posted
A while back, I was contacted by a customer to make a small sign. I completed it, and unknown to me, the customer owns a financial service in St. Michaels, MD (lots of rich people)...
They contacted me about creating a new monument sign, and I immediately think about Peach Tree foam craft monuments. I forward them info, but they want something more "permanent", and they started talking about having a concrete monument built, and they want signs to go on it.
I meet with the customer, and showed him the Peachtree Monument sample, and he insisted on concrete. But the signs he wants to go on it, he emphatically insisted that he wants upscale. I told him that the most upscale would be Gold (not the sign gold, but 23 k gold leaf), and I can see his eyes just sparkle. I also mentioned smalts, and he didn't know about it, but I explained what it was, and he seemed interested.
He told me that he saw a couple of signs that he liked, and described them to me. 1 was a dark green, with gold lettering. The other he described that looked like a wood grain sign. The dark green sign I looked at, and from the road, it looked nice, but when I looked at it up close, the gold was sign gold, and with my customer wanting the "best", I knew it wouldn't fly.
So I started making a couple of samples.
The first one is 18lb Sign Foam 4. The background is a woodgrain routed. The letters have a 150 degree bevel routed into them, to allow the gold leaf to "sparkle" in the sun. The back ground is painted a medium brown, lightened with a touch of white...
The letters and the edge is painted a one shot dark green, darkened with a touch of black... Gold leaf to go...
These are the supplies that I used: One shot medium green, Smiths cream, polo green fine smalts (from Artisan-Signs), a can with holes drilled in the bottom to "shake" the smalts on the sign. And lastly a hair dye bottle that I can put the paint / smiths cream mixture in to squeeze into the small areas.
Painted the areas of the sign with the paint cream mixture....
Smalts sprinkled to the sign. I laid out a piece of vinyl backer to catch the smalts that won't attach.
So what about the letters, you ask. Are they going to be flat? Nope. I routed the same 18lb Signfoam 4 with a bevel. It's been painted one shot black, and waiting to apply the 23k gold leaf.
I will post more pictures when I get the gold on, and the letters installed to the sign.
When I bought the smalts, Artisan Signs has 2 sample packs, and I thought what better way to show the different colors than sample packs.
[ May 30, 2015, 08:53 AM: Message edited by: Mark M. Kottwitz ]
-------------------- Mark Kottwitz Kottwitz Graphics Ridgely, MD www.SeeMySignWork.com -------------------------- Imagination is more important than knowledge. -- Albert Einstein Posts: 746 | From: Ridgely, MD | Registered: Oct 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
That's great! Now on the smalts, does it need or get a clear coat over it for added longevity?
-------------------- Signs by Alicia Jennings (Mudflap Girl) Tacoma, WA Since 1987 Have Lipstick, will travel. Posts: 3812 | From: Tacoma, WA. U.S.A. | Registered: Dec 1999
| IP: Logged |
-------------------- Bill Riedel Riedel Sign Co., Inc. 15 Warren Street Little Ferry, N.J. 07643 billsr@riedelsignco.com Posts: 2953 | From: Little Ferry, New Jersey, USA | Registered: Feb 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
Alicia, I have worked on signs with smalts that had been done for at least 30 years and was still in good condition. I believe the smalts will out last any overcoat you could use. Just my 2 pennies.
-------------------- Donald Miner ABCO Wholesale Neon 1168 Red Hill Creek Dobson, NC Posts: 842 | From: North Carolina | Registered: Apr 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
I've been wanting to try to set smalt with resin. Have had too many failures and short life signs with Holfast oil and 1 Snot. The days of white lead as sorely missed.
-------------------- The SignShop Mendocino, California
Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity. — Charles Mingus Posts: 6712 | From: Mendocino, CA. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
posted
Thanks for all the shout outs, Mark! Another method we have heard of is the use of Epoxy with a 1Shot tint added. It need not be a 50/50 mix as with the Smith's Cream.
-------------------- Keith Jenicek Artisan Signs St. Louis, MO
posted
I've been using the epoxy method for many years. I'll never go back to One Shot & Smith's Cream. I use Coastal Enterprises product called PB Resin. You mix in just enough One Shot to make a 1/8th inch bead become opaque. I use a needle tipped bottle to apply. My favorite is the Clairol Tint & Toner bottle. The tip is long with a very small hole so you can apply a small bead right into the bottom edges of letters, borders, and little intricate areas, then cut part of the tip off to open it up and pour it out quickly for open areas. An old squeegee works good for spreading it all over large open areas, and a one inch foam brush can be used in smaller areas. You want a nice thin layer otherwise you just waste smalts if the epoxy is too thick. Two people can easily do your average 4x8 sign in a half hour. Once the epoxy is down, I just shake a layer of smalts out of a margarine tub. The small I can't believe it's not butter tubs are easy to handle. I cover the sign well, lay down paper the next day and pour off the excess onto the paper and pour it back into the container.
Pat, it's an easy sell if you make a sample. Also an easy sell when you tell your customer that they are not only getting a unique look, but a maintenance free background to boot. The cost before mark up on black smalts is only about $2.50 a square foot so if they are up into the multi thousand dollar range for a dimensional sign, another $100 or so shouldn't be that big a deal.
Alicia, smalts is basically colored glass chips so there is no need to clear coat. My first smalts sign is still up and looking great and it was made at least 12 years ago.
Here's one I did with light bronze smalts, gold leaf logo, HDU substrate, Porter acrylic latex paint. 6 years later it looks like it was installed yesterday.
[ June 19, 2015, 11:12 AM: Message edited by: Dave Sherby ]
-------------------- Dave Sherby "Sandman" SherWood Sign & Graphic Design Crystal Falls, MI 49920 906-875-6201 sherwoodsign@sbcglobal.net Posts: 5396 | From: Crystal Falls, MI USA | Registered: Apr 1999
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic