Thick outdoor plastics

[Signs Express]

Has any one had experience with products like Color Core, Polycarve or Rowmark's Heavy Weights? I'm looking for some alternatives to HDU. If you have used and sold signs made from this, does it seem to retail about the same as sandblasted/routed HDU?

 

[maxxgraphix]

I've used routed PVC (Sintra). Works fine unless it's very cold and your sign get's hit by an SUV.

 

[k.a.s.]

Polycarve and such products are nice and do have thier place. They will last forever and require no painting so you have less labor. It is also almost indestructable and vandel proof. I have used it for some park signs and things like that.

I would not consider it a replacement for HDU however b/c you can do so much more with HDU. Polycarve basicly limits you to a two color sign (although I have filled in parts with an epoxy resin to make a third color) and although its routed you don't rout very deep so you don't get the 3-D look that I can get with HDU. So it has it's positives and negitives and works well depending on the job.

Kevin

 

[coyote]

We had a bad experience with Sintra-used 3/4 " material for a pier sign which we coated out with dark paint. It warped really badly in the heat. Don't know if this is still a problem, but we won't use it any more.
C

 

[rdenboer]

For outdoors we will use expanded PVC (Sintra, etc), 3/8" thick and up, as long as no dimension exceeds 18". That's where expansion and contraction will cause a letter to fail.

For larger elements we use Intecel PW, which is expanded PVC with hardwood powder in it that reduces the co-efficient of expansion. Cuts like Sintra, easy to paint (no multiple coats of primer and sanding required), never rots and way cheaper (and tougher) than HDU. Comes as thick as 1-1/4".

We never use HDU or MDO for signs or letters anymore.