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I'm restoring an old sandblasted redwood sign I made years ago....it's big....like 24' long with a 10' tall Davy Crockett....it's the entrance to David Crockett State Park....it was a pretty monumental project for me so I want the repairs to be right and to last....repainting and making new letters are pretty straight forward but here's the problem....the size of the sign made the 1.5" sign panel look way too thin....so I glued 4 more pieces of 1.5" across the top and down both sides to give a perception of depth....it's a single-sided sign....over the years one of the glue joints across the top has opened and I have about a 4"x12" decayed hole about 5" deep to repair....so I was going to cram as much foam into it as possible and come back with some type of caulk....yet to be determined....to make it water tight....any suggestions or products anyone would recommend that could improve on this....thanks
posted
Rusty, That sounds right to me. Altho I might finish up with Bondo instead of calk. The wood is old and very dry by now. Won't shrink much more.
-------------------- John Arnott El Cajon CA 619 596-9989 signgraphics1@aol.com http://www.signgraphics1.com Posts: 1443 | From: El Cajon CA usa | Registered: Dec 1998
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Rusty: If I am reading your info correctly. It sounds like you need to REPLACE this sign with something newer and perhaps more contemporary for today. Just patching up a "Sate Park" sign doesn't sound like the way to go. Perhaps presenting the park commission with a presentation for a new better sign would be more appropriate. If they won't spring for a new sign then fall back on the repair option. You have to factor in the labor to disassemble the old sign enough to get to the repair stage. If that takes up half of the budget, then replacing the sign with a new one would be aa viable option to present to the powers that be.
Just my take on the issue. regards, Bob C.
-------------------- Bob Cole American Sign Company 14163 Akron Canfield Rd. Berlin Center, Ohio 44401
A.K.A. Vinylman® Posts: 575 | From: Berlin Center, Ohio, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Maybe you could clean out the decay and fill it with spray expandable foam, then trim off the excess and recess it a little and and use a heavy coat of Magic Smooth over top of it. I'm thinking if the sign is that big, replacing it will be pretty expensive. The Magic Smooth is cool in that it can be textured and you should be able to reproduce a pretty much invisible patch.
-------------------- “Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?” -Winnie the Pooh & A.A. Milne
Kelly Thorson Kel-T-Grafix 801 Main St. Holdfast, SK S0G 2H0 ktg@sasktel.net Posts: 5496 | From: Penzance, Saskatchewan | Registered: May 2002
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You might want to check the sign over with a moisture meter. At the shop I work at, we've brought in old mahogany signs to "repair" that looked to be in pretty good shape, but as soon as you started poking areas with a knife or put the moisture meter to it, we could tell how bad the sign was deteriorating. We also make sure to let the sign dry out real well and completely remove all rotted wood before patching over any areas with West Systems Epoxy (and fillers / hardeners as needed).
-------------------- Chris O'Brien Cape Cod, MA Posts: 183 | From: Cape Cod MA | Registered: Jan 2005
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Kelly that's exactly what I was going to suggest. You're a frickin' genius!
-------------------- Ricky Jackson Signs Now 614 Russell Parkway Warner Robins, GA (478) 923-7722 signpimp50@hotmail.com
"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Sir Issac Newton Posts: 3528 | From: Warner Robins, GA | Registered: Oct 2004
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Steve Greer is a merchant here. Magic Smooth is a two part epoxy that can be used as a finish coat or hard coat. It is about the consistency of vaseline and will hold tool marks so it is easy to simulate textures. You could also use something like west systems epoxy but it will keep leveling out on you, so it is hard to create the wood grain unless you catch it at the exact right time.
-------------------- “Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?” -Winnie the Pooh & A.A. Milne
Kelly Thorson Kel-T-Grafix 801 Main St. Holdfast, SK S0G 2H0 ktg@sasktel.net Posts: 5496 | From: Penzance, Saskatchewan | Registered: May 2002
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Rusty, The local home centers in your area, like MENARDS, LOWES and HOME DEPOT may carry a product which does what you are trying to do.
Its for wood (like on decks) that has rotted. YOu clean out the debirs, mix this stuff up, and fill it in. It dries much harder than wood.
I don't know what its called, but I remember seeing it out at MENARDS, and it was probably made by Stone Mason. Below is a link to thier web site, but I would check your local home centers first because you are not the only one who has this problem...and you might ask some local carpenters what they would recomend.
posted
Here's a technique we use on this type project.
Mix 50/50 Bodo and Fibreglas resin together. Once well mixed add both hardners. The working consistancy is much like pancake batter and sets up in approx. 10 minutes.
I would suggest you do a test or two. This isn't a tricky process but you should feel comfortable anyway.
It sands very well too.
J.
-------------------- Joe Crumley Norman Sign Company 2200 Research Park Blvd. Norman, OK 73069 Posts: 1428 | From: 2200 Research Park Blvd. | Registered: Sep 2001
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posted
Since you had the skills to make this sign in the first place you have the skills to cut out that piece of "rot" and replace it with a piece of redwood. (pick a piece with a similar grain)
Simply cut out the rot... then trace the area and cut a piece of wood to fit the space (tightly) and dowell it into place ...then if you should have a void fill it with bondo or better yet glue it in place with gorrilla glue and let the foam ooze out ...it is easily sandable and you'll never even see where the repair was made.
I've done this several times over the years and never regretted the results. If the repair falls into part of the blasted area carve it down to the same lever then use a wire brush wheel chucked up in a hand drill to replicate the wood grain effect the rest of the sign already has.
You'll like the end result and it will far outlast some glob of bondo sitting there.
If you end up using the bondo method however ...be sure to drill some small holes into the wood in different directions so when the bondo goes in it will seep into the holes and strengthen the "plug" by giving it something to hold on to rather than just siting there waiting to be knocked out by moisture expansion.
Hope all this was clear but if it wasn't e-mail me and I'll be more specific.
[ December 16, 2006, 07:51 AM: Message edited by: Monte Jumper ]
-------------------- "Werks fer me...it'll werk fer you"
posted
Monte right, don't do what I said. What was I thinking?
J
-------------------- Joe Crumley Norman Sign Company 2200 Research Park Blvd. Norman, OK 73069 Posts: 1428 | From: 2200 Research Park Blvd. | Registered: Sep 2001
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posted
Sorry Monte and Joe; I have to disagree. It will be nearly impossible not to see the straight cuts where a square of new wood is inserted plus you'll have to figure out how to sandblast that small piece without hitting the other one. It would be a royal PIA to remove the sign face, transport the huge sucker to and from your shop, do the necessary woodworking (taking up a LOT of shop space), set up a sand blasting rig just to do that one little patch. I don't care how close the "similar grain' is, it won't match. It would be so easy just to repair it like Kelly suggested. The grain can be quickly carved in the foam and the Magic Smooth would be put on and finished off easily and perfectly blending it with the wood.
-------------------- Ricky Jackson Signs Now 614 Russell Parkway Warner Robins, GA (478) 923-7722 signpimp50@hotmail.com
"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Sir Issac Newton Posts: 3528 | From: Warner Robins, GA | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
LOL Jill, charge them like the dentist too, Rusty.
-------------------- “Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?” -Winnie the Pooh & A.A. Milne
Kelly Thorson Kel-T-Grafix 801 Main St. Holdfast, SK S0G 2H0 ktg@sasktel.net Posts: 5496 | From: Penzance, Saskatchewan | Registered: May 2002
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posted
Listen to Monte. Cutting out the rot and replacing the bad section with wood is the best solution. Using foam, bondo and other non wood products is just a poor compromise. Since you built the original sign fitting a dutchman shouldn`t be too big a task.
-------------------- Bob & Marcia Peach Peach Signs Inc Sandwich, MA rpeach9828@aol.com Posts: 1020 | From: Sandwich, MA | Registered: Jan 2002
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posted
If I'm Reading you right, it sounds like you have a hole in the center layer of sign, and not the face! If that's it, I would definitely bore it out and fill it with wood and a good adhesive, add a few screws for additional support. Ether way I think a wood, rather than fiber, patch is the way to go. It will take longer but last longer.
posted
Thanks guys....lots of ideas....I feel confident about how to approach the problem now....and yes the hole is not in the face but across the top....the sign is 7.5" wide across the top and down the sides
posted
I used to use this on wooden boats...works great as 1st step to stop rot and restore rotted wood, then west system epoxy with micro balloons until peanut butter consistency as filler for wood that is missing
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Rusty you got a lot of good answers but I have a product that was taught to me 20 years ago and works great for any hole filling.WATER PUTTY comes in a milk carton container and you ad water.Any hardwere store should have it.The man that showed me was 75 at that time and a house painter.This stuff sands easy and paints up real fine.
-------------------- Randall Campbell Randy's Graphics, 420 Fairfield N. Hamilton Ontario Canada Posts: 2857 | From: Hamilton Ontario Canada | Registered: Jan 2002
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posted
Sheesh, I would have thought that with all the wise cracking hapless buffoons circulating around this joint that one of you'ns would have said "D-I-V-O-R-C-E".
Oh, I guess I did.
-------------------- Bruce Bowers
DrCAS Custom Lettering and Design Saint Cloud, Minnesota
"Things work out best for the people who make the best of the way things work out." - Art Linkletter Posts: 6451 | From: Saint Cloud, Minnesota | Registered: Jun 1999
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Oh, if only all the large decayed holes were so easily remedied.... Bruuce, somehow I can't imagine you singing in a Tammy Whine-ette voice. Patch up your troubles with some Magic Sculpt and smile, smile, smile.... Actually, I'm not an expert at wood, but I do think the Dutchman is the way to go. It sounds cool too. Like the Flying Dutchman. Back to my hapless reality here! Love....Jill
Posts: 8834 | From: Butler, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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