I haven't done any lighted sign faces for a long time; but have a request from a good customer to do a pair, 4 by 8 feet. Though I'm not too enthused about doing them, he's whining; so I guess I'll give it a shot.
Most of these I see today are white polycarbonate faces with translucent vinyl on the outside. What is the cost difference between doing them like this and the old cut-and-spray way? I know it's a heck of a lot less mess, but does it hold up well?
What would be a fair price for this job? It will be the name on top, phone number on bottom, and a simple clip-art type picture of a motorcycle in the middle....4 or 5 colors. I'll have to get someone to slide them in for me. I don't have a boom anymore.
Posted by Dave Shirk (Member # 106) on :
We would charge $554.00 per face using white Lexan sheet. Oracal 8500 series transluscent vinyl. 4 colors, simple copy. We find that this is far more economical than using the "Grip-Flex" type paints, mainly due to labor. (And toxic bad stuff.) We've had 8500 series out there for almost 5 years with no failures as yet. Here in the mountains of Colorado, or shop rate is $75.00 and bucket truck w/ 1 man is $95.00. Hope this helps. All my best!
Posted by Dale Feicke (Member # 767) on :
Thanks for the input, Dave. My bad....I forgot to mention that they will be pan faces. I expect that will drive the price up a bit.
Posted by Checkers (Member # 63) on :
Hiya Dale, If you're set up to spray, the process should be a whole lot more affordable. However, you can charge a premium because, IMHO, the graphics will last a lot longer. Depending on the grade of vinyl, you can expect to get 5 to 10 years out of applied graphics. I've seen back sprayed faces last a lot longer than 10 years. I won't quote a price for pan faces because I would have to see what the faces would cost me. A shoot from the hip price for 3/16 polycarbonate faces lettered with HP translucent vinyl would be $900-$1000 each, depending on the design and colors. Install would be additional.
