| Winfield Consumer Products,
Inc. • P. O. Box 839 • 22425 "D" St. , Strother
Field • Winfield, KS 67156
Phone: 620.221.2520 • Fax: 620.221.7423 • Customer Service:
888-744-6007 •
e-mail: signpast@huskyliners.com
F.A.Q. Frequently
Asked Questions.
We are sure that in the presentation
and/or discussions with customers, the following questions could be asked
of you. We have assembled these questions in a F.A.Q. (Frequently Asked
Questions) format, in hopes that our customers will better understand
our exceptionally unique Signpast - reproduction vintage signs, that we
now manufacture.
Non-Neon Reproduction Vintage Signs
Q. What kind of material are the
signs made of?
A. The signs are made from 18 gauge steel.
Q. What type of finish
is used on the signs?
A. A finish of baked enamel is used because it is very durable and cost
efficient. The signs are screen printed with Nazdar enamel and baked at
180º.
Q. What’s the difference
between baked enamel and porcelain?
A. Enamel is a paint. It’s baked dry in an oven at 180 degrees.
It’s much less expensive than porcelain. It survives best indoors,
out of weather. Porcelain is a glass finish melted onto metal at a high
temperature. It survives weather very well, but being glass it will crack
and shatter when bent or struck. It’s also considerably more expensive
than baked enamel.
Q. Can I use these signs
outdoors?
A. Yes, but. Our signs are made with baked enamel, like a car. If you
park a car outdoors for years, the weather will eventually cause the finish
to fade and deteriorate, and the steel will rust. To preserve the finish,
you need to use car polish regularly. The same goes for enamel signs.
Q. Do the signs come with
any mounting holes?
A. Yes, the signs have 6 - 1/8” mounting holes without any obtrusive
brass grommets.
Q. How many signs do you
make?
A. We have over 100 different signs, many added in the last couple of
years including our officially licensed GM signs, with more new signs
in the works.
Q. Why don’t you
make __________ sign?
A. There are some signs we do not make, and may never make. This is because
they are registered trademarks whose owners either will not give permission
or want so much as to make their manufacture a money-loser. There are
other owners whose requirements are reasonable, and we will make their
signs. There are also many attractive signs that are in the public domain.
We will make, or are making, many of them.
Q. Can you make a custom
sign for me?
A. Sorry, we just don’t have the time for custom work. But if you
have a sign that would be a suitable addition to our catalogue, we may
be able to put it on our list of new signs to do.
Q. Do you make any two-sided
signs?
A. The only two-sided sign we make is the Bear Alinement sign (#142, comes
with wall bracket).
Q. Why are all the other
signs blank on the back?
A. Most people don’t need a two-sided sign, especially since its
production would greatly increase the labor and expense of manufacture
and require considerably higher prices. Even with signs printed on just
one side, we often have trouble keeping up with demand, and some customers
have to wait weeks for their orders to be filled.
Q. Why don’t you
offer two-sided signs as an option?
A. The previous answer applies here too, only more so. Applying extra
paint on the backs of a few signs would nearly double their cost, because
it would require just as much paint, time (labor), clean-up, and cooking
as the first side.
Q. But I have an application
where a two-sided version would be perfect. What can I do?
A. Since production of a two-sided sign would cost about the same as two
signs, use two signs back-to-back. For the foreseeable future, that’s
the only solution we can suggest.
Q. Why did you misspell
Alignment on the Bear Alinement sign?
A. We didn’t. If you look at our page of original signs, you’ll
see that this was the spelling used on the actual bear sign we copied.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries unorthodox, clever, and cute spellings
were common, especially in advertising. Thus we have Kleenex, not Cleanex,
and brands such as No-Nox, Keen Kutter, Icy-Flo, Sunkist, Koolmotor, Sunfreze,
and Snoboy. One theory of the origin of OK is that it comes from the facetious
misspelling oil kerrekt, popular among New England college boys in the
early 19th century.
Neon Reproduction Vintage Signs
Q. What material are used in the
neon signs?
A. The signs are made from 18 gauge stee l with a backed enamel finish.
This was the process that followed procelain. The canister "can"
is made from 20 gauge galvanized steel to resist corrosion. Our "can"
is actually more uniform than most original signs. We use clear glass
#200 insulating electrode housings that look just like the original glass
housings. We also use the orignal-style glass/brass tube supports.
Q. What is different about
your neon signs verses "original" neon signs from the "old
days"?
A. We use a "Transco 15000" transformer; possibly the best made
and UL listed. Power is delivered via the UL listed GTO cable: highly
insulated and much safer than the wire used in the old days.
Q. Are your signs made
with true neon?
A. Yes, the neon tubes are not unlike the neon of old. The bending of
the glass is a true art form. We have a local shop with over 35 years
of experience create all of our Neon glass tubes. Instead of having bare
wires protrude from the neon tubes and passing through a glass insulator
(as they did in the old days); our glass insulators have a spring/stud
mechanism in them. A small brass disk is wired on each end of the tube.
When the tube is put into place, the brass disk passes through the glass
housing and makes contact with a spring – not unlike the battery
contacting the spring in a flashlight. One advantage to this method is
easy installation of the neon tubes. In the event of a broken tube, the
customer can handle the replacement on their own.
Q. Can I put your neon
signs outside?
A. No, we sell our signs for "indoor use only," even though
our design is better than the old signs. We feel that an investment in
a nostalgic sign of this quality should be kept in a showroom or garage
and out of the reach of wandering hands. The vintage neon signs that are
out of doors, (the old hardware store or drug store downtown), seldom
have all the neon functioning. Neon is fragile; it can be broken by wind,
hail, rain, birds, and kids with rocks. Neon is also susceptible to shorting
our during storms.
Q. Do you use the same
techniques to make your neon signs as were used in the originals?
A. Yes, the production of our signs would fall under the seldom heard
term, "hand made." It all starts with the sign face. Like our
other signs, each color is individually screen printed by hand, flash
baked and hard cured for 24 hours. Next, the "can" is hand formed
using a wooden mold, drilled, and riveted. The sign face is then riveted
to the "can," and holes for the glass insulators and tube supports
are hand drilled. Then all the glass housings and the transformer are
installed and wired inside the can; the back of the "can" is
then sealed. The tube supports are installed and the glass neon tubes
are mounted. Plug it in....one of the most spectacular signs available
on the market today.
Q. What if a piece of
neon tube breaks?
A. The glass neon tubes are easy to replace, it's as simple as twisting
a few wire ties that are connected to each tube support. On the back of
every glass tube there is a unit number, just call 1-800-344-8759 ext.
131 and we will take care of getting you replacement glass tubes and explain
everything you need to know about replacing it.
Q. How long will the neon
light last?
A. 30 years plus on the tubes. The transformer should last for many years.
Q. How do I mount/display
the neon sign?
A. The neon signs include a long piece of aluminum extruded material named
"Z-Clip" that is mounted to the back of the sign can and another
mounted to the crate. You remove the one attached to the crate and screw
it to the wall. It is designed to hit studs either on 16" center
or 24" center, it is a must to mount the Z-clip into the studs as
the sign has significant weight. Once it's attached to the wall, two people
can lift the sign up past the wall Z-clip and ease it down until the two
Z-clips wedge together. Very simple and very sturdy if attached correctly.
Q. How are the Signpast
signs packaged for shipment?
A. All Non-Neon Signpast signs are UPS/RPS-able whether they are individual
cartons or master cartons. Neon Signpast signs are shipped by truck freight.
Non-Neon Signpast signs are packaged in one box size at this time. The
251/2" Non-Neon signs weigh 10 pounds, 42"
Non-Neon signs weigh 28 pounds and neon signs packaged in their wooden
crates weigh 236 pounds.
The box size, is as follows: (LxWxH).
| Non-Neon
251/2" Signs
27.625" x .625" x 27.375" |
Non-Neon
42" Signs
47" x 1" x 46" |
|
Neon 42" Signs
48" x 17" x 48"
|
Neon Goodyear 54" Sign #904
48" x 17" x 60"
|
Individual cartons for the non-neon
signs are 200 lb. corrugated brown kraft. All individual cartons have
a UPC bar code label on the side of the box identifying the contents.
Master cartons are available for all non-neon signs. These master cartons
are brown kraft and will hold 5 individual cartons. Large shipments are
generally palletized. All palletized shipments are shrink-wrapped for
security, safety, and cleanliness. Pallet sizes are either 48" x
40" or 42" x 60" with a maximum height of 92 inches. Most
pallets will hold approximately 50 cartons. Each neon sign is packaged
and secured in a custom made wooden crate at our facility for safe delivery
by truck freight, which is shipped individually on a pallet.
Q. What are your customer
service/tech support hours?
A. Customer service and technical support hours are from 8:00 AM to 5:00
PM Central Standard Time. The toll-free number for the United States is
(888) 744-6007 or 620-221-2520. You can use our fax line 24 hours a day
at (620) 221-7423 or e-mail us at the following address: signpast@huskyliners.com.
All orders are processed at the Winfield, Kansas facility.
Winfield Consumer Products, Inc. •
P. O. Box 839 • 22425 "D" St. , Strother • Winfield,
KS 67156
Phone: 620..221.2520 • Fax: 620.221.7423 • Customer Service:
888-744-6007 •
e-mail: signpast@huskyliners.com
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