I was asked to provide a quote on a 4'x8' sandblasted HDU sign to repaint and then a price for brand new.
I have never repainted anything since I've only been around two years and nothing has been painted long enough to be bad yet!!
How should I approach the repainting part? Square foot is all I can think of. Is it a major pain in the rear to repaint HDU signs? You can't really sand them too much or anything without flat spotting them.
Does $30/sq. ft seem like too much to clean/fix/repaint their exisiting sign? The fix part would be a top piece that was attached to the 4x8 for decorative purposes that has broken away. That part would be a booger!!
I apologize for all the pricing questions this week. I'm trying not to screw myself but at the same time pick up some cash.
I am also bidding on several smaller signs for this same complex so I don't want to shoot myself in the foot.
Thanks again!
Posted by Jean Shimp (Member # 198) on :
Without seeing the condition of the sign it's hard to say, but $30. per square foot seems reasonable to me. I am assuming that you will be repainting the sign on the site instead of removing it and doing it in your shop. I haven't repainted an HDU sign but I've done plenty of wood sandblasted signs. Sometimes we have to sand, spackle, sand again, prime and finish paint parts of the sign. I don't know if that is the case with your sign. I am wondering why the HDU would deteriorate or is it just a matter of faded and flaking paint.
Posted by Kent Smith (Member # 251) on :
QuikPrice says 10 hours so $30 per square sounds right on.
Posted by Amy Brown (Member # 1963) on :
Thanks Jean and Kent!
Jean,
The sign itself was in decent shape but whoever did it painted it with flat paint and it's under a big Oak tree so it's gotten really stained. They just can't get it clean.
The only real bad place I saw was where a separate piece was cut and attached somehow on top. The seam where they were put together has come apart and it looks like it has a big crack all the way across it.
I hope they opt for the new one, but who knows. Depends on who's counting the pennies!
Posted by Jeff Ogden (Member # 3184) on :
Amy....
Be careful on the prep ....if there's any algae or mildew you'll have to wash sign with a bleach solution and scrub brush, then rinse. That can be a pain to do if no water available, but it needs to be done. Price accordingly.
You can get lots of work doing repaints, but that price seems high to me...if you can get it , go for it. When people see you out there working they'll stop and ask you about other work too, so its good work to have if you're a little slow. It helps to have a printed t-shirt, or a visable truck with lettering when you're working out like that.I call it going fishin' .....fishin' for more work, that is.
Posted by Wayne Webb (Member # 1124) on :
Amy, I think that price is fair for a one sided sign.
I too have never refurbushed an HDU sign but this is what I currently charge for redwood:
For a single sided sign- $25-$30 per sq. ft depending on complexity, number of colors and the condition of the sign.
For a double sided sign- $42-$55 per sq. ft.
Major repairs are extra.
Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on :
Not as concise an answer as many, but being one who has never done this type of work I thought to offer another perspective. I think a lot of jobs we do have some amount of wiggle room & we adjust the decisions we make as to how hard to work based on our budget. On a repaint I am sure there are lots of forks in the road where one could "go the extra mile" or take the shortcut.
I have told a customer before that my shop rate is $50/hour & they are asking for something that I am sure I can do for them, & do well, but something I haven't done before. I have honestly told a client that I am not wanting to gamble on guessing the hours involved to do every step to my highest level of pefection, but if they want to commit to $500, I'll give a solid 10 hours of attention to bringing the whole sign several notches up from what it is. (cutting the necessary corners) It's like the auto detailing guys, they have the $200 deep clean, but you can also get in & out for $75 & your really going to see an improvement, just not at the extreme you would on the full blown package.
Anyway, this kind of discussion has worked for me in the past when I really want to pick up a little extra work. Like Neil said in your box truck situation, ask up front what the budget is, then be able to spell out what you can do in that budget.
Posted by Cheryl Lucas (Member # 1656) on :
Hi Amy,
Maybe you can consider calculating the cost of a new sign, back out the HDU and blasting cost and see what you come up with.
If you're working on site, don't forget all of the loading, unloading and travel time! I don't start my truck for less than $25.00 for local travel time. How many trips will you take to the job site between washing, repairs and paint coats. Add some time for a trip or two to the hardware store...
I solve the 'no water on site' problem, by using them pump 'em up bug sprayers!
Good luck, Cher.
Posted by Steve Nuttle (Member # 2645) on :
Amy here is our read on refurbrishing existing signs and beleive me we have done quite a few. In fact we have done so many that we don't hardly do it any more and here is why. We charge the same for redoing a sign as what we would charge for a new sign! After doing so many we came to the conclusion that more times than not it is more work to redo something than start from scratch. In the case of the one you are considering, it seems to me that you will have to block out the whole thing with Kiltz or something similar to make sure that sap and other stuff doesn't bleed through the repaint. Except for the material and labor to blast you are basically starting over and more times than not find other nightmares that pop up unexpectily. Good luck and this is just my 2 cents worth.
Posted by Wayne Webb (Member # 1124) on :
Amy, I haven't refurbished an HDU signs before but this is the way we do redwood:
We first clean the sign with a solution of 1 part chlorine bleach to 4 parts water.
Let this sit for 10 minutes and scrub any stubborn mildew with a brush.
Hose the sign off completely to remove any trace of bleach.
let the sign dry out for a few days.
We then sand down all loose, flaking, chalking paint.
Fill any cracks with epoxy mixed with redwood sawdust(from the dust collector on the belt sander).
Sand down the repairs.
Completely dust off, and blow off the sign with compressed air.
Then we spray the whole thing with the waterbased solid color stain which will be the background. It is basically colored primer anyway.
The first coat of stain will trap any tanins from bleeding into the second coat. On really light colors three coats may be necessary.
Paint all raised areas with either acrylic latex or Oneshot.
On HDU you may have to clean with the bleach to remove mildew but you don't have to worry about any tanins.
