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Yeah? Up yours too buddy!
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Finishing HDU
- Thread starter abadsvt
- Start date
signsolutions
New Member
I take it that most of you who spray have spray booths? We do not. This is why we're trying the latex route. It's entirely possible as exterior latex house paint is made to last outside.
We recently attended the Sawatsky workshop, and he uses exterior latex almost exclusively. His theme is very organic, however, and with that, clean edges and detail aren't focal. I'm finding this v-route and other architectural-grade signage is more difficult.
I can't accept that hand painted latex signs are inferior....after peeling off our mask, the result was better than expected, but could be better. If I could just find the right paintmask/paint combination......
-Keith
Sign Solutions
We recently attended the Sawatsky workshop, and he uses exterior latex almost exclusively. His theme is very organic, however, and with that, clean edges and detail aren't focal. I'm finding this v-route and other architectural-grade signage is more difficult.
I can't accept that hand painted latex signs are inferior....after peeling off our mask, the result was better than expected, but could be better. If I could just find the right paintmask/paint combination......
-Keith
Sign Solutions
signmeup
New Member
Keith don't worry about latex not being durable.
You just need to find a process that works for you. I do my signs by hand so my lettering comes out (literally) razer sharp. I have no idea how to advise you about routing through a mask other than doing a bunch of test panels. Hopefully someone on here will help you out.
You just need to find a process that works for you. I do my signs by hand so my lettering comes out (literally) razer sharp. I have no idea how to advise you about routing through a mask other than doing a bunch of test panels. Hopefully someone on here will help you out.
If you want to do a lot of painted work then you need a spray booth, you need high end spray guns and you need to be using automotive paints.
Roller applied or brushed on house paint will always look like cr@p compared to a properly sprayed automotive finish... I'm a little surprised that anyone can manage to get customers to accept a brushed paint finish... ours certainly never would.
Roller applied or brushed on house paint will always look like cr@p compared to a properly sprayed automotive finish... I'm a little surprised that anyone can manage to get customers to accept a brushed paint finish... ours certainly never would.
signmeup
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What a load of crap! I roll my signs with latex house paint and they look great.... close up too. If I wanted a handcrafted sign to look like the side of a fridge I suppose I'd have to start spraying them. (And I do have profesional spray gear and I do know how to paint a car)
Here's a sample:
Here's a sample:
Attachments
signmeup
New Member
From a PM from Keith: "This image is exactly what we're going after. Would you mind telling me the steps you did to do this? (you mentioned painting them by hand....are you meaning with no mask?
I'm just about to try the BenMoore Aura line before I leave today....I have very high hopes that this will dramatically improve things.
Thanks!
-Keith"
Keith I do pretty much what I posted in post #36. I paint the panel with a foam roller(gasp!), apply the plotter cut mask, carve the letters by hand, seal the cut letters/mask with the background colour and then paint the letters with a brush. (Of course, all my signs look like total crap because I don't use high end spray equipement like andy and UFB.)
I'm just about to try the BenMoore Aura line before I leave today....I have very high hopes that this will dramatically improve things.
Thanks!
-Keith"
Keith I do pretty much what I posted in post #36. I paint the panel with a foam roller(gasp!), apply the plotter cut mask, carve the letters by hand, seal the cut letters/mask with the background colour and then paint the letters with a brush. (Of course, all my signs look like total crap because I don't use high end spray equipement like andy and UFB.)
shakey0818
New Member
Not to knock yo at all Mosh,you probably forgot more than i will ever know.From my experience whether i spray roll or brush drying time and how you cut the product is very important.With latex i like to let it dry indoors at a temp of 64-68 degrees for 24 hours before i sand.I use 220 grit paper and give a very light sand.and yes with all latex and un-cured oil(which takes 2 week for oil) it will gum up its ok,if it gums up too much its not cured or your applying too much pressure.When spraying sanding should only be needed after the primer unless the primer raises too much grain then you have to be careful of how heavy of a coat you put on and the dry time.That is just my experience but i very do much respect your knowledge and experience.
signmeup
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I only sand the primer and the latex in the lettering. The primer I use is a sandable latex primer for vinyl house siding.
I sand the carved lettering a tiny bit with 320 grit before I seal it to the mask/panel and again after the seal coat has dried. Just enough to knock off any dust nits. Then the letters get 2 or 3 coats of colour.
I should mention that I use a stearate coated sandpaper to avoid gumming.
I should also mention that I tried Benjamine Moore Aura and didn't like it much. It stuck fine but it took days and days to lose it's tackiness. It was on a sign with a lot of gilding and it was pain because to gold stuck to the Aura about as well as it stuck to the size. Pittsburg dries tack free much faster.
signsolutions
New Member
An update:
Finally, success with the vroute! In addition to using a satin and/or semi-gloss finish, I also let the paint mask sit on the panel in the warmth of our office, prior to routing (our router is in another building with bay doors)
It's also worth noting that the speed of the v-carve is important....we were getting chippign of the vinyl at a speeds of 180 ipm. Bringing that down to 90 made for a very nice clean edge. This also eliminated the issue of small vinyl islands being removed from the center of letters.
I did not notice significant improvement between BenMoore Aura vs. MoorGard. The Aura did take longer to dry and had a slight tackiness.
-Keith
Sign Solutions
Finally, success with the vroute! In addition to using a satin and/or semi-gloss finish, I also let the paint mask sit on the panel in the warmth of our office, prior to routing (our router is in another building with bay doors)
It's also worth noting that the speed of the v-carve is important....we were getting chippign of the vinyl at a speeds of 180 ipm. Bringing that down to 90 made for a very nice clean edge. This also eliminated the issue of small vinyl islands being removed from the center of letters.
I did not notice significant improvement between BenMoore Aura vs. MoorGard. The Aura did take longer to dry and had a slight tackiness.
-Keith
Sign Solutions
k.a.s.
New Member
I'm glad you got it worked out, I'm gonna check out some of the Benjamin Moore paints that some of you talk about and see how they work.
That said since your in MD, call Pioneer and order some Ronan and try it. I still belive it gives you the best finish that brushed on/rolled on paint can buy.
Also Andy, it is absolutely possible to get a nice finish without a spray booth in fact it would be a nightmare to try and mask and spray all the layers on most of my signs.
Kevin
That said since your in MD, call Pioneer and order some Ronan and try it. I still belive it gives you the best finish that brushed on/rolled on paint can buy.
Also Andy, it is absolutely possible to get a nice finish without a spray booth in fact it would be a nightmare to try and mask and spray all the layers on most of my signs.
Kevin
TAGSigns614
Guest
IF the HDU is for outdoor use, do you have to do any additional sealing/coating after you paint it to protect it from the elements?
synergy_jim
New Member
30lb Precision Board. No need to prime. +1 on blowing it off really well though. If we are going for super smooth, we may use Sherwin Williams primer, but 9 times out of 1o we go straight to our SW base coat colors and go from there. BTW, buy a nice airless latex sprayer. You will thank me later.