Another sign shop has asked me to sandblast a sign for them...they have noticed a couple of my signs and like the woodgrain look...the grain frame I've made is pretty convincing...when I'm finished it even fools me and I know it's fake...anyway my question is...How much to charge per hour...the guy they use now is just a general sandblast guy...he has no experience in blasting hdu signs...no feel for consistency or depth of cut...not to mention he has no woodgrain frame to blast through...I would appreciate anyone with blasting experience to give their advice...thanks
I found an old pic of what my frame will produce.
[ April 04, 2014, 10:10 AM: Message edited by: Rusty Bradley ]
Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :
which begs the question........since the other guy they used.........is not doing the job for them that they want..........and they come to you, with your expertise and experience....HOW MUCH MORE ARE THEY WILLING TO PAY???? now we go to how SI prices stuff: "give them the highest price within reason you would charge.........AND IF THEY DONT FLINCH on that..... ADD ON SOME MORE)))))))))))))
Posted by shon lenzo (Member # 1364) on :
'The price is what a willing buyer will pay, And a willing seller, will sell for' On any given thing. But I would say, maybe $35-50 per hour at least. Or, just do what I do, And give them a flat rate based on what you think seems fair. I am not a time clock puncher, and never will be.
Posted by shon lenzo (Member # 1364) on :
What is funny about charging be the hour.... If you are really good, you might get it done faster. Someone not so good....might take longer, and do a worse job. And so, cost the customer more. Don't you think you should actually make more, For doing it right and fast Than if you weren't so good and charged by the hour?
Posted by shon lenzo (Member # 1364) on :
Also, lame @$$ carpenters and contractors, Will charge YOU to fix their own stupid mistakes! I have never been like that. I quote a flat rate, and stick to it. Just my opinion, not right or wrong...up to you what to do
Posted by Neil D. Butler (Member # 661) on :
That's beautiful Rusty.. I'd like to know how long it would take you to sand blast something like that and also how you made your Grain Frame? I don't do blasted signs very much but just finished 2 30" x 60" signs, the guy who blasted them for me charged me $600.00. And thats with out a Grain Frame...
Posted by Rodger MacMunn (Member # 4316) on :
Well, I sandblast all the time. I don't own the compressor, or supply the sand, but I pay the man $20 for every bag of sand I go through & he's very happy. 50 lbs of Nepheline Syenite will blast 2sq' of cedar, or 6 sq' of 15lb HDU in 4 minutes, to the depth I usually blast. Now I don't blast as deep as some do ....... I'm mostly after the texture, & most of what I do isn't that big, & small letters sticking out .625" or more can be damaged very easily.
So, Neil's 30" x 60" signs would each cost me $45 or so in HDU, or $120 in cedar to blast, not counting my own labour. Blasting is FAST, but there's setup time, etc., but I could take Neil's 2 signs out to be blasted, do them & be back here in 2 hours. At $75/hr, plus my outlay, I would probably have charged him $270 for both, if made from cedar. In HDU, probably $200, as long as there were no issues with the mask ( adhesion, stage blasts,etc). I watched a bunch of folks make their own grain frame ........ most were junk, my first one included so I broke down & bought the real thing. It was money well spent. Rusty ..... your results are awesome. You've done a good job building yours.
Posted by Rusty Bradley (Member # 6938) on :
Here is another pic of how the grain looks unpainted...I blasted alot of redwood and cedar in my day and this frame does a good job of faking the verticle grain clear heart...disregard the the black sign...I cant remember why it is in the picture.
Posted by Rusty Bradley (Member # 6938) on :
Neil...that sign is double sided 4'x7'...maybe took a couple of hours...probably close to as much setup time and loading sand as actual blasting.
Years ago Todd sent me a pic of the frame he had made...I took that and modified it to fit my needs a little better...I'll try and get some close up pics of how it is constructed this weekend and post them...it's a simple setup and didn't cost much to have made...the real trick for a natural look is how you tie the wires...the pics should give you a good idea of how that was done.
Posted by Glenn Taylor (Member # 162) on :
Absolutely beautiful work, Rusty.
Posted by shon lenzo (Member # 1364) on :
Excellent work!
Posted by Don Coplen (Member # 127) on :
Personally, I'm loving that tree! You do some very good work. I probably would have painted the sawhorses to make them fit in better, but that's just me, the perfectionist.
Posted by Kevin W. Betz (Member # 4133) on :
Hi Rusty. I am curious to know why I see a fade with the Green Background. Any reason ?
kb
Posted by Ian Stewart-Koster (Member # 3500) on :
Lovely work, Rusty!
Posted by Rusty Bradley (Member # 6938) on :
Kevin...I often put a black fade behind elements to make them pop...the Eastwood pic above doesn't show the fade as black as it really is...it is straight black to green...I suppose there was alot of reflected light when I took the photo...whatever the black appears washed out in the pic...below is pic that shows the black fade better.
[ April 07, 2014, 03:37 PM: Message edited by: Rusty Bradley ]
Posted by Bob Sauls (Member # 11321) on :
Rusty do you really want to get into blasting for others? Are they in competition with you? some how I feel that the word competition is silly when I see your work.
Posted by Neil D. Butler (Member # 661) on :
Amazing!! I think I paid a little too much, but that all you can do...Thanks for sharing!
