Signs: Recondition or not!

R6 Racer · Jan 10, 2011

I have acquired a couple of old signs & I am not sure which way to go with them.
What I mean is, do I just clean them up with some soap & water, do I go all the way to stripping them down to bare metal & repaint them to as new condition, or should I do something in between? If so, what?
I have no experience with this type of thing so all help would be appreciated.
The one between the 2 coke signs is a thermometer.

Steve

ChevyMan23 · Jan 10, 2011

Lucky! I would love to have 1 of those Coca Cola signs. Do NOT recondition any of those signs. Just wash them, thats it. Natural patina is valuable.

rsanter · Jan 10, 2011

the three are in good enough shape that if you restore them they will be worth less

the therometer one I think I might try to get some of the heavier rust off it with some evaporust and then wash it well

bob

bazzateer · Jan 10, 2011

Don't restore!

cowboyjosh · Jan 10, 2011

keep 'em as is. Have you ever watched Pawn Stars and some other shows where people improperly restored something, trashing the value of the item? If you MUST restore them, try to find a restoration fella, like that Rick guy on Pawn Stars who specializes in Coca Cola sign restoration.

Great find, BTW.

Kevin54 · Jan 10, 2011

The thermometer I'd be on the fence about as you can't read much of it anyways. The two Coke signs....definitely DO NOT try to refurbish them. Just clean them with some mild soap and water and hang them and use them. ORIGINAL Coke memoribilia brings good money.

trainwreck · Jan 10, 2011

If you were willing to go down to bare metal, and repaint them, why wouldn't you just make your own signs? And I don't mean to sound challenging, but it sounds like you've got the painting skills to have a go at it. It might be fun to make your own signs (with some clever hidden jokes in them), but I wouldn't do anything to those past a mild cleaning, and maybe some rust preventative.

1950ChevySuburban · Jan 10, 2011

.... or buy new Chinese repops. KEEP THEM AS IS! Very cool

robin1731 · Jan 10, 2011

Clean them with WD-40 and a soft rag. That will take the dirt off and won't promote further rust like the soap and water will.

bill9860 · Jan 10, 2011

Personally, I love the patina of the old signs. Have a few myself (Pennzoil, Quaker State, PA Official Inspection Station and Champion Spark Plugs). Would dream of trying to make them "better". Just clean'em up a bit of needed as suggested above.

R6 Racer · Jan 11, 2011

Thanks ; I'll keep the 3 signs as they are with a good cleaning. :thumbup:

The thermometer is pretty bad, Whats that way using a battery charger in water called? I can't remember what to search for. If anyone has a link or 2 that would be great too! Lastly ... would that method harm the thermometer glass itself? :dunno:

Thanks
Steve

trainwreck · Jan 11, 2011

electrolosis?

JC23 · Jan 11, 2011

I believe there a few threads on here about using vinegar to remove rust. Once it's gone, you can make a decision by how much of the original paint is left.

ymerej · Jan 11, 2011

I haven't tried it myself, but what about using some CLR to remove the rust but otherwise preserve the existing paint? Here's an example of what it can do for a rusty El Camino:
http://www.impalas.net/forums/showthread.php?p=29234

(useful content starts on post #678, the overall thread is for an impala build that I have yet to see finished)

91FE · Jan 11, 2011

R6 Racer said:
I have acquired a couple of old signs & I am not sure which way to go with them.
What I mean is, do I just clean them up with some soap & water, do I go all the way to stripping them down to bare metal & repaint them to as new condition, or should I do something in between? If so, what?
I have no experience with this type of thing so all help would be appreciated.
The one between the 2 coke signs is a thermometer.

Steve

Another vote for leave 'em. Also, my wife works for Pfizer... let me know if you'd like to flip that one.

therealwormey · Jan 11, 2011

knock the cobwebs off and hang em up,thats what you do with old signs

thespiritmom · Sep 22, 2012

as an avid coca collector don't do anything to those signs! if you must clean dirt off use cool water and very mild soap. This is from the voice of experience. Don't try to repair. They are worth much more in their current state! If you don'y want them-sell them. It looks like you have many interested buyer, including myself!
Lisa

BDT/NWMN · Sep 22, 2012

1950ChevySuburban said:
.... or buy new Chinese repops. KEEP THEM AS IS! Very cool

I was looking at a fresh assortment of reproduction signs the other day... Allot of these signs were made to look old, weathered, and rusty!! Yep, keep the originals original..

Dan in Pasadena · Sep 22, 2012

Car guys sometimes use CLR and a Scotch-Brite pad. But if I were you I'd use the WD-40 and a sponge and leave them alone.

I AM **** retentive but old metal signs are one of the few things I'd leave as-is.

SweetD · Sep 22, 2012

This post is coming up on two years old!

:headscrat

R6 Racer · Sep 23, 2012

That's Ok
I still like hearing new comments. The signs are still in the same condition & are all hung in my garage. I did use wd40 on them & it got the old chalk off the coke blackboard sighs.

I'll get a couple of picks of them hanging soon.

Steve

adragontattoo · Sep 24, 2012

From someone who collects signs (rebuilding the collection again), I have a simple question for you.

Are you EVER at any time going to want/expect/intend to sell those signs and expect to make at LEAST what you paid for them? If the answer is yes, DO NOT "RESTORE" THEM!

Wipe them down with WD40 or PB or similar and hang them in an area that they will not continue to be exposed to the elements. All you really want to do is wipe off the crud and "fuzz" rust. Stripping them down, and restoring them will dramatically decrease their "value" to anyone who would be interested in them over a repro.

darkk · Sep 25, 2012

If you were going to repaint them, you should have just painted new ones to begin with. Never restore anything painted or with a patina. That's were the value lies...

Lippyp · Sep 25, 2012

I've had good results with cleaning the worst of the rust staining off enamels signs using car paint cutting compound (T-Cut in this case) the stuff you use to restore dull oxidised car paint. Take it slowly but you will find it does a good job, this is after a clean up with hot soapy water (do it on a hot day and leave in the sun to dry quickly) After cutting then another wipe over with some alcohol and then a few coats of a good quality car wax will protect it and make it shine.

Rusthunter · Jun 17, 2014

Hey I just joined when I saw this post about cleaning up some coke signs. Maybe you can help me or someone out there can. I just got two huge metal signs and don't know what to do with them. Used a little wd-40 but scared to go further. How do I post pics on here so you guys can see. I know this is mostly garage stuff but my husband can go on here for that

Rusthunter · Jun 17, 2014

Oh and they are coca cola like 2' x 4'

countryroad82 · Jun 17, 2014

Wipe 'em down and leave 'em alone. I personally like them to look like they are old. They make repops if you want 'new' maybe eve hang the new ones beside the old ones to show what they look like when they were new.

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