Ready to start hanging
 

I picked up the first photo last week but had to complete a mod on the airplane, fly in the race at Sherman, Texas and do my income taxes. That is all done now. Last night around midnight I finished making a pull strip down the center of all 4, 12 foot panels then rolling them back up. The seam breaker Rob recommended worked great. The first panel was a little ragged but by the end of the 4th panel I had that "Craftsman" feeling. Today is the big and difficult day at the end of preparation where I have climb the extension ladded and do the deed. The risks of falling, ruining this $835 photograph or hanging it poorly are well recognized.

Bob Axsom

Done
 

Got it done at 04:21 this morning CDT. With Rob's telephone help I got it done. The quality is pretty bad but I have what I wanted.

Bob Axsom

Great job Bob. Jeanine will always be waiting for your return from the races. Better make sure you have some good results to tell her about! :)

Wow, larger than life.

While you think the quality is lacking, it's the thought that counts. Besides it looks good from this angle. ;)

Bob,
What a wonderful tribute you have accomplished. She will always be waiting for your return. Enjoy.

I think it looks great, Bob! Very classy picture of a very classy lady! I could easily see that picture as aircraft nose art as well. $835 is a small price to pay for the priceless amount of memories that photo will bring!

Bob, looks mighty good. Looks worth the trouble and expense.

Thanks for sharing it with us.

Dave
P.S. Be careful if it can fade in direct sunlight....

I was hoping to see the final results and it just made me sit back in awe. That is wonderful !

The Bad Quality is Mine - the application
 

I realized out at the hangar last night working on my cooling air outlet mod that my statement about the quality being pretty bad could be misinterpreted to mean the picture quality. Nothing could be further from the truth. Bill and the lady that worked with the image that I scanned from a 4"x6" photograph did a masterful job. The first intermediate image small segment blown up to full size for what would become a 15' wide mural was blotchy but acceptable. What they finally gave me to work with was amazingly better.

The bad quality was mine in the hanging of the strips. Bedford Sign/Camera in Fayetteville, Arkansas did a wonderful job of making the desire a reality.

Bob Axsom

Don't sweat it, Bob...it's simply awesome! Well done!

Excellant!!

Well done!
 

Hi Bob, Looks like you did an awesome job....Just to let everyone know....To handle a 12' long sheet of self adhesive material and having never done it before, especially from an extension ladder, is quite a testament to your abilities. what do you mean by ragged?....Did the sheets buckle on you and you made a pass with the squeegie over it?....if so....you might have a crease and or some discoloration at the crease.....if its not firmly against the wall try a hair dryer....not a heat gun....warm it up and see if it shrinks abit.....if it expands like a bubble, take the needle and pierce the top of it and gently squeegie out the air......for color issues.....they are probably white....take a number 2 pencil and touch up the area lightly and blend it in.....from 2 feet away youll never see it. Call me if you want to talk about it....BTW she looks amazing!....Good job

The colors are fine - the workmanship is OK
 

I got some air pockets and I worked most of those out as you describe. Generally it looks good but there ar a few areas where I got creases that I couldn't work out. They are not terrible and I can live with them but I will try the hair drier method to shrink out some of the excess. Because the creases are hard pressed in I am reluctant to try a surgical approach to repair them.

The tape method and zipper trick you described for positioning and holding the strips made it possible. I was worried about it because of the weight of the photo material but I bought some 2" 3M masking tape from Lowe's and it held fine. I worked through the night by myself and when I was at the top of the ladder aligning the initial strip with the plumb line or later strips with the previous panel and horizontal bubble leveled string it was not an easy task. if your methods would not have worked I don't know what I would have done.

Except for the possible hair drier work I think it is good. Thank you so very much for making it possible. As you can see it means a lot to me.

Bob Axsom

The other wall has photo applied
 

This one was smaller (4' x 6') and I did a better job following Rob's method but there are still some imperfections.

Bob Axsom