Signs of the Times - June 2015 - 30
S t r i c t ly E l e c t r i c
The completed gild.
Gordon created a matte
finish and texture for
the bird by painting it
with a black PPG coating that's designed for
automotive undercarriages. He said it works
well as a reflectionstopping, blockout
paint. Blackout sprayed
the background with
1Shot® lettering enamel
that's enhanced with
lacquer thinner to
improve spraying.
areas intended to receive background color to prepare them for
handpainting and airbrushing.
We sprayed the background with
1Shot® lettering enamels, which
we enhanced with lacquer thinner
to improve their spraying. We
painted it with an inexpensive
HVLP gun and an Iwata gravityfeed airbrush. To help the paint
cure, we also added PPG's MH101
universal hardener. Sometimes,
those enamels take forever to dry.
The hardener helps the paint cure
overnight instead of requiring days.
Just a bottlecap full of the hardener with a quart of paint works
wonders and prevents headaches.
To provide a matte finish and
texture, we painted the bird with
Gordon outsourced the neon tubebending to Kirk Tunningsley, owner of Big
Dog Neon (Lockhart, TX). The neon letters comprise various colors of 10-15mmdiameter luminous tubing. For several tight areas, Big Dog and Blackout used tubing double-backs and electrodes within PK housings. To illuminate the letters,
they installed Allanson 12,000V electronic transformers; the border areas were
equipped with 7,500V magnetic transformers.
30 SIGNS OF THE TIMES June 2015
automotive-undercarriage, black
paint, a PPG product sold in a
spray can. This coating functions
well as matte-finish, textured
paint, prevents reflection and
"soaks up" light.
Next, we applied goldleaf to
the Bower Bird sign's lettering.
We always use slow size; even
in March, Texas can be hot, and
these conditions would cause
quick size to lose tack quickly. We
used 18K surface goldleaf, which
we purchased from Letterhead
Sign Supply, and applied it with
a gilder's tip brush - the kind you
wipe across your hair for natural
oil and static electricity. Thanks to
Gary Martin for teaching me that
trick. We applied the gold "wet" -
meaning with heavy size - because
we're trying to recreate the effect
of an aging mirror, where the silver
on the back has begun to decay.
We followed this with an outline
of 1Shot robin-egg blue straight
from the can.
A bright nest
We outsourced the neon tube-bending to Kirk Tunningsley, the owner
of Big Dog Neon in Lockhart, TX.
We incorporated various colors of
Tecnolux luminous tubing, which
ranged in diameter from 10-15mm.
We used both penetrating electrodes in PK housings and doublebacks in some of the tighter areas.
Next, we dry-mounted the tubing
to determine the number of feet
Signs of the Times - June 2015
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Signs of the Times - June 2015
Columns & Departments
Signs of the Times - June 2015 - Intro
Signs of the Times - June 2015 - CT1
Signs of the Times - June 2015 - CT2
Signs of the Times - June 2015 - Cover1
Signs of the Times - June 2015 - Cover2
Signs of the Times - June 2015 - 1
Signs of the Times - June 2015 - Columns & Departments
Signs of the Times - June 2015 - 3
Signs of the Times - June 2015 - 4
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Signs of the Times - June 2015 - 31
Signs of the Times - June 2015 - 32
Signs of the Times - June 2015 - BI3
Signs of the Times - June 2015 - BI4
Signs of the Times - June 2015 - BI5
Signs of the Times - June 2015 - BI6
Signs of the Times - June 2015 - 33
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Signs of the Times - June 2015 - 46
Signs of the Times - June 2015 - 47
Signs of the Times - June 2015 - 48
Signs of the Times - June 2015 - BI1
Signs of the Times - June 2015 - BI2
Signs of the Times - June 2015 - 49
Signs of the Times - June 2015 - 50
Signs of the Times - June 2015 - 51
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Signs of the Times - June 2015 - Cover3
Signs of the Times - June 2015 - Cover4
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/STMG/sott_201504
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/STMG/sott_201501
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/STMG/sott_201302
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/STMG/sott_201301
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/STMG/sott_201212
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/STMG/sott_201211
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/STMG/sott_201210
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/STMG/sott_201209
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/STMG/sott_201208
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/STMG/sott_201207
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/STMG/sott_201206
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/STMG/sott_201205
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/STMG/sott_201204
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/STMG/sott_201203
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/STMG/sott_bg2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/STMG/sott_201202
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/STMG/sott_201201
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