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Properly prepping plywood or some other wood grain showing material

redcanary01

New Member
Hi there!

So a client has a design she'd like for a sandwich board that intentionally let's the wood grain show through in some parts as part of the design--so MDO isn't an option. I've heard people say they've used plywood before (and that it takes a lot of work) and it can last as long as MDO. What would I need to do to make sure it lasts? I am guessing I will be doing a lot of sanding and sealing...Or would you suggest some other type of wood?

Thanks much,
Red
 

fresh

New Member
CNC some HDU with a woodgrain, paint, profit.

I'm assuming you don't have a CNC (we don't either, YET...) but i'm sure you can find someone who can do it for you. It ain't cheap, but it will last and be awesome.
 

Jillbeans

New Member
What I did when I made a sign out of T-111 was to prime it with boiled linseed oil.
That seals the wood. It takes a LONG time to dry like 3 days.
Then I painted it with Ronan block-out white.
Then I let that dry.
Then I sanded the bejeezus out of the edges with a DA sander hooked to an air compressor.
Then I cleared it to make sure the raw edges I'd exposed were really protected.
I'd make sure to seal your edges with Titebond 2 wood glue too.
Letter with regular lettering enamels.
Love....Jill
 

CanuckSigns

Active Member
a few years ago, SignManiac posted some pics of a sign he made from a PVC product that had a wood grain embossed into it, I believe it was some type of siding or something.
 

Letterbox Mike

New Member
We've been experimenting a lot with flatbed printing to plywood lately and the results are really cool, that may be an option for you here. I would think with a few coats of some sort of polyurethane a sandwich sign like this would be durable enough, as long as everybody has a realistic understanding that it's plywood...

Attached are a couple flower images we just ran as a test, kinda gives you an idea how it prints on wood. These were crappy home depot plywood scraps too, we've done some others on higher grade material that looks a little less grainy.
 

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