Hollywood Sign Gets Sherwin-Williams Facelift
Media Contacts:
Sherwin-Williams
Sherwin-williams@clynch.com
Whitney McChane
(612) 375-8503
Hollywood Sign Trust
betsy@rbicom.com
Betsy Isroelit
(213) 300-0108
ICONIC HOLLYWOOD SIGN GETTING A FACELIFT
Sherwin-Williams Emerald™ Exterior paint to protect landmark
Above: Hollywood Sign refurbishing efforts by Sherwin-Williams will take eight to 10 weeks and approximately 275 gallons of paint .
Left: Chris Baumgart of the Hollywood Sign Trust and Frank Valdez, Operation Manager for Duggan & Associates.
Photos by David Livingston ©Courtesy of Hollywood Sign Trust.
The biggest star in Tinseltown – the Hollywood Sign – is getting a major makeover with Sherwin-Williams industry-leading Emerald Exterior Acrylic Latex paint. This is the most extensive refurbishing effort of its kind in nearly 35 years for the Sign, which will be repainted in its signature white.
“Having spearheaded the effort to save the Hollywood Sign in 1978, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce is very pleased with the work of the Hollywood Sign Trust to maintain our landmark in top condition. The Hollywood Sign is our welcome to the world and we are very appreciative of Sherwin-Williams’ generous contribution to this effort,” said Leron Gubler, President and CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
The project involves 2700 pounds of paint going on 9ft 45'-tall letters. The project will take over 40 days due to the extensive project that involves the removing all of the old paint and primer. The letters will be stripped all the way back to the 1978 metal that was put up there. “The paint on the iconic Sign today is 35 years old. It has lost its ability to stick to the metal and is peeling off,” said Chris Baumgart, Chairman of the Hollywood Sign Trust. “That’s why we are stripping it all the way to the metal. They are going to take the existing paint down letter by letter, then put on primer, and then paint.”
The total cost of the project is $175k. Sherwin-Williams donated $140k worth of paint and labor, and the Hollywood Sign Trust donated $35k.
The City of Los Angeles has decided to employ an eco-friendly green approach. “The stripping process is done by huge white bandaid-like sheets that will be applied all over the Sign. The sheets then are left to cook the paint overnight, and turn the existing paint to wet goo that we can scrape off,” said Baumgart.
You can watch bits of the project live as the world-famous Hollywood Sign gets a facelift on www.hollywoodsign.org over the course of the next six weeks.
A cultural and historic landmark, the Sign is the pride of its owner, the City of Los Angeles. Sherwin-Williams and the Hollywood Sign Trust are funding the project for the benefit of the City and its Department of Recreation and Parks, as well as Sign fans around the world. They have brought on Los Angeles-based commercial painting company Duggan & Associates to handle the task of completely stripping the current paint, and then priming and repainting. The work will help prepare the Sign to celebrate its 90th birthday in 2013.
The refurbishing efforts, which will start October 2, will take approximately eight to 10 weeks, and will require approximately 275 gallons of Emerald Exterior paint and 110 gallons of Pro-Cryl® Universal Acrylic Primer.
THE PAINT:
Emerald Exterior Latex paint will ensure the Sign looks great for years to come. This exceptional, long-lasting finish delivers unsurpassed resistance to blistering, peeling, fading, mildew and dirt pick-up. Its durability and beauty is in a class of its own.
SHERWIN-WILLIAMS: ASK SHERWIN-WILLIAMS™
As the nation’s largest specialty retailer of paint and painting supplies, Sherwin-Williams is dedicated to supporting both do-it-yourselfers and painting professionals with exceptional products, resources to make confident color selections and expert, personalized service that’s focused on unique project needs. Sherwin-Williams products can only be found at its more than 3,400 neighborhood stores across North America. For more information, visit sherwin-williams.com or join the conversation on Facebook at facebook.com/sherwinwilliamsforyourhome, on Twitter at twitter.com/sherwinwilliams or on Pinterest at pinterest.com/SherwinWilliams.
HOLLYWOOD SIGN TRUST:
The Hollywood Sign Trust is a 501(c)3 non-profit Trust responsible for repairing, maintaining, refurbishing and providing capital improvements to the Hollywood Sign for the benefit of the public at large. Its nine- member board is led by Chris Baumgart as its Chairperson. More information about the Sign’s history and the Trust can be found at: www.hollywoodsign.org.
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