July 14, 2020

Vinyl Signs Whitby delivers a sensitive and affordable restoration that’s practical and full of character…

The Poachers Pocket is a very traditional country outfitters located in an area of Whitby that reflects its traditional roots. Its windows are full of the wares associated with country pursuits and it’s very much a part of the landscape, having traded in the town for years. The sign above its doors was originally rendered in paint on glass - a medium that tells of the shop’s vintage. Time had begun to make its effects known on the sign though and so Vinyl Signs Whitby was called in to consider remedial measures.

Replacement of the sign, it was agreed, was the best course of action but like-for-like would have been both prohibitively costly and disruptive. Removing a well aged glass fascia is, in addition, an invitation to discover the horrors behind it and, with the fabric of the sign being essentially sound and weatherproof, it was decided to leave it, and its peeling coats of paint in situ.

Rob Lamerton and the team at Vinyl Signs Whitby decided to fabricate a cover for the visible elements of the glass fascia from an affordable modern and weather resistant material and to mount upon it the replacement lettering and background reflecting the original character of the retiring sign.

The team set about matching the colours needed for the new sign. The Metamark colour palette was loaded into Vinyl Signs Whitby’s design software and something amounting to a perfect match for the weathered green background of the original sign and its aged lettering was selected. The resulting data was then printed on Metamark MD5.

MD5 and the notion of closely matched colours are no stranger to each other and neither is the attention to detail needed to carry off such a transformation unknown to Vinyl Signs Whitby. The panel was installed, complete with its MD5 print.

The result isn’t going to turn any heads and that’s what makes this gem of a sign all the more remarkable. It’s been there for years - nothing appears to have changed. What a glance doesn’t tell though is that, beneath the convincing fascia graphic, is an aged glass fascia, complete with painted sign elements. It’s out of sight, not going to get broken and not likely to weather any further.

As signs go, this example is nothing more than a familiar fascia, and nothing less than perfect.