CON'T....
THE BLUE AREAS WERE TRICKY, BUT AS YOU CAN SEE WERE IN OPPOSITE AREAS AT LEAST ON THE WINGS. I BASICALLY TRACED THE AREAS TO BE FILLED IN WITH OFF WHITE AND BLUE AND REVERSED THE TRACING ON THE OPPOSITE WING. THE OVAL BLUE BORDER AROUND "ESSO" WAS TOUGH BUT DID THE BEST I COULD WITH MY EYES AND JUDGEMENT.
I ALSO MIXED ALOT OF OFF WHITE AND RAN A FOAM BRUSH AROUND THE BORDER FOR GOOD MEASURE.
NEXT ON THE PROCESS WAS WAIT FOR A LOW HUMIDITY DAY AND THAT CAME THIS PAST SUNDAY JULY 11TH. AT 60% HUMIDITY I BROUGHT THE SIGN OUT AND POURED OUT SOME BRAND SPANKIN' NEW MINWAX SEMI-GLOSS CLEAR POLYURETHANE AND PROCEEDED TO ROLL IT OUT WITH A 4" FOAM ROLLER AROUND NOON UNTIL COMPLETELY COVERED. BY 2PM FULL SUN COVERED THE SIGN AND GAVE IT A NICE BAKED ON JOB! AT 5PM, I STARTED TO CUT LUMBER AND DOOR MOULDING TO SANDWICH THE SIGN FROM FRONT AND BACK FOR A FINISHED LOOK AND FOR SAFETY SAKE AS THE EDGES OF THE SIGN WERE TETANUS SHOT WAITING TO HAPPEN!
I USED 1X 3" #2 PINE BOARDS FOR THE ENTIRE OUTSIDE EDGE FRAME ON THE BACK AND SOME KIND OF COMPOSITE MATERIAL MOULDING ON THE FRONT SIDE WHICH CAME PRIMED AND I PAINTED WITH A WATER BASED ACRYLIC IVORY WHICH CLOSELY MATCHED THE OFF WHITE ON THE AGING SIGN. THIS WAS THE ONLY TIME I USED A WATER BASED PAINT. ALL OTHER TOUCH-UPS WERE DONE WITH OIL-BASED AND WITH VARIOUS BRANDS.
HERE IS A SHOT OF THE CORNER KINDA LIKE A CUT AWAY VIEW:
I LINED UP THE PINE ON THE BACK WITH THE MOULDING ON THE FRONT EDGE KEEPING THE SIGN EDGE SANDWICHED IN BETWEEN AND OUTTA SIGHT. THE MOULDING WAS 2.1/2" WIDE AND COVERED ABOUT 90%+ OF THE ORIGINAL BORDER.
FROM THE BACK ABOUT A 1/2" IN FROM THE OUTSIDE EDGE I USED COARSE DRYWALL SCREWS 1.1/4" LONG AND DRILLED IT THRU THE PINE, THE SIGN AND INTO THE MOULDING. ONLY ONCE DID A SCREW POP THRU THE FRONT SIDE DUE TO A SOFT SPOT IN THE PINE I GUESS. SO, FOR THE MOST PART THE BACK FRAME AND FRONT MOULDING IDEA WAS STARTING TO COME TOGETHER....NO PUN INTENDED!
(DINNER BREAK...PIZZA WITH THE FAMILY AT 6PM).
7PM, AFTER DOING THE BOTTOM SECTION OF THE FRAME EARLIER, I CAME HOME AND DID THE TOP SIDE THE SAME WAY. THEN THE SIDES. I COULD SEE FROM THE GHOSTY MARKS ON THE BACK OF THE SIGN THAT THERE WERE 3 SUPPORTS FROM TOP TO BOTTOM. I USED 1 X 2" #2 PINE HERE AND SCREWED THESE IN PLACE WITH 3.1/2" DECK SCREWS PRE-DRILLED FOR OBVIOUS REASONS:
THE NEXT MORNING I BROUGHT THE SIGN OUT INTO THE SUN FOR THE FINAL PHOTO SHOWING A SIGN THE MAY NEVER BE PERFECT BUT WORTH A TRY:
IT DEFINITELY LOOKS MUCH BETTER AND IS SOMETHING THAT I MIGHT EVEN HANG IN MY BASEMENT EVENTUALLY. NOT TO MANY PLACES I HAVE LEFT TO HANG A 9' WIDE SIGN! LOL! I KNOW I STILL HAVE TO REPLACE THE "U.S. REG PAT OFF" BELOW THE "ESSO" LOGO....WILL NEED TO GET STENCILS FOR THIS. THEN IT WILL BE OFFICIALLY DONE!
THANKS FOR READING AND LOOKING!