Its been a cold winter, but we are all gearing up for a run on the 2003 sign season...right? Right!
So post those tips and tricks that you have found save some time and money and are just really cool!
It doesn't matter if the tips and tricks are old news, someone will benefit from the post!
So here is my trick:
Roller covers can be placed inside a small plastic garbage bag or a plastic supermarket bag for temporary storage. Wrap it tight and it wont dry out for several days! Laytex or oil!
You can also use the supermarket bags to line your paint tray so the bag goes in the garbage and the paint tray doesn't need cleaned up!
If you have alot of paint left over in a gallon, leave the roler cover inside the paint can and put the lid back on! It will keep for months.
If you have a figerator nearby, you can bag your roller as above and place it in the freezer! Thaw when ready for the next use!
Now here is the coolest thing I ever learned with roller covers, at least in my opinion:
When working with latex paints, wash out the roller under the sink tap to get most of the paint out...then throw it in the washing machine with the low water setting on. After the washing machine spins out, the roller cover will look brand new! This only works if the roller cover has a plastic inner tube...cardbord inners wont hold up in the washer. If you are out on a job, just roll the cover up in a pkastic bag till you get back home to the washing machine or head to the nearest laundromat! hahaahahaha
Ok. Its your turn to add to the thread! So lets here your favorite tricks!
posted
good tips Dave! My week was interesting. I learned never to leave my new puppy with my plotter while I go get more coffee. He thought it was great fun tugging at the vinyl that was moving back and forth. (he made quite a mess)
And once again...I learned to take the time to dispose of old blades properly. *ouch*.
And of course the ole' order more than you need advice....(I ran out of the color I was doing a bunch of metal signs with). ~sigh~
Posts: 3729 | From: Seattle | Registered: Sep 1999
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Hi Dave. Nice to have an "on topic" thread.
In the past I have purchased 6" round redwood or cedar finials from Bruce Post Co. for, like, $60 each. A new Lowe's just opened near me and I found 6" plastic globes for, like, $2 in the lighting department that I will paint with the new Fusion plastic paint from Krylon, then gild. Why not? I suppose Frog Juice would also work as an undercoat.
Precaution: Scuff surface first with a Scotchbright and clean with denatured alcohol.
-------------------- Mark Casey Casey Sign Co., Inc. Berkley, MI Posts: 76 | From: Berkley, MI, USA | Registered: Mar 1999
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Not exactly sign related...BUT...Use the wonderful system tool in Windows called "defragment". I just finished defragmenting the hard drives on both computers and What a difference!!!! It is something I used to do many years ago when hard drive size was limited but with 20-40 GIG hard drives it is something I forgot about.
Try it..you might be surprised at the increase in speed!!
-------------------- Dave Grundy retired in Chelem,Yucatan,Mexico/Hensall,Ontario,Canada 1-519-262-3651 Canada 011-52-1-999-102-2923 Mexico cell 1-226-785-8957 Canada/Mexico home
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Dave- I have been tempted to defrag recently. I did do it a while ago after a WIndows re-install just because I thought it took 10 minutes (I confused "DEFRAG" with "SCANDISK")- big mistake- took 3-1/2 hrs!!
When and why do you do it? I only surf the Net and play games- would that warrant a defrag every so often??
-------------------- Steve Burke Cascades Inc NS Canada
If at first you don't succeed, skydiving isn't for you Posts: 359 | From: NS Canada | Registered: Jan 2002
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Dave..... THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! ......for initiating this post! Finally.....something that is relavant to this BB. My Tip?......ALWAYS GET A DEPOSIT!
[ March 10, 2003, 11:46 AM: Message edited by: Bob Burns ]
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My tip for the day: Attend a LIVE Letterhead meet...SOMEWHERE, ANYWHERE!! There is nowhere else that you can spend $65 and learn so much, be so inspired or meet so many friends in 3 days!
Be sure to turn off everything running in the background, including screensaver. If any program gives a command, it changes the file structure, and Defrag starts over.
With an 80 Gig drive it takes mine about 5 hours to run Defrag. About once a month I turn off all unnecessary programs, start Defrag, turn off the monitor, and lock the door to go home for the night. When I return the next morning, I reboot and the computer zips right along compared to the day before.
-------------------- 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: 2273 | From: Utica, KY U.S.A. | Registered: Jan 1999
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My tip for locating a “sharp” pencil in my workshop.
Buy a couple of 20 packs of pencils. (they are cheep) Sharpen them all. Place them, sharpened end up, in an empty coffee can. Place the can in a conspicuous place on your workbench. Any time you need a sharp pencil you will have one available. Without looking all over the place!!!
As the pencil dulls, or the tip snaps off, place it back in the can with the eraser end up. You will never grab a dull one. And once a year you can spend the 10 minutes to sharpen all the dull or broken ones. Then return them to the can, sharpened end up.
I have been doing that for about the last 7 years in my workshop. No more looking for a pencil!
Try it! Joe
-------------------- Joe Abner Talisman Signs Middleboro, MA
"We are limited only by our perception of our abilities." Posts: 445 | From: Middleboro, Ma USA | Registered: Dec 2000
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posted
Good one Joe! I finally got sick & tired of hunting down my sizzors in a 100 sq. ft. vinyl production/weeding area. I keep 4 pair in there & can usually put my hand on one without much effort.
Other tips... (simple obvious ones, good for some hopefully)
Doing simple vinyl sign layouts, I try to remember to design with maximum vinyl width in mind. I have 15" & 24" material with 13" & 22-1/2" max. cut respectively. A few times I have drawn a banner layout with 2 lines of 7" text in one color & the other color was a few inches less then capacity. I hate creating extra work, but also don't like geting a layout approved only to change it in production, so I'm more careful about that now.
I am a big fan of cutting a keyline on some vinyl signs. If I am making a 12" x 18" "Reserved Parking" sign, I include the 12" x 18" cutline & only weed inside of it. After masking, I cut it to about 12-1/2" x 18-1/2" with an extra 1/4" of excess vinyl all around the layout. I cut across the lower corners, & then cut of the top strip of excess completely. This makes quick work of slapping it down on the substrate, & taping a hinge after lining up where the substrate corners appear inside my excess strips of vinyl.
For anyone who doesn't already do this, it sounds like a lot of extra work to just save using a ruler to center a job, but it can be good when having a helper apply, & also on a job like I will be doing this week with 50+ nameplates 2" x 10", even being "good with a ruler" my method will save a lot of time, & all lines of copy will be level.
Also, to add to Daves "paint roller in a grocery bag" tip, I was taught to roll a few sheets of paper towel around it & dampen it before bagging it. I've sometimes waited too long to still salvage it, but I believe that magic number of how long is too long, may go up from this extra step.
Last tip I can think of right now... ask client what is there budget. I often feel on-the-spot to give the "right" number in an early discussion when they ask what a sign might cost long before I have enough details ironed out to really know my costs. I usually sense that these days, everyone the lowest price. I recently started muttering about how a basic design could maybe be drawn & applied to 2 doors for "as little as $300" when the client practically interupted me to say she was thinking about $700. I felt a little foolish about opening my mouth, but considered it a lesson learned to put them on-the-spot first. I offered her a few various priced options & in the end got the $700, & gave myself a chance to do a better design then usual.
[ March 10, 2003, 09:48 PM: Message edited by: Doug Allan ]
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Great tips. Just looking around I saw one thing I do that may not be too common. I get 12 " pieces of PVC - diameter 6 1/2 or so inches, I glue them on top of each other with PVC glue. If I line up 4 and glue up three rows the total "package" is 18x 25 inches. Pick it up and put it anywhere, under tables, whatever. I lay the pipes horizontally, and it holds 12 rolls of vinyl beautifully. You see what you have, and with that size you can categorize things, place them into unused areas, or queue them up.
-------------------- Myra A. Grozinger Signs Limited Winston-Salem, NC
signslimited@triad.rr.com Posts: 1244 | From: Winston-Salem, NC USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Put a strip of premask on your squeegee and it will ease scratching your vinyl, and is cheaper than sleeves!! I also heard that the fuzzy half of velcro works well, too.
on the 'puter side of things- backup, backup backup!!!
[ March 10, 2003, 02:20 PM: Message edited by: Steve Burke ]
-------------------- Steve Burke Cascades Inc NS Canada
If at first you don't succeed, skydiving isn't for you Posts: 359 | From: NS Canada | Registered: Jan 2002
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posted
Dave's tip about keeping the roller in the freezer works, but- don't ever put it in the same freezer with food. This applies particularly to the freezer compartment in your fridge. Here in Canada it's no problem for six month of the year, simply put it outside and it remains frozen... Otherwise I use Saran Wrap to keep the rollers from drying. Works well.
For design inspiration I save pictures of great signs and set them as background for a week or two. Hopefully my subconsiousness will soak in the picture and inspire me at a later date.
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this is for folks who put borders around their signs...i use 24" vinyl and sometimes you don't need all of the 24" or something is 16" x 36" so there's plenty of space for border lines and rather than have a scrap that will undoubtly get ruined i cut 1/2" or 1/4" borders to fill the void so i have them on hand.
-------------------- Karyn Bush Simply Not Ordinary, LLC Bartlett, NH 603-383-9955 www.snosigns.com info@snosigns.com Posts: 3516 | From: Bartlett, NH USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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My father-in-law a 30 year signmaking veteran has a great way of keeping those rollers fresh for up to a week. Get yourself a twinpack of Pringles. Eat 'em and look inside the can. there is just enough empty space to fit a standard paint roller. The can is designed to be fairly airtight so freshness is built in. I've adopted this and it works great.
-------------------- Bill Jarvis Rookie432@AOL.com
"A customer is someone who deals with you. A GOOD customer is someone who refuses to deal with anyone else." Posts: 81 | From: Cambridge, Ohio, USA | Registered: Oct 2000
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posted
I've been wanting to tell people about this for awhile, so now's a good time. Call it " Fun With Pegboard!" I need a sketch of the 50's-era handyman, with obligatory tobacco pipe. Anyway, we've just moved into a different rental house. I like to have an easel at the house to do some signs on, I can be with the family, watch the kids for the wife, whatever. Normally, I use a piece of thick plywood, on two verticle 2x4's. The 2x4's have holes drilled in them, with BIG nails supporting the plywood. This allows the ply to be raised or lowered by repositioning the nails. I needed an easel pronto, and the only thing handy was a 4x8 of pegboard. Well, no more adjusting! It holds round signs real well, tools in the little holders they sell, and stabillos park neatly in the holes. Also, has anyone besides me got experience with a product called "Diamond-clad" from Sherwinn-Williams? It's a uerathane clear coat that we're using to finish R.R. locomotives. About a hundred bucks a gallon, three part, Real serious smelling stuff. I don't think it's a glorified varnish. I for one REALLY like the stuff. One of the last steps to painting one of these pieces of equipment is big numbers on the side (43 in. tall one shot white). The very next day I apply the clear coat,lay it on heavy, with no ill effects. Ever. No blistering, lifting, nothing. The product holds up to the demands of life on the track. If sign and vehicle graphics people havn't allready checked this stuff out, they need to. Jim.
-------------------- James Donahue Donahue Sign Arts 1851 E. Union Valley Rd. Seymour TN. (865) 577-3365 brushman@nxs.net
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what's for lunch, Benjamin Franklin Posts: 2057 | From: 1033 W. Union Valley Rd. | Registered: Feb 2003
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posted
For those who use the round aluminum exacto knives, they will sometimes roll off of your work surface and miraculously fall straight down and impale your foor or worse yet, slice of something more valuable if you happen to work in the nude.
Take the plastic cap off an old bic pen, the ones with the clip that hold them to your shirt pocket. Place it permanently on the butt end of your exacto holder and when you lay the knife down it can't roll. Stay put where you leave them.
[ March 10, 2003, 09:55 PM: Message edited by: Bob Stephens ]
-------------------- Bob Stephens Skywatch Signs Zephyrhills, FL
When removing skin in the one shot cans or sturring up paint were the pigment has settled on the bottom Use an old fork! Great for mixing as you can turn it as fast as you can and it won't spill over.
LINDA!!!!!! Were did all the forks go from the drawer?
-------------------- Stephen Deveau RavenGraphics Insinx Digital Displays
Letting Your Imagination Run Wild! Posts: 4327 | From: Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia, Canada | Registered: Jan 2000
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posted
If you ever have to apply vinyl right in an area where there's a huge rivet that you can't apply over and can't remove the rivet, here's what I do.
Get a light impression of the rivet placement with a pencil rub, lay the decal down, and pound a perfectly round hole where the rivet placement is with (oh gosh, I don't know what they're called...) hole punchers. They're metal, come in different sizes and with one smack of your hammer, they leave a perfect circle every time. Work best when you have a piece of wood underneath, and I like using a rubber mallot.
posted
Wow! great tips! I can really use that peg board easel idea. I have 4 sheets of peg board under my work table I was about to throw out...I think I will just build a double face easel and use those sheets up.
This is an old tip: and I got so frustrated today I actually used it! If you have a pounce bag with talcum or baby powder in it, dust the inside of a plastic garbage bag so that when you throw vinyl away it wont stick to the side of the bag.
If you don't know what a pounce bag is, then take a sock and fill it with baby powder and wrap duck tape around the end. When it gets hot out and you get all sweaty, you can dust yourself off! hahahahahahh! Least you will smell better!
Here's a neet software i got from download.com it's called Multi Clipboard 1.1 you can use it to copy up to 9 files, clipart and other stuff so you can copy and past files from corel, signlab, flexy ect... save's alot of time.
to save some bucks on paintmask you can make your paintmask from premask just take some premask and apply it to the back of a scrap peice of vinyl paper cut it out on you cutter (do a test before to set your down force) and you just weed it like vinyl put some more premask on it then apply it dry then paint.
On my computer a got 2 60 GB hard disk 1 is for my software like windows, corel, autocad, signlab, ect.. my working drive as i call it, then i have my save drive that's my HD that i put all my files in i got no software in that one i just save my files in it and i also put all my fonts in it my cliparts like vectorart so if i need a font i don't need to look for my font cd just go in my HD and install my font that i need same with the clipart just go get the one that you need saves alot of time plus it alot easier to do backup.
Hope this help some one Michel
-------------------- Michel Thibodeau Mich Signs Maine Posts: 55 | From: USA Maine | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
I have never understood that putting the roller in the freezer bit....I have no idea why anyone would want to freeze a roller full of paint, unless they need to save it for a couple of years or so.....
a roller with latex paint will last a really long time sealed in a ziplock bag, spritz a bit of water in from time to time if it looks a little dry.
And if you put it in YOUR freezer, and you have ANY food in the freezer OR the fridge, you WILL, I repeat, WILL have to toss it all out.
OK....now, for my goofy tips....
In a pinch, when I have forgotten a few items for a job in the field I've used...
A eyeliner pencil for a grease pencil
Rouge powder for pounce powder
a piece of cardboard for a pallet, ruler, straight edge...
I've found that when i can't see the cut lines to weed vinyl, I'll lightly rub talc or a pinch of charcoal dust over the vinyl. I can see the lines better....(the dust will lift away with the transfer tape.)
I use old magnetic scrap and put my phone number and the word 'signs' with vinyl and stick them to the outside of my van. People can help themselves while i'm parked around town.
posted
Remove vinyl FAST with "heat tree lamp" from body shop supply store.
These fixtures roll around on small wheeled rack, they are light weight (easy to take with you).
They are less likely to burn you or substrates, they are adjustable in various ways, they will heat up a 4x4 ft. area in the time it takes to get a "heat gun" ready to use. They are aprox. $250.00, but worth SOOO much more
Roger
-------------------- Roger Bailey Rapid Tac Incorporated 186 Combs Dr. Merlin Oregon 97532 Posts: 3020 | From: Merlin Oregon | Registered: Dec 1998
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posted
Great tips everybody! I've done 100's of sandblasted cedar & redwood signs. We service alot of Golf Courses. Any time-savers in this area would be appreciated. One that I've figured out through frustration. The time it takes to stain or paint the background grain of the wood can be reduced greatly and with better results. Use an old shop vac or at least an old hose for your shop vac to suck up the pooled stain or paint in the fins of the grain. This allows you to be less fussy when applying. You can slop it on heavy and quick, then go over it with the vac. The result is consistant with great coverage. When done, hang your hose out of the way over a container.
-------------------- Tom Bahr Custom Signs of St. Cloud, Inc. St. Cloud, MN 320-255-0588 tbahr@astound.net Posts: 71 | From: St. Cloud, MN | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
This is in the vein of Rogers heat lamp tip. We have 3 twin halogen 'work lamps' on adjustable stands- they will also heat a good sized area of the panel to remove graphics- we often have one on each door of a truck- for removal or just to warm them up quickly for application in the winter. Gene
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This is an old one for anyone that keeps rolled striping in stock. If you need a size smaller than what you have, wrap a piece of the stripe around and tape it fairly tight. Push a sharp blade through all layers and pull the stripe through.
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I have used a rotozip bit in both my drill press for cutting out small letters (get the RPM's up there!) and in my router since I dont have a roto tool. Dremel makes an adapter the bit fits in and it works in the router 1/4"
For production style layouts cut a piece of coroplast (or similar) to the size you need and use that to measure instead of a tape measure. I cut one piece to the longest measurement andn then make tick marks for any shorter measurements needed - save alot of time with prodution jobs and more consistent.
Panty hose and rouge? Im startin to worry about this place!
-------------------- Brian Stoddard Northwest Wholesale Signs
posted
When dry-applying vinyl graphics, wider than arms length, and you don’t have anyone to help with alignment, there are a variety of solutions; cut into manageable sections, shuffle adjust with masking tape etc.
Lately I’ve been using Neodymium magnets on steel bodied vehicles or substrates. I find they can be easier to use than masking tape because you can slide the graphic into alignment. It’s best to use just one on each end of the baseline until happy with both vertical and horizontal positioning, then add a couple more near the top for security. Separate and snip an inch of carrier paper of one end and hinge as normal. I like the ½in x ¼” rods because there is enough magnet to get hold of when removing.
You can have great fun with these amazing magnets, but be careful they can be dangerous. It can be a bit freaky to have an un-braked vehicle follow you down the road when carrying one of the larger ones about your person
Joking apart they can nip quite hard and you should read the warnings with care.
posted
With solvent based paint in a roller, just submerge it in a bucket of water. Next day just shake the water off and its ready. Ditto Lotti's post, dont put it in a fridge with food in it. Years back I had company over eating birthday cake that hed been in the same freezer with the roller covers and everyone commented on a funny taste & smell in the cake. I recognized it as blockout white. Yuk. The roller were even wrapped in a plastic bag with a twist tie.
-------------------- Chuck Peterson Designs San Diego, CA Posts: 1050 | From: San Diego, CA USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Otherwise I use Saran Wrap to keep the rollers from drying. Works well.
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