Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums Showcase and Stories, Petroliana Shell Aviation Sign...Van Kannel restro

Many of you may remember a few years ago when I bought an early Shell Aviation sign with "lots of touchup". A friend told me it looked like a cartoon. I decided to return it to original and un-restore it. I carefully removed the old body filler and wondered if I would even have any sign graphics left. Even though I don't care for "restored" signs, this one was the perfect candidate for a Van Kannel restoration and sent it to them.

I just got it back this week and WOW! I don't know how those guys do it. It looks like it just came from the factory in 1915.

The first image is the sign as I first bought it. Believe me, the picture makes it look a lot better then it actually was.



This is the un-restored version.



And this is the Van Kannel restoration. The pic does not do the sign justice!!!

SWEET !!!

Nice Very Nice. They do awsome work. What are there rates or do they charge on the condition of the piece & what it is? Just curious

Looks great Gary... i guess i will have to come down to your place again and see you. I will have you check for broken globes before i come... i don't want to take the blame for any. LOL

Sign looks great, but what about the font on the Aviation in the middle??

Does this even begin to resemble the letters shown in the middle pic of the sign after it was stripped??

They did a black and orange Phillips 66 for neon for me and I was VERY happy with the work they did. It gets lots of good comments from my freinds who drop in.

Before it was restored, in pretty good original condition, nobody looked twice at it.

I look at restored signs this way. It is no different than an antique car. If you see two 1930 Ford Deluxe Roadsters side-by-side, one all original needing re-done, kind of beat up looking, and the other one a 495 point Model A Ford Club of America Master Award winning car,,,,which one do you think will get the most looks and appreciation from the public??

I say get those signs re-done if you can for future generations to enjoy......

They tell me Cheese up in Michigan is real good too......

If the font is changed you cannot compare it to high point original car, it is now a customized item.

I have been in bikes a long time and gas-n-oil for a while, i never really care much what the uniformed public thinks, am more interested in what the collectors think of it.

Original paint complete is often woth a lot more than restored.

I guess what bothers me most about these "restored" signs is the fact they were a porcelain sign and now they are just a painted sign. They look great but are not really restored unless they are redone in porcelain!! What would the differance be if you took a new piece of metal and just painted it? What you are getting now in these "restored signs, is a new painted sign on an old piece of metal. OOPs I guess if you used new metal it would be a repo. I dont see how a restored car can be compared in this case, the car came with PAINT. and it is repainted. Altho I too like originals with a few flaws better than the newly restored cars. {or signs] Just my .02,,,RD

I will throw in my 2 cents on this one. A sign that has been restored like Gary's probably still has 75-80% of its original porcelain left. It is not just a old piece of metal repainted. If someone took the time to strip it again, then the same above sign would still be there. In the hobby, there is a need for the restoration as long as it don't go to far. I personally would pay alot more for an unrestored piece, but that is just me. The people currently doing restorations on real signs, (VanKannel's, Dawn, cheese's wife) are great at their work and very respected. I would take Gary's sign in a heartbeat because a mint Shell aviation would be 8000 or better today. But if I walked up on two of them, one restored and the other not, I am going to lean to the unrestored. Just the "way I roll". Thats what the brothers say down herea. LOL

........but how many 'nice' signs are left out ther?? And a rare sign like Gary's?? Almost impossible to find.

What I'm saying is there aren't enough around to satisfy the need, be they petroliana or antique cars so you have to 'restore' the ones you have to have the same amount of enjoyment.

Look at what the Hot Rod hobby has done. Now they take junk out of a farmer's ditch and call it a 'rat rod' and it sells for incredible prices. Same for petroliana.

I'd rather have something presentable for my money other than the junk you see all day long on E-Bay and in the car trader magazines.......... If you like the piece, get it restored.