Outdoor signs and weather proofing.

[kcc2012]

I have a silly question. I am making a couple signs for a preschool. Nothing fancy they will be 6 feet long 4 inches thick and 12 inches wide with the name of the preschool carved into it. It will be mounted on 4x4 post that are 8 feet tall. It's a very simple sign. They want it painted in primary colors.

The painting is where my question comes in. Since I will be using exterior paints I am assuming it will be waterproof. Is that correct or do I need to do anything else to waterproof it?

Thank you very much for any advice.
Ambrose Stapleton

[RobertP]

Modern masters brand paint has a poly clear that will withstand the most harsh environments, it's not cheap but well worth the investment.

[badbert]

Marine epoxy. It will outlast the school!

[Capt Bruce]

Hi Badbert,

For one living far inland, no real water in sight can you recommend any specific brands of marine epoxy so I can web search and order some samples? I've always tended to top coat with spar varnish over other grades of paint but I'm doing more outdoor signs so I figure I'd better class up my act. Thanks

[Digitalwoodshop]

I have had great luck with Latex House Paint on my signs after priming. All punctures in the finish needs to be addressed to prevent water from getting into the back of the finish. The Sign side facing the morning sun will fade faster.

4 inches thick... Careful you don't snap a X Drive Gear... Consider cut out applied letters.

And just ask about a Sign Permit.... If the sign is too big in allowed Square Foot then a after the fact Township Zoning Officer can get ugly... Fines....

AL

[Chris77089]

Going with what Al said if the weight is going to be too much you could also look at a doing the lettering in a thinner piece of wood and mounting it to a thicker to get you the total thickness that you are looking for.

[lawrence]

I've used Epifanes marine varnish with success and have gotten really positive feedback from customers- it also rated REALLY well in a past Fine Woodworking "elements" challenge.
You really do need to follow the directions on the can though- it's a little different to use (very syrup like)

http://www.amazon.com/Epifanes-Clear-Varnish-1000-ml/dp/B005ADWKTG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379087733&sr=8-1&keywords=epifanes

Lawrence

[kcc2012]

Thanks for the advice on the protective coatings. I will check to see what we have available locally.

[Digitalwoodshop]

And doing cut letters you are not limited to 14.5 inches wide...

Your local Sign Ordnance may limit the size of the sign to a 4 x 8 sheet... Cutting out letters from a stable stock like PVC Board might be the answer. If you used grained wood you risk splitting.

Good Luck,

AL

[kcc2012]

I have had great luck with Latex House Paint on my signs after priming. All punctures in the finish needs to be addressed to prevent water from getting into the back of the finish. The Sign side facing the morning sun will fade faster.

4 inches thick... Careful you don't snap a X Drive Gear... Consider cut out applied letters.

And just ask about a Sign Permit.... If the sign is too big in allowed Square Foot then a after the fact Township Zoning Officer can get ugly... Fines....

AL

All I'm doing is making the sign to their specifications because they said they have already checked into the zoning issues, but since you brought it up I think I will check into it myself, just in case.
Ive thought about cut out letters but unfortunately they don't seem to last around here. The weather is a huge factor especially the rain and wind storms we have its not uncommon for us to get 100+ mph winds blowing through here during the winter storms.
My plan is to do a raster carve with the letters inverted, no boarder or anything I should have mentioned that the boards are actually only 3&1/4 inches thick. They sell it as a 4 inch thick board all my one inch boards are 3/4 inch thick. I don't know why or how they can get away with that but its the only lumber yard we have.

[kcc2012]

The project is broken up on two separate boards. I have inverted the raster carve set the depth to 150 hoping to lessen the time and strain on the machine and it matches another sign they have on the property which was very important to them. I would love to hear what y'all think.

[badbert]

Hi Badbert,

For one living far inland, no real water in sight can you recommend any specific brands of marine epoxy so I can web search and order some samples? I've always tended to top coat with spar varnish over other grades of paint but I'm doing more outdoor signs so I figure I'd better class up my act. Thanks
http://www.westsystem.com/ss/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2u1Yd5bcsQ

[RogerB]

badburt you have my vote. Westsystem works great. Cleans up nice.I have been using this for the last 9 years for glueing sign blanks for other sign makers with big CNC's. Sign blank that you sand with a floor sander. Have not got one back in 9 years. knock on wood.

[Digitalwoodshop]

I was not able to open the mpc because I am LAGGING in my updates... Still using 1.184... And happy with it....

A suggestion... I needed to make a bigger letter one time and used Outline of the letter then painted the Grove around the letter and the internal letter. Since you are painting, you have the option to just outline the text... Outline, delete the letter and assign a depth and bit to the outline. Makes for a QUICK large letter.

Good Luck,

Look forward to seeing pictures.

That is my shop backyard with stone wall. My photo studio... :)

AL

[badbert]

I actually learned of west system for a different reason. I used to build prototype vehicles for FOMOCO. 3 year advance. Our last level of "pre-production" level vehicles would have simulated production interiors. This means that we would simulate grain on the Vacuum-formed plastic. And real wood in the interior. They would make these by Vacuum forming real wood veneers, to the plastic. After they were filmed and photographed, they would basically be useless. They couldn't be sold. But before they were scrapped, they would be sacrificed. This meant they would be open to the public at Auto-shows. A "hot" (popular) model would have literally 100,000 plus people climb in and out of them during a show. They would wear holes in the carpet, the seats would get destroyed (interiors were usually swapped every other night) people would literally rub the grain smooth on all of the panels. But during these rebuilds, we would re-use the wood panels. They were tough as nails! and usually last several shows. Which meant as many as 1,000,000 people would have rubbed their hands on the wood (human nature). So I found out from the "wood lab" these pieces were finished in west system 105/207 epoxies. It is a little expensive... but if this stuff can make a piece of veneer survive an Auto Show, it's worth it's weight in Gold!

[badbert]

Hi Badbert,

For one living far inland, no real water in sight can you recommend any specific brands of marine epoxy so I can web search and order some samples? I've always tended to top coat with spar varnish over other grades of paint but I'm doing more outdoor signs so I figure I'd better class up my act. Thanks

And by the way, Capt Bruce, I may not live by the Sea. But I do live by the great lakes. I grew up on the detroit river! As a kid I caught night crawlers by night. And sold them during the day! At $1 a dozen, I could make a $100 on a good day!

[Capt Bruce]

Thanks so much for the tips everyone, the West Marine video link and your night crawlers tale Badbert. Same same about not living on the ocean but I do have the Yellow River in my back yard here in Georgia. Small, fast and rocky so about all we see here are kayaks but it satisfies my need to be near water and the sounds of it moving even if there are no waves.

Back to the main subject here we'll be very interested to see how the big school sign turns out.