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Picked up a 36" Coke Button today.  :happydrinkers: I have been looking for one of these for a long time.  Got scammed on one a while back on E-Bay but luckily I used Pay Pal and got my money back.  It is not mint but still has good color and shine.  A few scraps from over the years but a nice hanger for the rec room!  Has some rust arount the edges but in generally good shape.  Agreed to pay the seller $100 but kicked her an extra $20 because she had someone else that wanted it but she held it for me.  I think I did okay being that the one in the first picture below just sold for $300 on E-Bay.  On to the pictures!

 :drinking: Tim :drinking:

PS--what is the best way to preserve the finish?  And what is the best way to hang it?  Does anyone reproduce the hanging bracket?

Beautiful sign. And you got it at an excellent price. 

Congrats

Where did you find this one?

Tim,

Is yours porcelain or painted?
And it's the second photo...? If so, it appears to be in great shape with just few minor things!
Congrats ! ! !

Found it on the Lansing or Flint (can't remember which) CL shortly after it was posted and I jumped right on it.  Just got lucky!  Wish that would have happened a coule years ago when somebody had a Stoner Theatre listed for $50!!!  I about jumped through the roof when that posting came up on my screen but the machine was long gone.

I am very happy with the Coke Button and this one will be staying with the collection.  I will probably hang it over my V-39 when I complete the restoration on it.

 :drinking: Tim :drinking:

I believe that it is porcelain.  I am not sure how to determine that though.  Any hints???

Mine is the one in the second, third and fourth photos.  The one in the first photo just sold on EBay for $300.

Thanks!

 :drinking: Tim :drinking:

Nice find Tim!
It'll look great above the 39!

Congrats Tim!
I've seen repro brackets for the 12 and 16" come up on Ebay, I can't believe someone isn't making them for the 36". Hmmmm.....
And I  think a light coat of car wax will preserve the finish. I wou'dn't  use a clearcoat, and unless the game room is musty, or outside, I don't see the rust spreading. I have a little rust on my coke button and paepsi cap, they haven't gotten worse 

You can check to see if it is porcelain by pouring a little paint remover on it. If it the paint comes off it is paint, if it isn't damaged by the paint remover, it is porcelain.

 

Kilroy has some excellent advise for caring for your sign. I have had signs hanging in the garage for fifteen years and the rust has never increased. And I wax my sign once a year, usually when I get bored and just need something to do to pass the time.

Great sign at a outstanding price!! If it is porcelain should be thick with layers evident where chiped/rusted. The folks over at Oldgas use Barkeepers Friend for cleaning and Feed-N-Wax to protect. I'd be very carefull with paint remover.
Creighton
 

I can't really tell by the photos, but photo 2 looks like the scratches are reminiscent of a painted button. Most of the time, porcelain will chip off the metal when damaged...
All in all, it is still an awesome piece!

Porcelain will scratch too. I have a couple of porcelain buttons and they both have scratches. I have two painted buttons also and you can definitely tell the difference between the two versions. Like Creighton said, the porcelain signs will be finished with a thicker coat of baked on enamel (porcelain finish) that will show in the chips and sometimes around the edges. And they feel heavier too.

Tim,
Great Sign, I love those 36" size.. I have one just like it as well.
It's definatley painted tin, I have not seen a porcelain 36" with the bottle, usuall you see it with the wording only. I think there are too many colors in the bottle for them to make them in porcelain?
but it's definatly a painted tin sign, judging by the layer of the paint in the closeup and how the scratching looks, like Jim said, porcelain doesnt scratch much, just chips and you would notice it.
I'm pretty sure RC Kid was joking about pouring Paint thinner on it, so wouldnt do that..
I use an automotive paint restoration/cleaner, i think it's mothers, made for dull car finishes, that helps cleans and protects but once it's clean a coat of wax one or every few years will help preserve it for a long time!
Great score!

congrat's, great deal and very cool sign.

Great find, You ready to double your money?? LOL Its painted tin and not porcelain but still a great find!

Joey

I have a porcelain one on the wall w/ original brackets, which do make it easier to hang, w/ the bottle and script!

Cool Jim,
 is it Canadian? you don't see too many porcelain with bottles..

It looks like paint to me as well. If it were porcelain and was ever hung on brackets, it would have chipped on at the little holes where the brackets were put on and removed. I have several porcelain ones and all of the little holes have been chipped. Great find!

h yeah, I was joking about the paint remover. you don't want to damage a valuable sign like your button.

But I have cleaned up some old porcelain sign with paint remover. The sign was painted over several times before I found it. I took off layers of old paint to uncover a beautiful Gas logo. And the remover does not damage porcelain.

I also have two buttons with the bottle on them. One is an American  Porcelain sign and the other is one I found in Belize fifteen years ago. The one from Belize is painted.

Can you tell which is which from the picture?

Procelain on top, I think! :glare:

Porcelain buttons with the bottles are about a 50/50 mix here with painted ones. I dont believe they are canadian.

Joey

The one on top is painted. I bought it in Belize for $100.00 back in 1998. If you look closely you will notice that the bottle is a little smaller than the one on the floor, which I sold recently for $350.00.