Plywood Sign Advice

[Almonte]

Sounds good. Tyvm for the advice.

 

[Techman]

I have observed too many plywood signs flake and peel after a few years. PRimed or otherwise. I use no ply wood for a sign..

 

[Gino]

You must be observing a lota hack's sign workmanship. We've had signs last over twenty years without anything other than certain colors fading. Peeling and flaking is usually application error. The maker doesn't know what they're doing. If done properly, today's MDO sign can last easily 10 to 15 years, unless you put your vinyl on before the paint has thoroughly cured.

 

[Baz]

MDO signs is mostly what i do. My biggest and steadiest accounts are housing contractors. For those types of signs i prefer MDO over alumalite. Not to say i don't like the aluminum/PVC material. I think it is great for smaller signs or to use as patches overtop existing wood signs. For framing, since i use 1/2" all the time, i always run 2x4 crosspieces. It makes the sign nice and sturdy and won't warp over time. Be aware though, when constructing your frame. Make sure it won't be sticking out of your finished sign's dimensions. Depending on the look you want you can have your posts flush to the sides or tucked in a couple of inches.

I always buy raw MDO sheets. I've also went through the pre-painted MDO fiasco about 5 years ago and decided to never trust a factory finished board ever again. I prime with Alkyd enamel primer and give two coats of oil based paint (Usually One Shot Chromatic paint). Plus i like to put on a coat of exterior latex on the backside.

 

[Techman]

If you live anywhere near the deep south such as New Orleans you will soon come to know that nothing lasts as long and all paint either mildews or peels from the heat and humidity. Application is not always the reason for failure.
I lived in florida for years and had great success with paints on wood. Living in New Orleans area was a different monster.

 

[axis]

Scary...

I'm sitting here reading some old posts and ran across this one. I could be wrong, but the impression I get from the original post is that this is someone who should go get some experience before pretending to be in the sign business.

 

[visual800]

mdo sucks I would use a maxx meatal product no prep, lightweight, no warping you cant beat it.and to all those that love mdo I do apologize but obviously they have kept us from getting the good stuff down here, the last mdo signs I did were warped when i picked them up, that was 15 years ago