Wood sign

[Guest kenya]

I'm going to make a 4'x8' sign for my shop.

I'm using treated plywood (painted with exterior enamel).

Also thinking about priming it with Kilz first.

My questions are....

Is the enamel o.k. for the vinyl to adhear to?

I haven't painted it yet, because I wanted some opinions.

The Florida sun can be brutal, what is the BEST brand of vinyl to buy?

I've seen so many signs with the letters curling, is this the fought of the vinyl

or just the person that applied it (these were signs recently done,BTW).

Hope I'm not repeating a question, I've looked but didn't find anything posted

similar.

Thanks for all the help!

[nonabelle 5]

i'm interested too. i have a sign one color of course i purchased way b 4 my cutter. i was thinking the same thing to make my own now. woo hoo.... yeah right but it want hurt to try. i was also thinking wood something larger with more color.

[Guest gracewriter]

The vinyl doesn't stick very well to my enamel that's why I use it as a stencil.  Although I do use the cheapest on the Avery line because I don't want high tack.

If you're going to go to the trouble of painting all that, I suggest you use the vinyl as a stencil and paint in the lettering you want.

I'm sure someone on here has had some success with vinyl sticking to a painted surface.

Just my 2 cents.

BTW, I'm close to miami, where in Florida are you Kenya?

[routesmith 0]

HI, Maybe I can help a bit in that department..

I did vinyl paint masks for this pinball machine

http://picasaweb.google.com/Arcadeforever/Signs/photo?authkey=zeHTIKXon6A#5209862308641846866

it turned out very well, it was painted gloss white first, then left to dry very well 2 days, then I cut the decals on the cheapest, crappiest, non brand name 24" vinyl I could find on ebay because it was throw away. I was able to apply it and pull it off a few times because It wasnt straight. So I give it 100% success rate. There wasnt even any need to wet it, it applied and pulled off dry, of course it was a little harder after I really tried flattening it ready for paint and I tore it to bits taking it off.

..

Wayne

[Guest kenya]

Howdy neighbor !!

I'm 50 miles west of Gainesville on the Suwannee River.

[slopchops 1]

If you just have to use wood, make sure it is MDO. Medium density overlay. Prime it with a good primer and back ground paint. Sherwin Williams has good stuff. Ask them what the sign painters use. Allow 24 hours drying time between each coat. One coat each thing is enough.

Do this and your signs will be worthy of newspaper reports and will cure hemorrhoids.

If you don't want to go through all that work and expense, use a sheet of aluminum, factory painted.

When the letters do wear out, turn it over and use the other side.

[slopchops 1]

Also, don't use cheap vinyl on your own sign, Put your best foot forward.

My proverb: "The quality of your signs reflect the success of your business."

Another; "The bitterness of poor quality remains long after

the sweetness of low price is forgotten."

Don't resell that cheap vinyl, it's good for practice only. Garbage.

[routesmith 0]

are you referring to what i wrote?? because I was using it as a stencil, not REAL vinyl to leave on the sign.

Wayne

[Guest kenya]

Thanks everyone......

It will be abit before I get around to making the sign, but

all your help is appreciated!

[swaneejuggalo 0]

Another; "The bitterness of poor quality remains long after

the sweetness of low price is forgotten."

Truer words were never spoken

[Guest fivestar]

Another; "The bitterness of poor quality remains long after

the sweetness of low price is forgotten."

Truer words were never spoken

Nor typed.

[rebjr 0]

My original sign on the side of my shop was done on a 4'x8' sheet of fibreglass, 3/8" I think. It's been a Loooonnnnngggggggggggggg time ago. I had friends who were selling signs and they were using marine plywood, at the time the fibreglass was a lot cheaper. I can't remember where I bought it, some sign supplier out of Nashville. 10 years later the vinyl was still stuck solid, it had just faded bad. I used some really cheap stuff and didn't over coat it.

[Guest gracewriter]

Howdy neighbor !!

I'm 50 miles west of Gainesville on the Suwannee River.

That's a pretty area up there.  I have an uncle who lives about 150 yards (used to be 50 yards before the drought) from Lake okeechobee in Gainesville.  Couldn't believe how cold it can get up there in the winter, I mean isn't all of florida supposed to be warm all year long?!

And what's this Bill/proposal about you all wanting to ceceed from South Florida anyway? :-

[Guest kenya]

It gets pretty cold here, but it never lasts long..... thank goodness-lol.

I don't know what bill/proposal that you are talking about.

I'm not one for current affairs & hate watching the news......

too much doom & gloom.  And the war is all that's on anymore.

I have too many friends over there.

It is very pretty here, the Suwannee River is beautiful. So peaceful, until the weekend,

alot of watercrafts then. I truely have seen alot of beautiful places in Fl. But I'm spoiled with this area.

I lived in Orlando for 17 years, so this quite town is great...... one red light in the whole town.

It's been along time since I was in Miami (1996). I sure bet it's changed since then. I know the Keys have changed. Wow.... there's alot of people there now.

[Guest gracewriter]

They keys were destroyed years ago.  1st went down there in 1978.  It was almost wilderness, sweet and quaint.  Now there's a billboard every ten feet all the way to key west.  A real shame.

[Guest kenya]

We use to go down there every year for vacation (lobster season/scuba)....

now we stay home & fish offshore here.

It is a shame, what a place it use to be. But it changes everywhere........

progress :'(.

[Monkeywithumbs 0]

Hey everybody!

Now this is just, ahem..."hypothetically" speaking.  Let's pretend that one made a sign with cheap vinyl applied on top of plywood painted with exterior, latex semi-gloss paint. Would the chances in hell of the vinyl sticking be increased at all by applying a layer of clear (cheap) vinyl over the whole sign? I realize that the clear has to stick as well, but it will have much more adhesive surface area with which to cling on for dear life with. 

Ooh, or what about spraying a clear coat from a rattle can?

Any thoughts?

BTW, I do have airbrushes and am considering the masking approach (I just happen to have some yellow Avery mask), although the time investment would be more than double, I would reckon.

Hypothetically, of course 

Thanks!

P.S. I am a house painter by trade. Go figure.

"The bitterness of poor quality remains long after

the sweetness of low price is forgotten."  :-

[knucklehead 530]

This is my story, and I'm sticken to it. I just did a sign for my cheap-o buddy on a piece of plywood, he built the sign, and painted it with "white" paint, brought it to me to paint the lettering on, then decided he also wanted to use the sign later for his boat repair business, original sign was to sell some property. After a couple of hours with a DA sander, put on a couple coats of Kilz primer, then some Kilz latex enamel, let that cure a few days, then apply the vinyl. Worked out OK. Like I said, this was a buddy project, not normal business practice, but it worked pretty good. So, it can be done. And a little more food for thought, if you take the painted plywood, and coat it with Minwax polyurethane, or something similar, you are in fact plastic coating the substrate. Good vinyl has no problem sticking to plastic. Get some kind that has a UV inhibitor in it, and you can put it out in the sun, without the fade, and turning yellow. But don't get into a habit of going the cheap route, even for buddies, these signs that will be up for a couple of months or so, sometimes end up being a couple of years or so, then when someone see's this delaminated, grudgy, peeling sign, with your logo on the bottom, that is all they are going to remember, ABC Sign shop= crappy sign work. OK, carry on. 

[twice 0]

knucklehead,,Isn't that the reason you put your Competitors logo on your cheap buddys Sign?? 

[knucklehead 530]

Here's the plywood sign, it will be temporary, then it will get a refacing with AlumiLite, or something to become permanent. But, it can be done with enough surface prep, and the post looks like crap, was supposed to been painted a month ago, I guess I've got to go paint em myself.

[knucklehead 530]

And here's an example of a cheap, temporary sign, that became a cheap permanent sign (NOT my work). But something to think about, when someone wants a cheap temp. sign, you don't have much control over what people do with the sign, or how long this "temporary" sign's going to be up.