Dimensional Background Choices

[Joe Crumley]

Greetings my friends,

All of us are very lucky to have so many material choices. When HDU came on the market I over used it, like many of us did. With in a couple of years there were issues like warping, screw and bold adhesion problems not to mention the difficulty priming and painting.

Many of us wrestled with priming at first. It took a while to get that down. Here is a HDU panel we ended up pouring on the final surface.

Most of my signs today are Cedar and Yellow Pine. These materials are superior in many ways to synthetics in some ways. I'm leaning to PVC more. The major problem with it is sanding.

Joe Crumley
www.normansignco.com

 

[Jillbeans]

Looks pretty sweet there Joe.
Are you going to topcoat the name with a lighter color to make it stand out more?
It would work either way.
I have only done 3 sandblasted signs in 28 years and to be honest, I hate making them.
Each substrate has its own set of issues.
But I like looking at them.
Love.....Jill

 

[Joe Crumley]

Jill,

This is a routed sign on the CNC. I ended up gilding the letters. I'll post a photo showing the final project.

Thanks for posting, Hope to see you at one of the Letterhead events someday.

Joe Crumley
www.normansignco.com

 

[Gino]

Looks like an old-old cast bronze sign which has aged tremendously.

I'd like to see the end results, too.


I've always considered the sandblasted or carved redwood and cedar signs the 'Cadillacs' of the trade. They are the ultimate in beauty, craftsmanship and durability. Truly.... the most elegant signs of them all.

 

[Sign Up Graphics]

Sign Up Graphics

Great job!!!

 

[Bly]

Some really nice work on your site there Joe.

 

[Marlene]

nice looking signs on your site. I really love the llama sign with the natural wood showing

 

[Billct2]

Yea, I've been burned by the "newest and bestest" materials more than once (remember medex). But at the same time a lot of the traditional materials aren't what they used to be either (like 1shot and redwood).
Like that sign, nice finish.

 

[ColoPrinthead]

Wow, surprised by the Bishop's Landing sign. You did such a good job on the sign it would make one think that place is inhabitable.

Really nice work.

 

[Joe Crumley]

Thanks guys for the complements.

With this panel I wanted to give the impression of a not too clean signature done by hand. On the letter surfaces I applied texture to make the gold sparkle. The marbleized background was poured on automotive enamels given a little swirl with chopsticks. Chopsticks are an essential at my shop. I'd have to close her down without them.

 

[Gino]

Now, that is awesome.

 

[Jillbeans]

Joe, that is outstanding.

 

[Z SIGNS]

Nice sign.Been thinking about trying this stuff for the dimensional workhttp://www.extira.com

 

[Jillbeans]

You may want to re-think Extira.
It's heavy as hell, and it doesn't allow paint to stick to itself very well.

 

[Richard Flint]

Another thumbs up!

 

[Billct2]

Extira is the new medex (and that's not a compliment)

 

[SD&F]

That is nice work and I should know. I would stay away from Extira. HUD is superior in every way.

 

[Joe Crumley]

WOW folks, let me take up for Extira.

For the past six years I've used this material on my router for carving letters. I try to stay away from HDU letters because if you drop one it's going to break.

Jill is correct about the issue of paint sticking but this can be easily overcome. There are two ways. On larger flat panels you can scrub them down with soap and water. This makes a perfect soft fuzzy surface that paint loves. When cutting letters I quickly paint on a light coat of shellac. That does the trick.

This is a dangerously heavy board. I can no longer manage it by myself. This isn't a material for all sign shops. As a matter of fact, it's only good for router folks.

Here are some HDU letters that were ready for paint. They are pocketed in the HDU board to make them secure.