I’m new to wcing and have found wcr very helpful. I want to do storefronts while I’m learning and will most likely concentrate my effort in that area. How do you deal with neon signs. The last thing I want to do is break an expensive light for a $20.00 window cleaning. Thanks, Dean
I use common sense and care.
If a sign is easy enough to move (aside or take down with chain/s-hooks) for a standard maintenance cleaning, I do so with care.
If a sign is hanging precariously or is plugged in to a ceiling outlet with a too-short cord (for example), I discuss options with the owner or manager beforehand. Either that, or incorporate a PITA factor to the quote.
Turn off the sign. Do not touch the glass tubing. Check the security of the fixture holding the sign in place to make sure the sign will not fall. Do not drip water on sign.
some of the older neon signs have plastic clips holding the neon tubes on the backer. If they face the sun for a few years the clips become brittle and if the sign is tipped back at an angle the clips let loose and the neon tubes break. I learned this the hard way.:o
Thanks guys, just the kind of info i was looking for.
Turn it on before you start to make sure it works. Turn it off to clean the window and back on when your done so you know it was fine when you left.
This is a great point! So often we get blamed for “breaking” a neon sign when all we did is turn it off and it doesn’t turn back on. Always bring any issues with these things right to the owner/manager. If it looks shady make sure you don’t get blamed for an old sign crapping out on you.
On a tool talk note, I have found that the wagtail works excellent for getting in the tight space between the light fixture and the glass. If you are using the latest version (wagtail whirlwind) you need very little water on the pad so it cuts down on drips.
be careful not to let any water run onto adhesive pads that are stuck onto inside glass . these pads have a tiny hook on the back , often hold up those small neon "Open " signs that you see in takeaway food places . i learnt the hard way ,that the water seeps into the pad and later the whole sign falls away . i now wipe the area above any of these signs just with a damp scrim and no solution
I think there is some serious voltage in those neon signs - beware. Luckily the ones I do swing out the way & as Mark says - the wagtail does the work.
[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]I think about the size of the job verses the neon light breaking risk involved. If a sign breaks that would be about a $250 loss. I would want to be making at least that off the job on an annual basis. I passed on a nail shop once. It was a $10 every two weeks job with neon light tubing all around the frames of every window. It was just too much exposure for about $250 a year revenues.[/FONT][/COLOR]
x
True story!
Typically, I’ve always held the sign out with one hand while working with the other. I always turn it off first, but several years ago at a job this was not possible at one particular job.
It was a billiards bar with a line of commercial panes, a neon “beer sign” in each. To reach them I would borrow a bar stool and stand on it holding each sign out, in turn. There was maybe 20 or 30 of em, with all electrical lines black-taped together in a long “snake.”
I’d done the job several times before with no incidents, until one day…
At some point, the insulation and tape had dry rotted away, exposing a large portion of bare wiring, although I had know way of seeing this, as it was on the upper backside of the “snake.”
So, I’m standing up on this stool, holding out the sign, window wetted, and take a squeegee to it. I got the shock of a lifetime! Knocked me clean out. I came to falling toward the ground with legs stiff and my head buzzing.
I had thrown my squeegee a good 50 feet across the bar when the shock happened, but don’t remember it.
I sat down for a while, intending to get back to work, but found that my wiring was crossed, so to speak. It wasn’t unlike a hard concussion, when it’s a little difficult to think straight, and words don’t come out right.
Needless to say, that was it for me that day.
I’ve always checked for bare wiring since.
