Observations from a preservation project

Here are a few random thoughts about the sign preservation project that volunteers with the Oklahoma Route 66 Association completed this past weekend at the Lincoln Motel in Chandler, Okla.:

1. Don’t use household latex paint on an outdoors sign. This advice may seem elementary, but it became apparent during prepping that the Lincoln Motel’s sign had been coated with cheap acrylic. That caused large chunks of it to come off — if it wasn’t already gone — during scraping. Needless to say, the oil-based enamel we used probably will last longer.

2. It’s difficult to erect scaffolding when @#$%*& hedges are in the way. The thick vegetation around the motel’s south edge undoubtedly proves useful in blocking noise and headlights from passing traffic. But it sure makes it a pain in gaining access to a preservation project.

3. It’s good to have an experienced general contractor help put up scaffolding. Doug Dickman of Chandler was the one who supervised putting the framework together and ensuring the scaffold was on stable footing so we wouldn’t go tumbling 15 feet into the air.

4. The most nerve-wracking portion was not the painting. The most tense moments came when we had to carefully remove the sign’s neon tubing and put it back up again when painting was completed. One wrong move, and you’d shatter a section of letters that would cost at least $100 to replace.

5. It helps to have a sign re-painter who happens to be a daredevil. Jerry McClanahan was willing to go to great heights (literally) and awkward contortions to make sure all of the sign’s hard-to-reach corners were coated.

6. It helps to have a sign re-painter who actually has artistic experience. McClanahan has worked as an artist for many years, and his steady hand and knowledge became useful during the course of the project.

7. You can actually keep painting during a rainstorm. It’s not recommended, obviously, to do an entire repainting project during a downpour. But oil-based enamel isn’t going to be affected much by moisture if just a few brush strokes remain, as we discovered on Sunday.

8. The motel’s new owners seem committed to upgrading the property. They told us that the rooms would be renovated in the coming weeks and the cabins’ exteriors will be repainted. Considering the motel was built in 1939, it can use all the TLC it can get.

9. During a preservation project, you’ll use muscles you never knew you had. Emily and I are still feeling sore a full day after the project. But seeing the results makes it worth it.

(More photos can be found here, here and here.)