I've got a customer who I may do a job for him on his "Outisde Fake Stone Wall" The owner of the building dones't allow any holes to be drilled. So I have suggested foam/wood letters glues to the building. Should I go with ?. I need light, bird proof, paintable letters. I may hand cut the letters because of the type of font that is used,,,a grungy, distressed font. I was thinking maybe 1" urethane foam for lightness. but maybe 3/4 in" MDO might last longer. Or maybe, that board that has metal on the outside, wood on the inside. I think it's called ?? Lusterboard, Ultraboard, you know what I mean. I was even thinking of bead foam board stuccoed over, but the birds. And then there is the moss factor here in the Northwest.
Posted by Neil D. Butler (Member # 661) on :
Stay away from lustreboard, it is absolutely useless... will delaminate, at least the older stuff that I used did. Can't use DiBond can you?
Posted by Tony McDonald (Member # 1158) on :
+1, both times I've used lusterboard, it has delaminated, even with the edges sealed with titebond wood glue.
Posted by Preston McCall (Member # 351) on :
Dibond will hold up well. Lusterboard does delam and requires intense edge sealing. Have never seen 3/4" dibond or the less expensive version, but maybe it is out there? You might find someone who can rout/cut it easier than playing with the band saw or scroll saw. That would save you hours.
Posted by John Arnott (Member # 215) on :
Hey girl, I thought you bought a ShopBot.
Posted by Brian Stoddard (Member # 39) on :
1" 15lb HDU is what I would use, light enough to silicone to the wall but tough enough to last.
Posted by Dave Draper (Member # 102) on :
HDU, sanded and finished with Sherwin Williams Super Paint
11 or 13 mm Sintra (or equal) spray painted with Sherwin Williams Super Paint or equal)
Those would be my two choices.
Glue: GE Silicon II PREMIUM (gold tube, and caulking gun.
Posted by W. R. Pickett (Member # 3842) on :
Surdy letters can be a challenge to make.
Posted by Sonny Franks (Member # 588) on :
1/2" or 3/4" PVC (Sintra).....
Posted by goddinfla (Member # 1502) on :
Drilling holes is easier to patch later. Once glue of any kind is on a fake stone wall it is forever there in the shape of the long gone letters.
Posted by Steve Luck (Member # 5292) on :
Hey Alicia,
I think you should get ¾" PVC (Sintra) which will be less expensive than HDU and still light enough for the wall. I've had good luck with construction adhesive using sintra. Even if your Shopbot was up and running, it still is fun cutting them out by hand with a scroll saw or jig saw! Depending on how many letters you have to cut, it won't take you that long by hand.
By the way, I got your message last week and didn't get a chance to call you. My Shopbot was running and then the motor stopped and I had to send it off to get repaired. I have another motor for backup and will have it working soon.
Hope you get yours going too. It's a whole new world in the sign business with a CNC router!
Sign-cerely, Steve
Posted by Alicia B. Jennings (Member # 1272) on :
I have a ShotBot. Still haven't mastered it. Right now it is mastering me. Sounds like HDU might be the best bet. I want some body/thickness to the letters. They will be about 12 in tall, all caps, reading CROCKETT'S. Under that part will be a very lightweight banner made from maybe bend/curved DiBond, about 10 ft long and 5 inched tall, with some other painted copy on it. It would also be glued onto the wall with the real tough, clear silicone glue. When I get done, they will be more glue on the backs of the letters than the letters. I don't want any product failure.
Posted by Alicia B. Jennings (Member # 1272) on :
Maybe I'll do a test somewhere on the building.
Posted by Brian Stoddard (Member # 39) on :
You wont have any trouble, silicone sticks like mad to brick and stone (and hdu) as long as its clean and dry. The only problem you will have is getting the wall clean when you want to take it down. I did a job this summer with hdu and concrete on a hot day - they asked me to move a letter an hour after I put it up and it took longer to move one letter than the whole job.
Sintra works with silicone but not nearly as well.
Posted by Michael Clanton (Member # 2419) on :
I used to work for a sign shop who cut out foam (white beadboard) letters- they were very easy to cut (slap down a thin wooden template, use a router to cut around, paint, and apply- some of those letters are still up after 20 years. I think now they have some sort of coating to apply to the finished letter that makes them very hard... not sure what it's called
Posted by Dale Feicke (Member # 767) on :
It's called Hard Coat, Mike...ironically enough.
It's available from several sources on the web. Most is water based, but very tough.
Posted by Michael Clanton (Member # 2419) on :
