Large polycarbonate face installation technique

[Active Sign]

I'm just wondering what your techniques are for sliding in large poly faces while up in the bucket. I have a couple 15ft x 5ft panels on a pole cabinet and a 22ft x 6ft panel I need to replace. I sold my bucket truck a couple of years back and am now using a 35ft towable boom with a 1.5 person basket. TIA!

 

[2B]

How to lift a 4x20 Poly Face?

Just wondering how you all would lift a 4x20 poly face 30' into a cabinet. We usually use two 50' buckets with "forks" that protrude from the front and rest the sign face on them...and "step up" each bucket little by little in tandem until we reach the height of the cabinet. We don't have a...

www.signs101.com

 

[Neil Fancher]

We Have a 5533A 65ft Towable. We drill two Holes in the top of the Poly about 1 Inch from the top. The assumption is you have 2 " retainers. We left up with the lift and line it up with the top and bottom Retainers, We slide it in with the lift. We use a second lift to line it up. You will need to use a ladder. Its pretty hard to line it up alone with just the lift.

Hope it helps.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

22x6 is way too big for hard face. Do flex

 

[weyandsign]

If it's 20'+ it should be seamed in half.

 

[Billct2]

Sounds like a two lift job to me. Especially if you stick with poly faces.

 

[JBurton]

22x6 is way too big for hard face. Do flex

You'd push a retro cabinet on a face change? That's good money, but I'd lose the bid. If it's a pan face, it shouldn't be too bad, but it's definitely a two truck operation.

I've gone as far as to screw a 20' piece of angle to a cabinet, 10' sticking past the end of the cabinet, and resting a big face on it as I guide it in. It really helps to keep the face from bucking upwards constantly as you're trying to both lift and shove.

 

[Active Sign]

22x6 is way too big for hard face. Do flex

That is a good idea. This is just supposed to be a reface on an existing cabinet that has a single piece of poly in it now. Is there a flex face conversion kit somewhere? I have only installed a new flex face on an existing cabinet before, never done a conversion.

 

[JBurton]

That is a good idea. This is just supposed to be a reface on an existing cabinet that has a single piece of poly in it now. Is there a flex face conversion kit somewhere? I have only installed a new flex face on an existing cabinet before, never done a conversion.

Be warned, this is going to jack the price up considerably, and you'll need to cut and weld up the frame yourself, or build it on site just mounting to the cabinet. Either way you go, you need to measure and cut knowing that you are going over the outside perimeter of the cabinet. So if you have a 10' cabinet, your frame will need to be something like 10' 3/8", so that you have enough room inside the frame to slip over the existing frame. Excellart makes the only product I've used for this. You also need trim pieces that are a separate item. You can do bleed face or 2" trim.
Standard frame: https://www.excellart.com/store/p67/Flex_Retro_Frame.html
2" retainer: https://www.excellart.com/store/p70/Flex_Retro_Std_Trim_Cover.html
Bleed frame & trim: https://www.excellart.com/store/p130/Flex_Face_Frame_Systems_Only.html