Post #585215 by Mai Tai on Sat, Apr 16, 2011 4:11 AM

Sorry about the sign. I know of someone that works in glass media in Alameda, his name is Jaime Guerrero, and his studio is actually just a few blocks from my house. He makes all kinds of amazing glass sculptures, and can blow glass as well. A couple of years ago, I searched all over for someone that could blow a couple of large 16 inch glass globes to match a vintage one that I have, and everyone that I talked to said that if I wanted one that big, then I should talk to Jaime. He can be pricey, though, it all depends on the scope of the job - blowing a large 16 inch globe was a three man job: one person to run the kiln and open the kiln doors for him, another to assist him in getting the glass set up, and Jaime to actually blow the glass orb. And this was during our last oil crisis a couple of years ago when oil was at a then all time high - he said that just firing up the kiln cost him $100!

But the scope of what you need might be much much easier to deal with. If Jaime is too pricey, or doesn't work in neon, I'm willing to bet that he could refer you to someone that could help you out. You can find his contact info here: http://www.guerreroglass.com/contact.html

Also, signs like that are fairly common on ebay. The prices run all over the place, from really outrageously pricey to really outrageously cheap. Here's a Lite Beer one with a palm tree for $175, one with a cactus for $69, an O'Doul's bowling one for $125, and one with a kangaroo that's currently going for only $4.99 (but has expensive shipping). There are a LOT of them on ebay, my search pulled up over 6,700 items, so you just have to keep looking to find the right one at the right price. I have a sign exactly like this one that Coco Loco absoluely DESPISES, and just searching for "lite beer neon" pulled up exact matches for mine that this time ranged from $175 to over $300, but the last time I checked the price on it (two years ago) I found them as cheap as $25 bucks. So who knows, maybe Coco Loco will sell mine to you when I'm not looking! :D

If it ends up being too expensive to repair, and you decide to replace your sign, there are a bunch out there that are cool, or "interesting". Such as Fat Tire, Blue Moon, Star Wars, and Beer Pong. There are a lot of cool old vintage ones, such as Buckeye Beer, and Stag, but my favs are this Bear Whiz Beer one, and this really cool vintage Alley Oop Bowling sign from Oakland, Calif. I couldn't find a "Tiki Food" neon sign in a big neon circle with a big slash through it, though. Hope this info helps, and hope you can get your sign fixed!