Paintshop
& Bodyshop
A hand-painted vintage garage sign complete with a pointing hand that says, with some authority, that your car needs attention. Less than an actual visit to a body shop, and considerably better company.
Your car’s a state.
This sign will tell it.
There was a time when every self-respecting garage had a sign like this above the door. Bold lettering, a pointing hand with opinions, and a vintage patina that suggested the establishment had been quietly judging vehicles since before you were born. Those signs are largely gone. This one isn’t.
Leigh Kelsey has been sign-writing for forty years and this piece has all the hallmarks of that experience — confident lettering, a deliberately weathered finish that takes considerably more skill to achieve than painting something clean, and a pointing hand that manages to be both welcoming and mildly accusatory at the same time. It is a sign with a personality, which is rather the point.
Perfect for the garage that takes itself seriously, the shed that absolutely does not, or anyone who has ever said “I’ll sort that scratch at the weekend” and meant it. Probably. The pointing hand will keep you honest either way.
All angles
Every piece is unique. These photographs show the exact item for sale.
The Details
- ConstructionSolid wood, deeply varnished
- Size116 × 36 cm / 46″ × 14″
- Thickness15 mm / 1″
- Weight5.5 kg / 12 lbs
- LetteringTraditional hand sign-writing throughout
- FinishVintage patina — deliberately weathered and sealed
- DeliveryCourier available — please ask
On the Pointing Hand
The pointing hand is a classic element of traditional sign-writing — used for centuries to direct attention, indicate entrances and generally suggest that whatever is in that direction is very much worth your time. In this case it is pointing at your car. Make of that what you will.
On the Finish
The vintage patina finish is entirely deliberate — every scuff and fade applied by hand rather than accumulated by time. It takes real skill to make something look convincingly old without making it look simply damaged, and Leigh has had forty years to perfect the technique. The varnish over the top will keep it exactly as it is for decades to come.
On Placement
Equally at home in a garage, a workshop, a pub, a man cave or any room that has decided motivational posters are not for it. At 116 cm wide it commands a wall without dominating a room. At £120 it is, frankly, the most affordable thing on this website — and it will outlast most of the cars it points at.
More Funny Signs
Into fairground & racing art? See Crazy Bones, Wall of Death and Speedway.
One piece. No replicas.
Courier delivery available — just ask. Collection from the studio always welcome. One of a kind, as always — when it’s gone, it’s gone. The pointing hand will not wait forever.