MOONSHINE BEACH Located right in central Pacific Beach, a community in San Diego Moonshine Flats opened up a sister location similar to the East Village location.  Bar, club...food, and of course live country music bands perform.  Similarly to Moonshine Flats, Moonshine Beach transformed The Typhoon Saloon and Fred's Mexican Food.  Originally this building was a bowling alley, guess not many knew Pacific Beach had a bowling alley.   The change of theme by ownership brought the first Country Music venue to Pacific Beach One difference Moonshine Beach will have that Moonshine Flats didn't, is adding in four decorative huge 8 Cold Cathode (Neon) Stars for decorative lighting.  One important aspect we did for these lighting star structures was paint them a textured flat Matthews PPG Paint finish so the Lamps will not reflect off of them, that way the light sinks right into the background and the Cold Cathode Lamps stay defined and not fuzz in the evening sky Loading up and getting ready to install   Originally the stars were going to be Red, White, and Blue but it was thought that it might be too loud and take away from the Moonshine Beach sign.  The desire was something more subtle, so to match the sign it's self the deco Neon lamps were 18mm 4500 Tri-Phoshor Lamps And time for a selfie Prepping the new Moonshine Beach sign for install.  Both sign configurations and theme are one of the same, just from Flats to Beach.   INSTALL DAY       Selfie 2 ....and done! Just as stated in our article on Moonshine Flats Now Pacific Beach has a new bright city night scape to light up the sky.    West Coast Sign Company, San Diego CA, 92131 (858) 689-0080 • info@westcoastsignco.com

Time to get it up in the air   One up it was time to began installing the Neon The object was to emphasize the name "Moonshine Flats" and make a subtle white border.  We didn't want to overwhelm the name with a bright white border so we changed the typical white 6500 Kelvin to something slightly warmer in color, so for this the border was called out to a Tri-Phosphor 4500K.  The Ruby Red Lettering was created in 12mm, a very thin tube that would be intense for a good light output, so not to compete too much with a bright white out outer border tube was created in 18mm. The thinner the diameter tube the brighter the lamp will be, the larger the more subtle.  This was a very good combination with a very good end result.   The day and night look was so nice and complimenting to the building we we asked to build another for the rear of the building.   So a short time later we had to put another on their wall         If you ever go to Petco Park to watch a Padres Major League Baseball Game, please stop by and take a look as well as have lunch.  Moonshine Flats has some VERY good BBQ food that is to die for.  They Have a large selection of Microbrews as well as pool tables and other entertainment.  Did I mention they have some of the best Country Music bands/singers playing there?   West Coast Sign Company, San Diego CA, 92131 (858) 689-0080 • info@westcoastsignco.com

MOONSHINE FLATS Located in East Village Downtown San Diego that borders the Gas Lamp District.   This is a project and revamp where the bar/club owners decided to change the theme of their existing venue.  One of my favorite little Neon Signs was going to be removed to make way for the much larger sign for this new Country Theme Bar & Club with live music....Moonshine Flats. After obtaining approvals from CCDC, Historic, and sign permits from the City of San Diego we began production. This was going to be an "old school" sign, so that meant old school production and look with state of the art Neon components.  That meant the sign structure would be American Steel.  Not your normal steel but "Jet Plated" metal which is basically galvanized like plate/finish for durability.   As you can tell from the image, these letters are NOT easy to cut, bend and weld.  The smaller the letter the more your fingers will hate you. Some times the "old school" components are one of the best.  These are porcelain housings.  Most custom sign shops who still produce electric Neon signs shy away from porcelain because their natural finish which is visible from the exterior is white and most will choose to use glass which will blend with the background.  We like white even though it may stick out like a sore thumb, I think it gives the Neon sign character. The problem with glass is, it's thin walled and won't stand up to high temperatures that porcelain can endure if needed. After a fresh paint job of PPG or better known in the sign industry as Matthews is one of the best commercial paint finishes that is equal to an automotive finish. With the face background it's best to ass the same color in Neon Glass.  Enter "Ruby Red", a premium Neon Glass tubing that can be pumped with Neon gas ( no mercury) or Mercury pumped.  After a side by side comparison our client decided to go with Mercury Pumped. The day before Installation it's a good idea to get all the holes drilled right and ready for that big day. Sometimes you even need the little helpers Install day, the part we can get up without the heavier equipment   West Coast Sign Company, San Diego CA, 92131 (858) 689-0080 • info@westcoastsignco.com  

Here's one of our favorite jobs that we produced and installed locally here in San Diego.   RAY'S TENNIS located in Hill Crest close to downtown San Diego.   So let's start from the beginning.... This project starts with an old building that's about to get renovated. This landmark Tennis Store has been around the neighborhood since the 60's and Ray's Tennis is a very known location if you play tennis in San Diego. For a high light output green to match their colors we went with a very small millimeter diameter lamp glass made by Voltarc, 12mm Green.  The smaller the diameter Neon glass, the brighter the light output.  Our choice of high voltage secondary wire conductors is always the best....Silicone!  Silicone is the best quality for neon signs and it won't degrade as fast as conventional wiring   One of the cool added parts of this jobs is the Stainless Steel overhang face they added for the renovation. Love the look, and we had a part to play to make sure it would make the single stroke of Voltarc's NeoBlue (Purple) pumped red would be applicable for installation. Doing a single stroke Neon border in this case Purple can sometimes be a challenge when it comes to installation but I made sure that the 56 liner feet would not be an issue. I wanted everything balanced for this project by NOT doing a conventional wiring installation for out long single lamp purple Neon. To do that the Neon transformer must be balanced, and that comes with installing the transformer in "Mid-Point Ground"  Something not many companies do, and one of the reasons why Neon can be problematic and cause multiple maintenance problems over time.  Most Neon issues happen at the hands of installation By doing a Mid-Point Return I turned this 15kv tranny into two separate 7,500kv's. Most importantly, I didn't run 20' of GTO (wiring) from Transformer Terminal to the outer most electrodes like you see in so many cases (Conventional Series Wiring) which result in numerous maintenance calls down the road. Doing a Mid-Point ground I started at the center of my Neon Load making my runs only 18" from the Transformer secondary Terminals to the first set of electrodes that will work their way out bringing the outermost lamps or connection back to the transformer. If you were to take a High Voltage Probe and measure at the Mid-Point ground terminal you would have about 0 volts. Doing the installation this way assures VERY long life with the secondary conductors as short as possible. CONVENTIONAL WIRING VS MID-POINT RETURN WIRING Here in the Transformer in a ventilated box which will breath much easier then the ones located behind the wall for the Lettering.  I have the two short secondary home runs splitting the 56' linear lamp foot load in half, with the return path coming from the outer most lamp connectors of the load. The Service Switch and double nutted ground with the panel ground at the bottom (structural) with the service ground which is the Transformer ground at the top. Before anyone asks, YES this is a shot before the Transformer box is sitting on top of treated studs! There are many Industry components used for our trade, a lot do not get used properly or are never used and again, this can be problematic for Neon Lighting & Signs when not properly used or installed.  Here is a good shot of outdoor wet location rated Neon electrode connections so no moisture gets in.   Finishing up and closing out this deal And of course the final night shots The Tennis Ball we used a 15mm Tri-Phosphor White by Voltarc as well called "Tri-Lite"  Tri-Phosphors are a multi-blend of high quality phosphors that are about 40% brighter than conventional phosphor Neon caoted lamps and will stay whiter longer over time.  Reason being, when it comes to Hg (Mercury) filled lamps the mercury will crystallize and eventually eat through the phosphor which is what makes these lamps dim over time.   What does this custom sign total cost of operation cost a consumer to run? Total package 784 watts, 8 hours per day @ 365 days a year roughly $.12kwh = $274.71 as an annual cost of operation for wall sign mixed in with some linear border tube lighting, NOT BAD!! Despite the popular mis-informed information about Lighting efficiency on Neon, we can see $274 a year operating for 8 Hours a day is NOT bad for electric advertising!    West Coast Sign Company, San Diego CA, 92131 (858) 689-0080 • info@westcoastsignco.com      

.....Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.....     Neon's not dead, in fact it's missed!   This was a job that we completed back in February of 2012 for Lucky's Lunch Counter located in East Village right across from Padre's PETCO Park Downtown San Diego.   Lucky's Lunch Counter is probably what you could call the first as a reboot of Neon back to Downtown San Diego.  Exposed Neon has been banned throughout downtown San Diego especailly in the gaslamp district.  Too bad, it's much missed and I'll tell you about that part a little later.  But for right now only halo illumination and backlit lighting for signs is allowed, or unless you plan on putting a Neon Window sign behind your store glass pane.   The East Village district of Downtown thankfully is more open to change, and more incline to allowing the traditions of what downtown San Diego used to look like in the Hay Day.   Exposed Neon is one of those jobs that West Coast Sign Company likes to surge at.  It's not that often that exposed Neon jobs are asked for due to regulation of review design boards & civic historic commissions.   Neon fabrication & installation is one of West Coast Sign Company's specialties.  With the huge influx of LEDs for illumination talented sign shop help who understood how to handle Neon has been lost & the tradesman that had the proper knowledge of "know how" is gone or short on hand.  The only answer is to replace a classic art and tradition with LEDs.   We know how to handle, measure, load, fabricate & install Neon signs.    This is what separates us from the lopsided choice that a lot of sign shops that will ONLY offer you a one choice option for sign illumination....LED's and statements filled with misinformation and mis-characterization of Neon or Fluorescent lamps as "inefficient & high maintenance".  These are marketing statements handed down from light source manufacturers all in the name to sell a product.    As you can see, no other light source can replace the sheer brilliance of Neon lights, or beat the wide palette of colors to choose from for your electrical sign identification.     SHOT 1.  Getting our sign pattern on the wall and drilling for structural mounting and the electrical needs.       SHOT 2. The Neon glass being used for "Luckys" is custom mix rare-earth phosphor called B.A.M.  A good close color would be EGL's Horizon Blue.  Rare-earth Phosphor lamps are about 40% brighter than the conventional single halo-phosphate coated neon lamps and have a better lumen maintenance, or will stay brighter over time and keep their brilliance.  The lower cabinet "Lunch Counter" is a white custom coated white Tri-Phosphor lamps.  The Orange clover is glass produced by Tecnolux.        SHOT 3.  Early installation shot.  Just finished applying the weatherproofing silicone caps to the Neon receptacles.  These silicone caps are important because when it rains or on high moisture days this can cause the housings to crack or cause a short.       SHOT 4.  A day shot after completion.  As you can see, using Rare-Earth & Tri-Phosphor coated lamps the intensity is so bright it makes for good identification even by day competing against the sun light     SHOT 5.  Our night shot.  This is one of those signs where a photo does no justice and where only a visit in person can justify.  We are very proud of this sign that will last the ages and hopefully one day turn into a classic.   When properly loaded, installed well with the shortest possible leads, quality components, this can easily turn into another one of our signs where we will never need to replace anything for 18+ years.   West Coast Sign Company, San Diego CA, 92131 (858) 689-0080 • info@westcoastsignco.com