By Jim Hingst @hingst_jim
On
July 22 to July 24, Butch “Superfrog” Anton and his wife Sandy hosted the 2016
Letterhead Geezer Gathering at his homestead in Detroit Lakes, MN. 26 sign painters and artists attended the event, which featured an airbrushing
seminar, conducted by Mickey Harris, and a water gilding workshop, taught by “Bazooka”
Joe Balabuszko.
Superfrog has been making signs in Western Minnesonta since 1972 and has been a spokesperson for manufacturers in the sign industry, including RTape and Arlon.
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| Butch and Sandy Anton hosted the 2016 Geezer Gathering at the Anton homestead. |
Superfrog has been making signs in Western Minnesonta since 1972 and has been a spokesperson for manufacturers in the sign industry, including RTape and Arlon.
Attendees
at the Letterhead meet included veteran sign painters Eric Elmgren, Wade
Lambrigtsen, Sam Sanfilippo, Jim Gleason and Kit Kat Harrigan. These artists
showcased their pinstriping and “Custom Culture” talents as they decorated
metal and glass panels. Several in the group of sign makers also practiced their
carving skills.
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| Mickey Harris demonstrated his air brushing techniques while painting an American eagle, skulls and true flames. |
During
his seminar, Mickey Harris demonstrated his air brushing with Inspire
automotive paints as he swigged on his jug of Jack Daniels sipping whiskey.
While painting an American eagle, skulls and true fire flames, Harris described
his approach to realistic painting. Harris is known in the automotive industry as
one of the premier airbrush artisans.
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| Joe Balabuszko explained substrate cleaning, preparation of water size and gilding techniques in his gold leaf techniques class. |
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| Joe Balabuszko demonstrated a variety of techniques used in creating two toned gilded glass. Participants learned by doing in the gold leaf techniques class. |
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| Sandy Anton prepared nearly all of the meals for theLetterhead attendees. |
Sandy Anton prepared breakfast, lunch and dinner meals for the army of artists. No one went hungry during the event. Sam Sanfilippo and Michelle Mielke served as culinary assistants. Michelle, an up-and-coming artist, cooked breakfast quesadillas to help start the day off right. Sam, a member of the Walldogs and a native of Birmingham, Alabama, prepared Southern treats including praline bread pudding. He also introduced the Yankees in the group to turnip greens with salt pork. (NOTE: Walldogs paint walls with images of old-fashioned advertisements in historically significant communities.)
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| Much of the gold leaf work was performed by sign makers who had never gilded before. |
During
the event the attendees were blessed with mild temperatures and sunny skies.
Many took advantage of the weather to fish, swim and jet ski. All of the
attendees were thankful for the hospitality that Butch and Sandy extended, but
sorry that they had to leave for home and start a new work week.
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| Sam and Michelle assisted Sandy Anton in meal preparation. |
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| Sam Sanfilippo helped Sandy with the cooking, preparing Southern delicacies, as well as showing off his painting skills. |
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| Some of the artists collaborated in decorating panels. |
Vinyl Application Videos
Squeegee Technique. Nothing is more basic in vinyl application than the squeegee. But some squeegees work better than others. And there are right ways and wrong ways to use this simple tool. This video clip reviews squeegee selection, squeegee care and squeegee technique. Click to Link
Wet Applications. Dry applications are typically recommended for most vinyl applications. For those exceptions to the rule, this instructional video explains the right way to perform a wet application. Click to Link
Application of Window Graphics. Installing vinyl graphics on glass can be challenging, because the adhesive aggressively grabs onto this high energy surface. Repositioning graphics on window is generally difficult, if not impossible. This instructional video explains how to dry apply window graphics right the first time. It also describes the necessary steps required for surface preparation. Click to Link
Transferring Frosted Window Graphics Films. Because frosted window films are highly textured, transferring cut vinyl graphics can be problematic. This video provides direction in selection of the right application tape and how to apply these films quickly, easily and without problems. Click to Link
3-Step Surface Prep. This instructional video describes how to properly clean the surface of a vehicle before applying pressure sensitive vinyl graphics to a trailer or doing a full wrap of a car or van. This three step surface prep involves detergent washing, solvent cleaning and a final wipe down with IPA. Click to Link
Vinyl Application Over Rivets. Applying vinyl graphics on vehicle surfaces with rivets is challenging for most sign makers. Vinyl failures to these surfaces are all too common. This video demonstrates some tips and procedures, used by professional decal installers, which will make these demanding applications easier and more trouble-free. Click to Link
Vinyl Application to Corrugations. Learn how to apply vinyl graphics to corrugations in a relaxed state. Forcing films into the valleys of corrugations puts too much mechanical stress on the film. Sooner or later, the vinyl will lift or tent in valleys. Click to Link
Applying Air Egress Vinyls. Vinyl films with air egress release liners have almost eliminated bubbles and wrinkles from applied graphics. Air egress release liners with their highly textured surface structure are problematic. Not much will stick to these liners other than the vinyl film. At RTape our best premask solution for air egress liners is a special Conform® tape called 4761RLA. Click to Link
About Jim Hingst: After fourteen years as Business Development Manager at RTape, Jim Hingst retired. He was involved in many facets of the company’s business, including marketing, sales, product development and technical service.
Hingst began his career 42 years ago in the graphic arts field creating and producing advertising and promotional materials for a large test equipment manufacturer. Working for offset printers, large format screen printers, vinyl film manufacturers, and application tape companies, his experience included estimating, production planning, purchasing and production art, as well as sales and marketing. In his capacity as a salesman, Hingst was recognized with numerous sales achievement awards.
Drawing on his experience in production and as graphics installation subcontractor, Hingst provided the industry with practical advice, publishing more than 150 articles for publications, such as Signs Canada, SignCraft, Signs of the Times, Screen Printing, Sign and Digital Graphics and Sign Builder Illustrated. He also posted more than 400 stories on his blog (hingstssignpost.blogspot.com). In 2007 Hingst’s book, Vinyl Sign Techniques, was published. Vinyl Sign Techniques is available at sign supply distributors and at Amazon.
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