Outdoor Sign Help

[L. D. Jeffries]

I belong to a volunteer fire department and as a ww have been asked to build a sign to put outside over the rescue vehicle bay. My ? is since the sign is outdoors with a north exposure; direct sun not a problem but the weather in winter comes mostly from the north and west and winters in northern NY can be pretty fierce. My idea would be to make the sign ( 10" high by how ever long it needs to put all the letters on) out of treated 3/4" ply. What would you guys suggest for paint that would hold up to the elements. I plan on cutting 6" high letters out of eastern cedar, painted red nailed and glued with epoxy.
What do you think would work best; different wood, what kind of paint, finish the whole thing with marine varnish..??? I know someone out there is a sign maker, so thanks for the help.

[cabinetman]

I'm not a signmaker, but whatever you use if it's sealed real well, and has been painted sufficiently, it should be very weather resistant.

If you don't have time for oil base paint to dry, there are many good exterior waterbase latex house paints that will work.
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[Stytooner]

I don't make too many signs either, but just finished up a couple on my cnc router. They are out of two color plastic though, so no help on this particular project there. These were just small mailbox signs.

Here is a forum I have read quite a bit on. It deals with cnc sign making, however there are many painted wooden signs and some sign professionals that are members there.
I am sure someone will have some good suggestions.
http://www.vectric.com/forum/viewfor...cdcecb30734ea0

Here are a couple search results.
http://www.vectric.com/forum/search....&submit=Search

[schloff]

L.D.,

First off, thank you for your selfless effort as a fireman. That job is probably one of the most overlooked and most important tasks a small community can offer.

Now on the meat of the post...

I have made a bunch of signs, and the best results and least amount of labor is to rout the letters into the wood. Pressure treated works well, as does cedar. I usually paint the sign with oil based paint, then the letters (or numbers) with a contrasting paint.

I can see making the letters and fastening them to the blank board, but you're at risk of the weather having it's way with them if you nail them and if you glue them, they might crack.

I have found that if you "band" the sign in wood after you rout it, you can achieve a nice, clean proressional look. Almost like a frame, but not meant to be decorative. It just sort of ties the whole project together.

Best of luck, and please post pictures when you finish it. It's a very rewarding project.

[Mr__Bill]

My understanding is that MDO is used for many highway signs because it holds up very well to the environment and is a nice painting surface. I would talk to the local highway/road department and see what they use for signs. I expect they have a trick or two we don't know about.

I would clear-coat the sign with a UV resistant clear paint. Most exterior acrylic paint tint base for dark colors is, when no tint is added, clear. That way you can scrape and re-coat when necessary and perhaps not have to paint the sign letters again.

Bill

[LinuxRandal]

I would second MDO. I learned about it from a friend who was being hired to make and install sign boards for big construction projects. Development sign would be on one side, and any posting requirements on the back.


Another option I see people using on another forum, is Corian. If you have a countertop supplier, then you might be able to get and use some sink blanks.

[conwaygolfer]

You could also use Azak (I think thats what they call it). It is a plastic type "wood", that is used quite a lot at the beach, etc.. Weather makes no difference. Works just like wood. You can get it in all sizes. It will never deteriorate. Hope this helps.

Conwaygolfer

[L. D. Jeffries]

Thanks everyone. I knew someone would have some good info. For whatever reason I never thought about the "manufactured" lumber. Any how I will do some lumber yard checking and see whats available. SCHLOFF thanks for the kudo's, just to be clear, I am now to old to actively fight fires so I now do support work; just being a general grunt around the firehouse; also a little cooking when we have public fund raising dinners or whatever, traffic control at fire scenes and things like that. Again thanks guys for all the input.

[L. D. Jeffries]

Just as a follow-up: Just got my Rockler master catalog last week and so will take advantage of the free shipping, plus a nice discount on their 4-1/2" sign lettering kit to make the sign for our fire department. Think I will use psr. treated 2 by 10 lumber for the background as this will allow me to the depth to make a nice deep routed letters. Hopefully it will be here next week.