House sign fabrication advice

[bullet3]

Hi!

I recently discovered this forum and have been learning a lot from here. I am totally new in sign making business, so there is a long way to go.
I am currently planning on making some house number signs for friends. If things work out, I would like to sell a couple of signs as well.
I currently have Silhouette Cameo and Oracal 751C laying around that I have used to make some decals. Now I would like to make house number signs by applying black vinyl on butlerfinished DIBOND.
I am mainly having concerns about the life expectancy of vinyl when sign is exposed to UV, temperature and rain that is common in Northen Europe. Oracal 751C should last a minimum of 8 years according to datasheet, but I think sign should look good for at least 15 years.
Which option would You recommend:

1)Use Oracal 751C ( What would be life expectancy in practice?),
2)Use some other vinyl (Which one would be the best for this application?)
3)Get letters UV printed and apply laminate
4)Use vinyl stencil and paint letters on aluminium composite (Which paint would have maximum life expectancy?).
5)CNC engrave through the top aluminium layer of DIBOND (How well does exposed black LDPE hold up outdoors?)
6)Any other technology that would ensure the best result? I think there has to be a way to make it last more than 8 years, since I have seen storefronts that have remained in place for 12 years at least. I am just not sure which technology was used.

I would be really thankful if If You have any tips!


Sander

 

[Gino]

You're correct, they should last a long time. However, you've come to the game too late. You really can't make a sign to last more than about 7 to 10 years, if youre lucky. Years ago, when everything was handpainted, it wasn't a problem promising 20 years. With today's built-in obsolescence , we're all at the mercy of the vinyl industry's whim. They've taken everything out of the paint til you now need 3 or 4 coats just to look nice, but it still won't last. The substrates are not made to last long, either. They either oxidize to death or crumble apart.

Your best bet, would be to use marble or granite, sandblast it, then paint it and sell them something that will last maybe 20 years. Almost like selling a tombstone.


Good luck

 

[Modern Ink Signs]

As Gino said 7-10 years

 

[Modern Ink Signs]

And that would be with any manufacturers CAST vinyl like the 751

 

[CanuckSigns]

Depends on what kind of market/price point you are trying to hit. Cut vinyl on a flat aluminum sheet is pretty low end to be honest, but it will appeal to some people. At the price you would be able to sell a flat vinyl sign for, 8 years is pretty good value. Now if you were selling a $300 carved HDU sign with gold leaf I would expect that to last 15+ years.

If you are interested in getting into house signs like this, I would look into something more substantial than dibond. There is a member here called neato who just recently started hand carving HDU signs with a fairly minimal investment of some chisel and knives, and his stuff looks really really good!

 

[bullet3]

Thanks for the advice!
I'll give vinyl a try for now. Carving seems appealing and I will also look into that as well.


Sander

 

[Martin Denton]

There are quite a few companies in the UK selling house signs on line and through buying sites such as woucher and groupon - Butler finish backing and 3 mm acrylic face with stand offs in between for between £10 - £20. frankly unless you can set a production line up with high throughput of orders i would expect to make much money from them. Do a search on fleabay and you will see what i mean...

 

[James Burke]

Your best bet, would be to use marble or granite, sandblast it, then paint it and sell them something that will last maybe 20 years. Almost like selling a tombstone.

For anything that needs to hang on a house, thin counter top granite is very durable. Obviously, it's not for every application. The real challenge is making sure it doesn't end up looking like a tombstone.

JB