• Restoring a Train Station Sign
    25 replies, posted
**CAUTION: Traces of Autism detected beyond thins point** So here's the deal. Way the fuck back in 1981 a series of documents were signed, paving the way for a rail transit system to be built in Vancouver. Unlike everything else in existance they settled on a prototype Canadian technology that was being developed outside Kingston (mmmm, linear induction). They ran a demonstration in the summer of 1984 but the full system did not open until December 1985 and remained the longest system of its kind in the world until very recently. All of the original stations retained a lot of their 80's style until 2010 when they needed to begin renovating to expand or add additional components to each station. The original station, Main Street, was as prototype as the trains it originally served and it was in serious need of renovations because of poor design so they decided to keep the skeleton of the platform and demolish the rest. [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/mainst_stn.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/vlcsnap-2012-07-19-09h26m28s225.png[/IMG] [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/IMG_6659.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/CGS_0816.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/CGS_0901.jpg[/IMG] Being the autistic person I am, I wanted that sign. It wasn't the original sign (Main Street was renamed Main Street - Science World in September 1990) but it was part of history. I contacted TransLink's procurement department, who forwarded me to the construction contractor (who was on vacation in France when I called his cell), who forwarded me to site demolition management. A deal was struck to supply the crew with lunch for the day. The sign was then strapped to my car one September afternoon and taken back through the mountains to CelGen Headquarters. [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/CGS_0910.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/CGS_0911.jpg[/IMG] So the master plan here is that we will be to restore the sign and make a wallmount for it, complete with fluorescent backlighting. [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/c03ff066.jpg[/IMG] The project actually started back in September but for various reasons I could not discuss it until now. The project will run rather slowly over the winter due to the sensitivity of the supplies I need and its immense size not allowing me to work on it in the house. If the lumber I need warps then I have to start over. - Bend the sign back to its original shape [highlight]DONE[/highlight] - Get color matched paint. Repaint entire sign/touch up damaged areas [highlight]DONE[/highlight] - Get lumber to assemble the box [highlight]DONE[/highlight] - Sand the box in preparation for paint [highlight]DONE[/highlight] - Get color matched "ivory" paint to make box replicate its original frame [highlight]DONE[/highlight] - Attach sign to box with hinges and a latch [highlight]DONE...kinda[/highlight] - Install lighting - Reinstall damaged "t" [highlight]DONE[/highlight] I'll update the thread tomorrow when I can gather up all the photos and work I've done so far. As of right now only you people reading this and a half dozen other people are aware that this sign still exists.
What an awesome project, was it lit originally? How bad is the paint under all that dust?
Oh, a Tracker. I have one too.
[QUOTE=Ajacks;46689016]What an awesome project, was it lit originally? How bad is the paint under all that dust?[/QUOTE] Originally all the entrance signs at all the stations were illuminated but sometime in the early 90's they switched them off in favor of additional lighting because a lot of the stations were pretty dark at night. Now that all the stations are getting new signs they are illuminating them again. I was kinda hoping I could get the original frame the sign was held by as it already has the ballast and lamp supports and everything but I wasn't in a position to ask for it to be saved and it was scrapped with all the other metal that came out of the station. I can probably purchase an 8' or 12' dual tube fluorescent lamp and cannibalize it for all the components I will need to illuminate this sign. It turns out that with this sign they didn't actually replace the old sign. They printed a new sign on two pieces of aluminum panel and glued it to the old sign. It's very obvious once you look at the backside of the sign and with a bit of effort the new sign peels right off. [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/CGS_0912.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/IMG_6775.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/IMG_6778.jpg[/IMG] The original paint is in very good condition. There is a bit of flaking on the ends from the sea air allowing the exposed metal to corrode. The most damaged part of the sign is on the right side. [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/CGS_0913.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/IMG_6782.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/IMG_6780.jpg[/IMG] When the sign was pulled down the day after I last saw it they must of let it fall 20 feet to the concrete below which caused a letter to split into three pieces (easy to fix) and badly twisted the sign itself. It's extruded aluminum and it's a lot stronger than it looks. Originally I tried bending it back using a hammer and a piece of wood but that did nothing. Eventually I was trying to flatten it using a car and it still would not flatten. By the end of the week I had purchased a 2-ton jack and some pieces of wood and that helped straighten it out a little. [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/IMG_6847.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/IMG_6849.jpg[/IMG] The last little bit however I could not do. I ended up sending it to a metal shop in town who for $50 used a torch to persuade it back. It's still a bit iffy but this is the best we will get. Once aluminum bends you can never get it perfect again. [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/IMG_7421.jpg[/IMG] Now that the sign is square the next problem I'm tackling while it's cold outside is to touch up where we've lost the original paint. I'm assuming it was powder coated. They're glossy as well. [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/IMG_3268.jpg[/IMG] Twice I've tried sending in color samples to The Home Depot for a color matched batch but not only did they not have this level of gloss but both batches were not even close to the original color. Either the lack of gloss throws off the color matcher or the samples I'm sending are slightly out of hue enough to cause a problem. I would prefer if I did not repaint the entire sign as that would lead to additional problems later on. The residual adhesive foam that held the new sign on I would prefer not to scrape off in case I nick the paint even more so I'll look into solvents to remove it.
You should look into getting it powder coated, around here it's surpringly cheap. I've had it cost as much to have it professionally coated than it would to buy the paint in rattle cans to do the same job. So it looks like that piece is solid blue, right? The letters are voids with the plexi silk-screened letter attached behind right? That should make it easy to get it painted, I would just get a hold of a real paint place like an automotive paint store who can do a true color match, and see what that would cost and just repaint the entire sign vs a touch-up. See if you have an Dupont dealer or a PPG near you for paint supplies. If it were me, I'd blast the sign and get it to bare metal, and get it repainted. I've got a little $40 media blasting kit from Harbor Freight that works great, you just need an air compressor.
The letters are semi-transparent pieces of plastic mounted to a plexiglass backing which are glued to the sign. All of the original signs were built by a company called Neon Signs. Go figure, they were owned by local billionaire Jim Pattison (what isn't owned by him?) and they have been out of business for years. I have an air compressor and a sandblasting set but the tank is far too small to be useable.
[QUOTE=pentium;46691304]I have an air compressor and a sandblasting set but the tank is far too small to be useable.[/QUOTE] The air tank? So is mine, it took me five times longer than it should to do blasting but the end results still worth it. [editline]11th December 2014[/editline] To rebuild letters if you need to you could print on transparency and affix them to new plexi, that doesn't seem that difficult.
IF you can't get it powdercoated, I'd use 1shot. It's a really awesome sign painting oil based paint- used for its intended purpose, and painting pinstripes and other things. It has some nice self-leveling qualities to it and can be utilized fairly easily if you get yourself some nice brushes, thinner, and maybe some Japan Dry if you're impatient. It's not cheap at about $60 for a small can, but it depends on color. You'd likely Want - Process Blue, Background White, White primer, Dark Blue, and maybe Ultra White to do that particular sign, and it would be the correct finish. The paint itself is amazing and a lot of sign painting supply places have it in stock. Let me know if you go that route and need help using it. I used to build custom signs with a totally awesome sign painting veteran.
Right now I really want top focus on the box and hinges. We can unbolt the sign after and work on the paint then. The main issue I'm having so far is that I can't seem to find hinges that do what I want. Look at my sketch and you can see the metal sign overlaps the box by about 10mm or so. All I can think of so far is to bend regular hinges into a shape that will work.
How's the sign going?
It's buried under half a meter of snow. :v: I've had a number of other projects on the go, including a three day trip to Tacoma tomorrow and I've been unable to do any work on it besides figure out how to add the hinges. I spent last week in Vancouver and was able to look at how they mounted the remaining signs to walls and such but it's going to be a tough job. I might look into using cabinet hinges.
Five months later...... [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/IMG_9270.jpg[/IMG] The box was legit a bitch to build. Took forever to find two pieces of lumber that were not crazy warped and even then they still were not perfect, so a lot of measuring and screws hold everything as square as it's gonna get. It will now need to be sanded to make all corners square and all gaps filled before it gets primed. You might of also noticed we lost an "a". It must of fallen out at some time but was quickly found again so it's put off to the side with the "t". [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/IMG_9274.jpg[/IMG] Our largest problem now is the hinges. Now that I can sit the sign flat on the box it's going to be really weird as there's that massive lip created by the 2x4. [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/IMG_9271.jpg[/IMG] As for the lights, I got no shortage of options right now. Just holding out until that point. It would be rather interesting to see if I could find a very old fluorescent ceiling lamp that used a starter module as those were the lamps that gave the traditional rapid flickering as the bulb was initially trying to illuminate. Modern ballasts no longer need such a module, hence why they are all advertised as "instant on".
The autism continues. The box was primed then painted with an off-tint beige which is as close as I think I could get it. [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/CGS_1105.jpg[/IMG] The sign itself got a heavy wash and all the adhesive foam was removed, then the letters were reattached. [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/CGS_1104.jpg[/IMG] From there it sat for the winter as I tried to figure out how the fuck to mount shit and get the lighting. Finally yesterday I headed down to the local Used Construction Supply Center and purchased a set of dual 4' lamps and some 2" angle brackets. The brackets were sized for the slots in the sign and then cut. As the sign was slid on from one end I adjusted their positioning so it was a tight fit against the box and there dammit, it's not hinged but it's not coming off either. [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/IMG_3156.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/IMG_3162.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/IMG_3165.jpg[/IMG] I took the sign back off and began installing the lamps. I have to go back tomorrow to get some bulbs and the cover panels I forgot. Still don't know where the fuck the power cable will come out though. [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/IMG_3158.jpg[/IMG]
Bulbs were installed and a temporary cord was added but we're done. [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/IMG_3170.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/IMG_3172.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/IMG_3192.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/IMG_3200.jpg[/IMG] Exciting.
That is fucking mint
[QUOTE=pentium;49962883]Bulbs were installed and a temporary cord was added but we're done. [url]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/IMG_3170.jpg[/url] [url]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/IMG_3172.jpg[/url] [url]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/IMG_3192.jpg[/url] [url]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/SkyTrain/IMG_3200.jpg[/url] Exciting.[/QUOTE] That is baller as fuck, awesome job!
The over two year journey finally complete.
So what's next?
I...don't know. :v: It's huge. There is not a lot of places both inside the house or outside that it can be hung. I contacted the TRAMS society both just after I got the sign and last year but they did not seem interested so I might end up just holding onto the sign.
Whoa, I forgot all about that old sign. Your project is really damn cool!
[QUOTE=pentium;49995209]I...don't know. :v: It's huge. There is not a lot of places both inside the house or outside that it can be hung. I contacted the TRAMS society both just after I got the sign and last year but they did not seem interested so I might end up just holding onto the sign.[/QUOTE] I was wondering if you had any other cool projects you're working on.
Well I am converting a rear projection CRT TV into a much more expensive front projection. It's actually not that hard beyond making a new enclosure for it all. You reverse the polarity on the deflection coils and unbolt the tubes so that longer bolts can be inserted with springs enabling you to do coarse convergence adjustments. They're fixed for a 3' throw (the distance from the CRT to the projection surface) so when you make that six feet or more the convergence goes so far off that you cannot use the electronic adjustments. [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/IMG_8417.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/IMG_8421.jpg[/IMG] Sure, it's a lot of work but I'm not fucking paying $500+ for a 20 year old projector when rear projection sets are still found for pretty much free and with tons of tube life left.
[QUOTE=pentium;49998152]You reverse the polarity on the deflection coils and unbolt the tubes so that longer bolts can be inserted with springs enabling you to do coarse convergence adjustments.[/QUOTE] ah. just as I suspected!
Is there nothing he can't do?
[QUOTE=mcgrath618;50009849]Is there nothing he can't do?[/QUOTE] Get a girlfriend?
I'd be lucky to know a fraction of what you do about electronics. Looks fantastic.
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