This is an alternative space from my website. I plan to share behind the scene images of a working sign shop, detailed stages of production, techniques & processes, how things work, or how I've made them work for me anyway. I design and build signs, it's commercial art, each is an art project. I strive to keep them unique and different. This keeps it interesting and challenging for me and gives the client a unique project. Hopefully you find this interesting and perhaps educational. There may be wonderful mishaps, paint spills, or some whacked effects gone awry. Stuff happens, art happens, I occasionally step back and just smile (and grab a camera). Often the garbage generated is art in itself. I have archives of photos and will randomly choose some to share. They may, or may not be current work. Enjoy. - Brad

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

NuScale Power



This project involved sandblasting & painting 4 pieces of glass. The glass was 1/2" thick and  22" high x 66" wide. 6 holes, 1/2" in diameter, were drilled by a glass specialty fabrication shop. The edges were polished clear and had very slight bevels. I did this work in August of 2012.


All of the artwork is done on the backside of the glass. A rubber sandblast mask has been cut in reverse on my plotter and applied. It protects the glass from being frosted during the blasting process.
   

The border is to remain clear. I cut strips of mask and applied a bit more than enough for the border, and wrapped around the sides and onto the front face (remember, I'm working on the back side). Next I hand cut the exact border distance with an x-acto knife and a strait edge. The dense rubber is a great precaution against accidentally chipping or plinking an edge during all the handling and transport while in production.


My friend Vance Galliher in Eugene (Springfield) has a very similar shop as my own. However, he has a great setup for sandblasting glass at this size, and even a bit larger. Here he is in his blasting booth. Vance is truly a fine looking gentleman. It's too bad my best shot of him is with a bag over his head.


I'm back at my shop and removing the sandblast mask. The right side of the image has the mask peeled part way back, exposing the logo.


Aluminum oxide was used to 'cut' the surface of the glass. You can see the residue that got through the pre-drilled hole and stuck to the sticky side of the mask.


Big wads of non-reuseable mask. Unfortunately it won't merge with our commingled recycling.


I was originally planning to screen print the black and orange graphics, but chose to mask and paint instead. I'm applying a transparent blue paint mask. I'm applying it in small sections to achieve a near-perfect spacing of the 'glow-line' between the graphics and the background. 


The mask barely sticks to the frosted area, but has great adhesion to the smooth glass. You can see the 1/10th inch 'glow-line', which makes for not much surface area.


Here's 3 of the 4 finished panels with fresh enamel paint.


One of these four pieces of glass was shipped to the east coast. I packed 1.5" of rigid pink insulation on all sides, 2x4's around the perimeter, and 3/4" plywood top & bottom. A perfect fit allowed for no wiggle room. I trust it made the trip safe and sound. Does anyone out there know otherwise?


Ready for the top sheet of ply. Looks like the ends received an extra layer of 3/4" insulation. I sent instructions to ship it standing up, laying down on it's long edge.


I made 4 paper install templates and kept them mated to each of the 4 pieces of glass. This was to insure that the drilled holes of the glass all line up with the drilled holes in the wall. The paper templates make placement and leveling much easier.


This is one of the coolest pieces of installation hardware. It's called a zip-toggle. You drill a hole large enough for the toggle end to fit through on end. There are 3 parts of the white plastic. Parts 1 & 2 are the handles, which slide and allow you to pivot the toggle perpendicular after insertion. Part 3 is the small ratcheting slider that cinches down on the toggle, like a zip-tie. Once snug, the 2 handles easily break off. The centered toggle has a threaded hole to receive the special bolt for the up-coming stand-offs.


The stand-offs are clear anodized aluminum with a 1" diameter. Both of the barrels are threaded, obviously the cap only part way. There is a thin, clear, plastic or vinyl washer between both sides of the stand-off parts and the glass. Also a length of clear vinyl 'aquarium tubing' inside the glass hole, protecting the glass from the threaded bolt. The glass never touches the hardware.

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Another corner view.


This one was driven to and installed in the Portland office, behind the reception desk. I also dropped off the crated piece to be flown to the Washington DC office. The other 2 reside here at the Corvallis offices on the HP campus.

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