The Letterville BullBoard: 1-Shot color mix question??

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Posted by Amy Brown (Member # 1963) on :

This may be a dumb question, but here goes...

What colors of one shot would you mix together to make a dark olive color?

I'm thinking medium green & tan?? Don't have any 1-Shot here to try it. I just sold my first sandblasted sign so I have to buy some. My funds are pretty small right now so I don't want to buy more paint than I need right now.

Thanks for your input.

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Amy Brown
AMBO Design
Lake Helen, FL
jabrown@cfl.rr.com

"If only my toddler was better with paint & computers!"

Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :

well you could by some chome yellow & dark blue, mix them and you will get a green...or you could by dark green and put in some chome yellow...to lighten it to what i think you mean olive green the color of the olive in a jar....

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joe pribish-A SIGN MINT
2811 longleaf Dr.
pensacola, fl 32526
850-944-5060
BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND

Posted by Amy Brown (Member # 1963) on :

OP, It's actually a darker olive, closer to Kahki, not so green (like the ones in the jar). Corels default color palette has something close (olive drab).

Maybe medium green, medium brown & a touch of ivory??

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Amy Brown
AMBO Design
Lake Helen, FL
jabrown@cfl.rr.com

"If only my toddler was better with paint & computers!"

Posted by Ken Henry (Member # 598) on :

Hi Amy. Just need 2 colours. Chrome Yellow & Black or alternately Lemon Yellow & Black.
Start with your Yellow and gradually add small amounts (emphisize SMALL) 0f Black. Stir, and check til you get the shade of Olive Green you need. As you add the Black, your Yellow will become a progressively deeper Olive.

Hope this helps you out.

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Ken Henry
Henry & Henry Signs
London, Ontario Canada
(519) 439-1881
e-mail kjmlhenry@home.

Some days you get to be the dog....other days, you get to be the fire hydrant.

Posted by Glenn S. Harris (Member # 2190) on :

Hi... first one eh?...

..if your going to have any natural wood in the finish of the sign, don't skimp on the varnish... use a very high quality marine varnish... none of that Minwax C*#%p... Interlux or Man-o-war are good brands.
It's very expensive, but you can get a small can.

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Glenn S. Harris
Lorio Design
Baton Rouge, LA
allorio@bellsouth.net

Posted by Amy Brown (Member # 1963) on :

Thank you Ken! Glenn, it will be SignFoam for this one but thanks for the heads up!

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Amy Brown
AMBO Design
Lake Helen, FL
jabrown@cfl.rr.com

"If only my toddler was better with paint & computers!"

Posted by Cheryl Lucas (Member # 1656) on :

Hi Amy,

Belive it or not, Ken's right---->according to my handy "Guide to mixing color" - Color Wheel, that I picked up at the local craft store. Who knew!

It would be nice to have a loot of OneShot colors on hand, but it can become expensive... Initially, I took the plunge and invested in the primary colors, plus black and white. I wish I had purchased chrome yellow instead of the pimrose tho. If you go this route, be sure to mix wee bits of color at a time or you'll have lots of left-overs...hehe

Best of luck to ya,
Cher.

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DUCK SOUP SPLATTER JAM
Sept. 14,15,16
Somewhere in Alabama

Cheryl Lucas a/k/a "Shag" on mIRC
Vital Signs & Graphics, Etc.
Cape Coral, Florida
VSignsNgraphics@aol.com

Posted by PKing (Member # 337) on :

I must be missing something here Amy.Did you say that you did not want to INVEST $20.00 in order to make 10 times that much?
Understanding that the materials part of any job is miniscule,compared to,design,application,and general shop rates.
You might want to take a look at your pricing
structure.As of now I am paying around $5.00 for a 1/2pint of one shot,about$8.00 per pint
Anybody should be able to make $500.00 handlettering out of a 1/2 pt. with paint left over for other $100.00,$200.00,or even$25.00 name on mailbox jobs!Besides,isn't it the customers money you are buying the OneShot with? A rule of thumb that might help you and others is:YOUR money is made AFTER the materials are paid for and the job is complete.(yellow and black)is the correct answer.
hope this helps

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PKing is
Pat King of
King Sign Design in
McCalla,Alabama
The Professor of
SIGNOLOGY

Posted by Amy Brown (Member # 1963) on :

Hey Pat! That is what I normally do (make sure the customer pays for supplies). This is actually more of a give-a-way sign. They are building a local housing development near me (HUGE & High $$). I am making it from sample materials in an effort to try to gain more of this business and make some more $$. They are paying pretty much some of it and letting me my name & number on it. It will be in a butterfly garden right by the sales center which is highly traveled by residents and business people alike. I still want to make some $$ so I can make it to Duck Soup as well.

Do you think I will have plenty of paint if I buy pints? The sign will be 23" x 13" and the post will need the same color.

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Amy Brown
AMBO Design
Lake Helen, FL
jabrown@cfl.rr.com

"If only my toddler was better with paint & computers!"

[This message has been edited by Amy Brown (edited August 06, 2001).]

Posted by Bruce Bowers (Member # 892) on :

sheesh amy...

just buy some dang paint... buy the quarts. it is cheaper in the long run and you won't run out of paint three quarters of the way through the job. regardless of the amount of money you are receiving for this job, you made a deal to make the sign. that means making it look like a professional did it and not some schlock hack off the street. this job is going to be a reflection of you, your shop, and the level of work that you are capable of.

i saw the layout you did. it looked really awesome. please don't sell this project short. if you cut corners on this job, you will look like every other hack sign maker wanna be that came down the pike. do it right, do it once. it's just to easy to not be cheesy...

and if you really, really can't afford the one shot to paint your project, i am sure pat will give you some of the stuff he has stashed away from all the meets he has been to... lol! or go to duck soup and steal your own! lol!

have a great one!

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Bruce Bowers
DrCAS
Signtech

"how great are His signs..."
Daniel 4:3

i am a proud supporter of this website!

Posted by Jon Himes (Member # 1390) on :

Amy, If your painting sandblasted signfoam I would stay away from one shot and use a quality latex paint. You won't be happy with the results of one shot on sign foam unless you spend endless hours sanding. Check Sherwin Willaims, Mautz or another quality paint supply store, I wouldn't be surprised if you could find the colors you are looking for in their chips. Works for me!!

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Jon Himes
Impact Graphics
Moline, IL

Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :

ok..now you got an idea how to mix the paint....problem now is once you got it mixed...its really hard to hit that exact color...if you need to mix more....iam with dr cas and pat...you need to buy the paint and a few empty cans(you can get these at a paint mixin place....experiment with mixin you color in small throw away plastic cups or plates i prefer a plate so you can see all your paint...once you figure out the shade you need pour some chrome yellow into empty can..then add you black(i got a whole qt. of this sorta olive green and i mixed dk green)to yellow..this way when you hit the shade you want you got more then you need...and wont have to mix anymore to finish job or match it later on down the road.

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joe pribish-A SIGN MINT
2811 longleaf Dr.
pensacola, fl 32526
850-944-5060
BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND

Posted by Amy Brown (Member # 1963) on :

Bruce,

I am a very quality conscious person. I always buy the best products that I can for my signs (ie. HP vinyl). I always put a little more than I should into my work. I will not skimp on making it the best I possibly can. I am trying to get new business by doing this for next to nothing. Why would I do a crappy job on it!!

I married into a family that is swamped with debt from the previous wife. We are doing everything we can to make sure we do the right thing for our daughter as well as pay our bills (which are more than we have). I will continue to do everything I can to save a buck until I start bringing in enough money to relax a little bit.

This started out as a simple question on mixing paint. I asked about using paint because I have never used it. I am trying to learn new things so that I can provide better services and hopefully my business will expand.

Didn't mean to get your undies in a wad over asking about using pints rather than quarts. I really don't know how far this stuff will go.

Frankly, I will continue to do my job in the manner I see fit and will continue to do everything I can to save a buck because that is what my family needs and it doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks. I will not go so far as to cut corners and then in return get a cruddy product to work with. I will always give my customers the best that I possibly can.

Come see my work sometime and you will see that I don't do shabby work.

Thanks for caring though!

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Amy Brown
AMBO Design
Lake Helen, FL
jabrown@cfl.rr.com

"If only my toddler was better with paint & computers!"

[This message has been edited by Amy Brown (edited August 07, 2001).]

Posted by David Wright (Member # 111) on :

Amy, you are taking Bruce's advice much too personally. That is good advice that we all need to hear from time to time. Whenever I get beat up on price and don't charge what I knew I should, there is the impulse to save money on the materials or time end. I always try to resist that and resolve myself to keep to my pricing structure. You really don't need to bring in family problems into questions like this. Nobody is accusing you of doing shoddy work, so keep up the good fight, you're doing good.

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Wright Signs
Wyandotte, Michigan
Since 1978
www.wrightsigns.outputto.com
All change isn't progress, and all progress isn't forward.

Posted by Amy Brown (Member # 1963) on :

David, I didn't mean to sound like a butthead in my reply. I also shouldn't have brought my private problems into this.

Bruce, I apologize. I just can't help it. Money is a very sore subject around here. I am trying really hard to keep things going with my business because I strongly believe that I will make it work in the long run. Just got to make it through the tough times now. I didn't in anyway intend to be pissy toward you. Just wanted my intentions to be known. There are a lot of things that I would like to buy to help me out but can't right now. Thanks again!

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Amy Brown
AMBO Design
Lake Helen, FL
jabrown@cfl.rr.com

"If only my toddler was better with paint & computers!"

Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :

your own quote.."iam doing this job for next to nothing to get more business"...is your biggest mistake. you set yourself up for a reputation of doing work for less money..just to get the work...i understand you need work we all do...but to do a sandblasted sign for cheap...is not in your best interest....you asked a question of people who have years of experiance with paint..and you took their answers the wrong way...we who paint...have cans of paint everywhere....and dont think a qt of paint as expensive weather its one shot or sherwin williams...as for the other money problems in your life, you aint alone sweetie...all most are tellin you is to buy a couple qts of paint so you can make some to buy the paint to make the money to buy the paint...etc etc.....and we are your friends....not your bill collector...

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joe pribish-A SIGN MINT
2811 longleaf Dr.
pensacola, fl 32526
850-944-5060
BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND

Posted by Amy Brown (Member # 1963) on :

Yes OP, I could have worded that better. Putting my name on it should pay for itself I think. If not, I'll learn from the experience. I will make a profit on it. I have done a few jobs for them already at my normal prices.

I understand where you all are coming from. But I wish someone would understand from my end as well. I really wondered how far a pint, quart, gallon or whatever would go. Since I have never used the stuff I really do not know. I will probably buy quarts but only in the colors I need right now (black & chrome yellow). That is all I asked. I appreciate all of the advice that I get here and I am not looking for sympathy from anyone.

I REALLY JUST WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT THE 1-SHOT!!!

It's just one of them woman things I guess! Can't bitch to my husband, gotta bitch somewhere!! LOL everyone!

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Amy Brown
AMBO Design
Lake Helen, FL
jabrown@cfl.rr.com

"If only my toddler was better with paint & computers!"

[This message has been edited by Amy Brown (edited August 07, 2001).]

Posted by Dana Bowers (Member # 780) on :

Hi Amy! Hey... I TOTALLY understand the money thing ya got going. Take it from someone that has been down the same road... you know, coupons, rebates, sales, celebrating an actual bill from the electric company after an entire winter's worth of disconnect notices. Had to squeak out partial payments on bills from my sign shop's income while the husband and his biz partner cashed several 1000s of dollars of checks in the local bar... you don't even want to go there...

Don't get in the habit of selling yourself short on asking prices. HAHAH - just ask some of the people that have been around here watching the stupid stuff I went thru with my shop!!

Trying to establish a new shop is tough and its really easy to wanna give away stuff to get your name out there... but don't!! Then the next time they want a sign, they'll want the el-cheapo price AGAIN!

I eventually got to the point that I would tell people that there are other shops in the area that will do quickie cheap signs, but I'm not gonna waste my time or yours talking over something that you are getting on price alone.

Don't let the customer take over. You are in charge of your stuff!! Its really easy to be intimidated, but don't be. You aren't gonna get the right price unless you ask and not back down.

It takes some time, but once you get that word of mouth out there, its well worth it!!

And don't get into the sense that they LET you put your name on it!!! YOU PUT YOUR NAME ON IT ANYWAYS!!! My shop was Sign-A-Saurus and I had a little dinosaur guy logo. I put it on EVERYTHING... ok, well, not everything!! But the ones that really counted!

Thats your signature on your work. Make it work for you! Signed art it worth more than unsigned... right?

I still remember the day someone called me saying that they had been looking at all the signs in the area that they really liked... and most of them had that lil dinosaur in the corner! Sure felt good!

And get your half down, too, to cover your materials costs up front. Don't ever price anything where you don't come out of it with something for yourself. Above the having to cover everything else involved.

geeez... remembering back to when I was excited to get actual REAL sawhorses instead of using computer boxes... wow, miss my shop alot...

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Dana Bowers
docs-gal on chat

I joined a health club last year, spent about 400 bucks. Haven't lost a pound. Apparently, you have to show up.

Posted by Greg Gulliford (Member # 170) on :

Amy,
Just to give you a rough idea as to how far one shot will go in coating out plywood with a roller, I just did a job that was (15) 4'x4' mdo signs. The signs got 2 coats of paint and I used 1.5-1.75 qts. of paint. If you are brushing it you will get less coverage per quart of paint. Basicaly, one shot goeas a long ways!

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Greg Gulliford
aka MetroDude
Metro Signs and Banners
1403 N. Greene St. #1
Spokane, WA 99202
509-536-9452

mail@metrosignsandbanners.com

Posted by LazyEdna (Member # 266) on :

I only buy 1Shot in ½ pint cans. I use the nail in the lid instead of opening the cans. This way, the paint lasts, instead of skinning over and becoming wasted with ½ of the paint still in the can. I usually use every drop in the small cans this way. If I'm doing large jobs, I'll buy qt. cans for the background color, but most of my jobs are lettering and pinstriping, and don't require prodigious amounts of paint at one time.
Black and yellow make a lovely olive.
I don't believe there's a color I can't mix from 1shot.
LE

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LazyEdna
in RL known as Sara Straw
from southern Utah
5 National Parks within 3 hours drive
Red Rock Heaven

Posted by David Wright (Member # 111) on :

Someday we will have to post our stories about rough financial times and the "how we got through it" stories. I understand the need to vent, fortunately (not for her) my wife serves that purpose and vice versa at our shop. I have been in this business 23 years and I wish I wasn't so stupid all those early years. Maybe if this board was around then I would have learned earlier. Oh well. Come to think of it, reading my lines here, what makes me think all my hard times are behind me? Peaks and valleys,eh?
I wandered here, but regarding your one shot sizes, it depends on colors and such. Some colors are half pints in my kit because they will never get used much. Basic colors: pints or quarts if they often used colors. Mostly I am buying as I need also because of the rarer uses of paint in my shop. In conclusion, for your job and probably most, I would buy pints. Hand lettering with quills I can go miles with even half pints.

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Wright Signs
Wyandotte, Michigan
Since 1978
www.wrightsigns.outputto.com
All change isn't progress, and all progress isn't forward.

Posted by Glenn S. Harris (Member # 2190) on :

J.H. is right... Latex! Latex!

or High quality, high solid water based primer then latex. If anything, definitely spray that blasted background with latex & use 1 shot on everything else!

Money is great, unless your poor...

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Glenn S. Harris
Lorio Design
Baton Rouge, LA
allorio@bellsouth.net

Posted by John Kurtzman (Member # 1736) on :

I usually don't comment on something I don't fully understand....However...... was the question about green olives, or black olives???

Kurtzman

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Creative communication since 1959

Posted by Mikes Mischeif (Member # 1744) on :

Amy, There may be a local shop that would give you the paint. I trade materials with some shops here all the time.

Just a thought.
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Mike Duncan
Lettercraft Signs
Alexandria VA

From here on down, its all up hill.

[This message has been edited by Mikes Mischeif (edited August 07, 2001).]

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