Creation of a two color sign
Private Collection



Here are the successive steps necessary to the realization of this 15 x 20 cm single-sided blue enamelled sign with white lettering.






First of all the crude steel sheet formatted (cutting, shaping, drilling, scouring cleaning, degreasing...) The part must be absolutly free of oxidation traces and uncleanness to be able to be enamelled.




The sheet receives then basic enamel, the primer slury (gray color). This enamel is the only one able to be welded perfectly with steel. The enamels for color, from their composition, do not have this faculty. The primer slury will constitute a protection of steel and will ensure the adherence for enamels of color during their fusion. After drying of this slury will intervene the cooking.




After cooking the slury took its color dark / black gray. The sheet will cool before passing at the following step.






The sheet thus coated now will be covered with white enamel. After drying it will turn over to the kiln. This white color will be used for lettering.






Following a new cooling the sheet is ready to receive its blue enamel which will constitute the background of the text.




Here is the stencil which will be placed over the blue enamel. The brushing operation can then take place. It will have for goal to eliminate the blue enamel which will not be protected by cuttings from the stencil.
Note (by clicking on the stencil) that the letters are not completely cut out but it remains fasteners. These fasteners make it possible to keep stencil in good form and especially to avoid having, for example a hole instead of a "O".




Here is the result of brushing. The blue enamel thus brushed lets appear the layer of white enamel cooked previously. You can see here that the fasteners appear. they should now be brushed.





For the brushing of the fasteners, an other stencil will be used. This stencil will leave accessible to brushing only the fasteners. This operation requires delicacy (the enamel before cooking is very friable) and requires an irreproachable stencil (size of cuttings) compared to the first one used.




When the preceding step is finished, the sheet is ready for its third and last cooking.





The sheet came out of the kiln, the blue enamel took its final color.
In this example the text is in 'hollow' compared to the background. Another technique allows the opposite (difference between the negative and positive stencil). This manufacture follows the traditional method. This stencil dates from the years 1930-1940.



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