beaten up. They originally asked if we could come out and clean up the sign. With the sign having neon and being in place for a couple of years, that made cleaning the sign impossible. When we inspected the sign, we found that the paint had peeled inside the channel letters.
This sign looked like the letters had been made with a ferrous metal because aluminum doesn’t rust. In this case, the letters were definitely corroded. As it turns out, the letters were made from aluminum that hadn’t been cleaned and treated for paint. When we got the job, we knew this was going to be interesting because neon is a dying art. When we started the business almost 9 years ago, there were at least three sources we had that could blow neon. Now, there is one company and they are a little eclectic. So we blueprinted the sign, including the neon, and sent the files off. Our neon supplier got back to us almost immediately and said he could have the letters to us in a couple of weeks. We took this time to form the channels and the raceway. Custom paint and voltage specific wiring were necessary. We also added a light sensor to the assembly to make sure that the sign is lite when it’s supposed to be.
When it came time to remove the old sign and install the new one, we had to proceed with caution because the glass inside the sign can become somewhat fragile. We decided to remove the entire sign in one piece by tying off the sign to our lift and lowering it to the ground. We then were able to disassemble the sign without the glass breaking. We also recycled this sign to make sure that everything was cared for in a safe way. The new sign is an exact copy of the old sign except we cleaned and treated the aluminum before bending the letters. If all goes well, this sign will look great for years to come.
If you happen to need a custom sign for your business, even if it needs neon, please give us a call. We can be reached at 262.289.9481 or email us at info@optimumsignswi.com. We would love to help you with your project.
