Painted advertisements on the sides of old barns are an important part of the history of signage in America. At one time, thousands of barns were painted with ads for tobacco or animal feed. Today, very few of these barn advertisements exist. Most of these old barns have been demolished or fallen into disrepair.
To recreate one of these hand-painted ads takes skill and a few tricks of the trade. To reproduce a weathered appearance, Chicago Brushmaster, Ron Jelinek, revealed how it is done. By mixing 1 Shot lettering enamel with flattening paste at a 50/50 ratio and thinning the mixture with some paint thinner, Ron created the washed out look of an old Coke sign. In painting the ad, he used white and bright red on an 8’ wall of weathered barn boards.
Below is a series of pictures that shows how Ron’s project progressed.
