So Dad and I were talking about re doing some companies large 10 foot displays and it got me thinking, I can share about how one might go about doing such a project.
Step 1: Cleaning off the old lights and wire and cleaning off the frame. You want to get all the old wire, sockets, light bulbs, tape, zip ties, etc... off your display. After removing all the hardware, give the frame a light cleaning, this helps new products adhere better to the frame.
Step 2: (Optional) Fresh coat of Paint. If you have a older piece chances are that the metal is going to have some old paint on it or if it isn't painted then it might have a nice coat of RUST! You want to clean wire, then use a brush to get off the flaking paint or rust, give it a quick cleaning again to get off the dust you just stirred up, then prepare for painting. We recommend either painting your frame white or black, We use your standard run of the mill spray paint (low gloss or satin is recommended) . Give your frame 2 or 3 light coats, being sure to get in all the nooks and crannies. This will really help your frame last season after season.
Step 3: Lay out your materials, with most displays you want to use a 6" bulb spacing, make sure you have all your bulbs, socketed wire, quick connect plugs, electrical tape (white, black, green to match your frame/wire color) ready BEFORE you start taping the wire to the frame.
Step 4: Re-attach your wire, you want to the wire on the outside of the frame. As you are going around your display you want to tape the socket and wire tightly to the frame ( Don't pull electrical tape to tear it, cut it with a knife so it doesn't draw up after sitting outside). After you get your wire back up you can add sockets, REMEMBER you can only run about 100 C7 or C9 bulbs so don't over load your wire, you can use bare wire and sockets to make power strips you can run with the wire to move power around your piece.
Step 5: Screw in the lights, simple enough. Take your time, don't drop them.
Step 6: Try it out! Now you have a completely restored Christmas Light Display for your yard, business, etc...
I hope these simple steps will get you motivated enough to restore those old Christmas displays gathering dust in the basement.
C7 & C9 Bulk wire
C7 & C9 Bulbs
Clips, Tape, Sockets, Bare wire
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Zach Broyles
All American Christmas Co.
