Is it worth renovating a sign or is it better just to get a new one?
If you have an old, worn or damaged sign that has historical or sentimental value, it is definitely well worth restoring it. If it is in very poor shape, it may potentially cost more than a new one, but it does mean much of the originality will be retained, which I find is very important for a lot of my customers.
Restoring an old sign involves a lot of cleanup and preparation time, stripping back, smoothing, repairing and often researching to help me find more details because usually, all I have is what's in front of me at the time!
If I'm lucky, there may be some old photos of the sign in its heyday which help me to bring back the sign as close to the original as possible.
I love the challenge and the journey is also exciting for the customer as they get to see progress photos as it all comes together through each stage!
The owner of this sign was very particular about how she wanted it restored. It had been damaged by a delivery van. Water had got under the varnish and caused a lot of crazing and also tarnishing to the wood. It had to be completely stripped back and when I repainted I slightly changed the shape of the picture in order to cover up some of the tarnishing that couldn't be sanded out.
I was delighted with her comment when she replied...
"Great work, too nice to put back outside on the wall"
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