Red Rocket Signs

This sign was originally for a Shoney's restaurant. You can just make out some of the Shoney's logo in red. The property was purchased by M.K.Taylor, Jr. Contractors, a site contractor, and the fabric faced sign panels were painted over with their logo. After decades of weather exposure, and with the company reaching 50 years in business, it was time for a face-lift.
Since I have been lettering their company trucks and equipment for years, the owner, Kenny Taylor, asked if I could repair the sign.
After getting all the measurements, I designed a framework of custom made aluminum studs that could be riveted in place without disturbing the fabric faces.
I had to build a 9'×20' 2"×4" stud wall in my shop to attach the 4'×8' panels to, so that they could be lettered with urethane boat paint. I didn't scallop the end panels until they were installed.
I ordered .080 aluminum cut to length and bent them into U shaped studs on a 10' sheet metal brake. Next I trimmed the stud ends to fit the sign retainer.
M.K. Taylor assigned a couple of their employees to assist me with the installation. I run a one man sign shop, but have done some really large jobs with help from others. Don't be afraid to tackle larger jobs.
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This was a relatively easy installation. My son-in-law helps me on my electric sign installs and they always take longer than I tell him it will.
This was my first time making a small electric sign to match the larger one. I did a lot of experimenting in my shop at night to see how close I could get the white plastic to the LEDs and not get hotspots. I wanted the sign to be as thin as possible so that it could be tucked underneath the countertop.

While this face replacement was pretty straightforward, it was very rewarding because we have been buying Chinese food here, for over 20 years. This was also an LED retrofit. I removed the old flourescent bulbs and transformers and replaced with new LED and low voltage power supplies.

Wallen was a difficult job because black inks are not opaque and look brown at night. As a result, I chose to cut this out of black vinyl and w**d out the white areas. As detailed as this is, it was even more detailed before I eliminated a lot of the smaller graphic elements.
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