How to age / weather a new sign...

[Vassago]

From when I've done such things - I've used steel wool dissolved in white vinegar and tea bags. Let the steel wool dissolve in the vinegar, paint some of the tea on the wood.. Let it dry, then paint the steel wool solution on.. Some paint from a rattle can sprayed from a distance helps as well..

The other more modern way is to simply scan the lot, then print and use hdu. It'll last longer and will generally look the same from the distances a sign is used. Just depends on their budget, because time = money.

My guess is that modern ply won't last as long and will delaminate - just make sure the customer is aware.

 

[John_Smith]

The object of the painted finish is for it to "last" several years between repaintings. Simple homemade stains and rattlecan paints are designed for interior furniture projects. They "might" last one season outdoors. Very careful planning is always at the top of the list for anything outside to be painted according to the elements it will live in.

 

[Stacey K]

The object of the painted finish is for it to "last" several years between repaintings. Simple homemade stains and rattlecan paints are designed for interior furniture projects. They "might" last one season outdoors. Very careful planning is always at the top of the list for anything outside to be painted according to the elements it will live in.

You're very talented, your signs are stunning!

I agree with the "asking the local painter". I have a customer who has a painting business and on a few occasions, I have asked him for advice. I letter all his vans and do his apparel. My small projects (like Tulsa's sign) are of no interest to him so he is happy to help me, as I suspect most painters would be.

 

[John_Smith]

You're very talented, your signs are stunning!

I agree with the "asking the local painter". I have a customer who has a painting business and on a few occasions, I have asked him for advice. I letter all his vans and do his apparel. My small projects (like Tulsa's sign) are of no interest to him so he is happy to help me, as I suspect most painters would be.

When you say you "letter his vans" - are you using vinyl graphics or hand-lettering with brush and paint?

 

[Stacey K]

When you say you "letter his vans" - are you using vinyl graphics or hand-lettering with brush and paint?

Sorry, just using cut vinyl on his vans. I don't do any brush and paint on vehicles or signs. I keep my painting to crafts like the wood signs I posted and some other random hobbies I have LOL

 

[tulsagraphics]

From when I've done such things - I've used steel wool dissolved in white vinegar and tea bags. Let the steel wool dissolve in the vinegar, paint some of the tea on the wood.. Let it dry, then paint the steel wool solution on.. Some paint from a rattle can sprayed from a distance helps as well..

The other more modern way is to simply scan the lot, then print and use hdu. It'll last longer and will generally look the same from the distances a sign is used. Just depends on their budget, because time = money.

My guess is that modern ply won't last as long and will delaminate - just make sure the customer is aware.

I plan on sealing it with 4 or 5 coats of a really nice clear coat. I haven't researched the clear coats too much yet, but keeping an eye on this thread: https://www.signs101.com/threads/clear-coat-for-metal-wood-painted-signs.182950/#post-1691273

Also, I've considered using a marine grade ply instead of MDO. I don't "really" need that primed/painted surface since 90% of the face is getting removed anyway. I asked a local lumber yard to check prices for me. I expect the marine grade will be heavier too, so there's that.

 

[Vassago]

I plan on sealing it with 4 or 5 quotes of a really nice clear coat. I haven't researched the clear coats too much yet, but keeping an eye on this thread: https://www.signs101.com/threads/clear-coat-for-metal-wood-painted-signs.182950/#post-1691273

Also, I've considered using a marine grade ply instead of MDO. I don't "really" need that primed/painted surface since 90% of the face is getting removed anyway. I asked a local lumber yard to check prices for me. I expect the marine grade will be heavier too, so there's that.

Making something "look" old is a real skill.. Far easier to make things look perfect.

Those pics you've posted are awesome

 

[akuarela]

Here is more info for the gallery:
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Love Eskimo Joe's!
Looks like you're on the right track, fun and time consumming project. Best of success!

 

[tulsagraphics]

No replies necessary (I'm mostly asking myself the following questions), but here's the latest update:

I hesitate to post this b/c I effed up (no surprise, I just didn't expect "this" step to be a WTF moment), but in the spirit of keeping up with my progress....

I accidentally purchased Aged Accelerator in brown instead of gray, not realizing they offered multiple colors. Chasing my tail all day -- I just shook the can, ran in and slapped this down without checking twice -- thought the color was a bit off -- but thinking "chemical aging" instead of the staining part. Will check back in an hour. Oops.

From left-to-right we have...
- aged accelerator in brown, lightly sanded, followed by a light brush of gray accelerator
- aged accelerator in brown
- aged accelerator in gray
- aged accelerator in gray x2 coats

All coats lightly sanded.

Right off the bat I would dismiss 1, 2 and 4. -- 1 is really dark - even though it looks decent it's just nowhere near the right color. 2 just looks too... artificial? 3 is pretty good, and certainly closer to the aged appearance of their old sign. 4 is giving off some muddy purple, although I do like the added depth. (even if I go for that much depth -- which isn't necessary -- I'm not sure how you bring purple back to a more neutral color, or if that's even possible without creating ridiculous contrast). The fresh red/blue paints should be the focus, of course, so the more neutral the background the better. I really like the overall texture even though none of this screams "aged plywood", which is more apparent now that I'm adding color. Maybe I'm overthinking it. It's all about perception, after all -- and who knows -- from the distance folks actually see this sign (20-200ft -- surrounded by so many other modern, illuminated signs), how much more textural accuracy is required? Are we simply trying to remind the owner of how he remembered those early years -- at arm's length -- or does it just need to be within 70% of that memory as he admirers his restaurant from his office across the street? (I've got the CNC bits to go crazy with, but I'm not going to send ~200hrs of gcode to the CNC). This texture looks pretty dang good in its own right, and it might just do the job. I have yet to break out the wire brush or palm sander, so we'll have to see how those work out.

Given the directive of "let's go with new paint colors to match current branding", which direction should I take? I get the preference of "freshly repainted art on an old aged sign", but if the paint looks fresh, does that mean we can/should subtract some of that age and go more brown, just because we "can"? Or just go with that #3 slot (1 coat gray accelerator) along with that fresh, vibrant red/blue?

The enamels arrive tomorrow. I'm sure adding those red/blue colors will provide a huge contrast to the wood, which will make my "stain" concerns less relevant. I'll have better progress photos this weekend (or at the very least they'll be entertaining). In any case, I just hope my next progress update lands somewhere between "impressive" and "humorous". While I'm aiming for "impressive" (minus the CNC handicap), I just hope the replies are better than "not too bad" (followed by a moment of silence) lol

 

[Stacey K]

Given the directive of "let's go with new paint colors to match current branding", which direction should I take? I get the preference of "freshly repainted art on an old aged sign", but if the paint looks fresh, does that mean we can/should subtract some of that age and go more brown, just because we "can"? Or just go with that #3 slot (1 coat gray accelerator) along with that fresh, vibrant red/blue?

You can use both! Mix and match a bit, maybe you put most of the brown in the center of the sign and the edges get hit with whisps of gray, like a wood board would naturally age. Like when you stain a solid metal door to look like a wood grain door. You use a few colors of stain to obtain the look. (Well, I don't do this but my grandpa was a painter and I watched him do it many times on steel doors).

 

[tulsagraphics]

Okay, I know it's been a few days. I decided to set things aside for a bit since my friend was coming up for a visit (master woodworker who makes heirlooms using rare woods). Per his recommendation I gave swamp water a go. Sheesh, that 2nd?3rd? layer of ply went dark.



But after sanding it came back to a more reasonable brown...



Looking pretty good, I ran with it for the rest of the piece:



Looking harsh! But after some rough sanding throughout the broad areas....



Okay, I can work with this! But then, my friend says... well, you need to put some sealer on there. Okay, I'[ll do that... (holy sh*t. I swear I didn't break out a black stain!) FWIW - This is Ronan Aquathane in matte finish. The color started to lighten up 30 minutes later -- hopefully it will lighten up a lot more by tomorrow.

 

[tulsagraphics]

My thinking is... a bit finer sanding on this swamp water aged wood (and more detailed sanding than what's shown in this photo) should look pretty solid. I may need to reduce the cut depth so that 3rd layer of ply doesn't get too much exposure - but then again - who the hell knows which cut of wood was used in each layer of MDO? What if its that first layer of ply that gets really dark? (yikes). Per my friend's suggestion, he said I should also try cleaning vinegars (more acidic), but I'm thinking this is already way closer to where we want to be without having to mess with Ph calculators and performing another battery of tests. What do y'all think?

Btw, the paint you're seeing has been sanded a bit, as a test, but the real finish will be those nice Ronan gloss enamels, to resemble a "fresh repaint".

We're getting closer!

 

[Signstein]

Looks like you've leaned into the trial-and-error approach a little and also had some fun. I think the color variation looks great! That's how things age in the real world. Can't wait to see your paint process.

 

[Stacey K]

I'm always excited to see a notification on this post! LOL

Looks beautiful! Thanks for keeping us updated, can't wait to see the paint!

 

[tulsagraphics]

Looks like you've leaned into the trial-and-error approach a little and also had some fun. I think the color variation looks great! That's how things age in the real world. Can't wait to see your paint process.

Thanks! And yeah, 100% trial and error. Never having done anything like this, I'm testing everything. Since duplicating the old sign's color/texture is near impossible. I figure my best bet is to show them 4 or 5 examples and let them decide. Then I'll just run with that for the real build.

Also worth mentioning, this real sign is 4ft wide (where as this prototype is only 2ft wide) I won't stretch that texture bitmap to 4 feet. Instead I'll tile that background 4-up so it will retain finer detail (at the expense of more machine time). I was originally thinking I could speed things up by starting with a 1/4" ball mill, but now that I think about it, this is a single pass operation, so it probably doesn't matter. I will definitely try the 1/4" on its own though, just to see how much detail is actually lost (different overlap settings)

 

[tulsagraphics]

I'm always excited to see a notification on this post! LOL

Looks beautiful! Thanks for keeping us updated, can't wait to see the paint!

Thanks!

 

[tulsagraphics]

Do you think a medium / firm paint roller would help with some of this? Or is it a bit too risky given the shallow cutting depth? It's just a prototype, but it would be nice to cut down on production time a little so I can to get this into the client's hands next week.

 

[Stacey K]

Do you think a medium / firm paint roller would help with some of this? Or is it a bit too risky given the shallow cutting depth? It's just a prototype, but it would be nice to cut down on production time a little so I can to get this into the client's hands next week.

What about starting with a foam roller and then moving to regular paint roller if you don't like the effects?

 

[tulsagraphics]

What about starting with a foam roller and then moving to regular paint roller if you don't like the effects?

I'll definitely try! My thought is to use a firm roller so it doesn't squish too much, and thin out the paint a bit more so it absorbs into the roller better. The letters are only raised by 1/16" in some places - would be very easy to bump the CNC texture. If nothing else, I can probably use a small roller for the bulk of it, then pull some of that out to the edges with a brush.

 

[LizKeenan]

Small HDU signs like this were my bread-n-butter. (Note: No CNC was used).
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Gosh, there is nothing quite like a good sandblasted sign.