posted
Where is a good place and good prices to get Dibond sign board?
Im near Lake Elsinore Calif. (So. Calif.)
Ordering online and UPS shipping is OK
I know there is SignMart in Orange Ca. But its to far with all the nightmare traffic to get there. IIRC their prices are high too.
Is the paint that comes on dibond durable and nice quality enough to just directly hand paint lettering and pinstriping, artwork pictures, right on it as is?
[ June 06, 2016, 12:49 AM: Message edited by: Rick B ]
-------------------- Rick Bowerman Posts: 79 | From: Wildomar, Ca | Registered: May 2012
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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
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Is max metal same stuff as Dibond? I callled Gantz they have their own brand BiBond
Ive never handled this stuff
Is the 3mm stuff(about 1/8" thick) Strong/rugged enough for outside sign,(2'x3' or 3'x4' etc. sign) customer attaches to his chain-link gate
How are you guys cutting this stuff to size? Is a carpenters retractable utility knife and a metal straight edge the cleanest easiest way. Kinda like cutting drywall
[ June 06, 2016, 01:18 PM: Message edited by: Rick B ]
-------------------- Rick Bowerman Posts: 79 | From: Wildomar, Ca | Registered: May 2012
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posted
You'll be swearing up a storm trying to cut that with a utility knife. I have a hard time getting through the aluminum on one side when my cnc router doesn't quite cut all the way through. I use a panel saw for square cuts and of course my cnc for sign shapes but before the cnc I used my Bosch saber saw with the fine tooth metal cutting blade. Mine blows air across the blade to push dust out of the way but with DiBond you still need to be careful so bits of aluminum don't get between the saw plate and the sign so as not to scratch it. Another handy tool to have (and not expensive) is a deburring tool. That will take any sharp edges off after cutting.
I've used a lot of DiBond but now I prefer the Alupanel brand. DiBond colors come with two different colors on the panels. Red has yellow on the other side, blue has green. I don't like that. Alupanel costs less, is the same thickness, and they have the same color on both sides, but one side is gloss and the other is Matte.
For smaller signs you can definitely attach to just two poles, but for larger signs I like to screw down around the perimeter so I always put horizontal stringers between the poles.
-------------------- 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
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posted
That was not DiBond in the video. He had to be using the cheaper panel with the thinner aluminum skin that Alupanel or DiBond uses. I just tried his method with a brand new knife blade on an Alupanel brand and it didn't work. Actually the first cut did snap off with some effort, but trying to get it to snap off on the other side failed and it bent the panel down the edge, then eventually broke, but not through the entire plastic core. I'd like to see him take a 4x8 down to a 2x8 or even a 4x4. Alupanel makes a light version with thinner aluminum where they state "not to be used for forming." You can cut DiBond and Alupanel with a 45° router bit through one side and the plastic and bend it to 90°. Obviously his panel would break immediately.
-------------------- 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
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posted
That's what ive been trying to figure out while shopping online, the thickness of the aluminum skin
I made a account with Glantz and talked to a sales guy, He said he has 3mm Bebond everyone is using. 3mm Bebond econo with .1mm alum thickness, and 3mm Bebond premium .2mm alum thickness
Converting .1 and .2 mm to inches is .0039 and .0078
[ June 06, 2016, 05:24 PM: Message edited by: Rick B ]
-------------------- Rick Bowerman Posts: 79 | From: Wildomar, Ca | Registered: May 2012
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Get the Premium. It is easier to work with, and the few sheets of Econo that I have used did not have as good of a finish as the Premium. The price difference isn't enough to offset the difference in quality.
-------------------- Don Hulsey Strokes by DON signs Utica, KY 270-275-9552 sbdsigns@aol.com
I've always been crazy... but it's kept me from going insane. Posts: 2274 | From: Utica, KY U.S.A. | Registered: Jan 1999
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posted
You can also cut it quite well with a circular saw. A cheap Ryobi 18V cordless with a thin carbide blade cuts it all day long. I also have a heavy duty Milwaukee worm drive but I rarely use it.
-------------------- David Harding A Sign of Excellence Carrollton, TX Posts: 5084 | From: Carrollton, TX, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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