You really still coat out MDO? COOL! I got to do that once this spring for the first time in years. A nice gust of wind came up & filled the finish coat with grit. I'd forgotten what fun that was. The finish was just wet enough to catch the dust, but dry enough that it brushed right off when the paint had dried. I got pretty lucky that time. While I was laying that finish off, I caught myself thinking what fun it would be to produce the sign without the aid of a computer. No computer generated layout, no computer generated pattern & no computer generated vinyl. I woke up from the day-dream about the time the last few bubbles were leveled. It's funny how such a rudimentary task can be the most fun sometimes.
dave
-------------------- Dave Parr Sign Painter USA Posts: 709 | From: USA | Registered: May 2003
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Right ON! I love doing MDO. I ended up trading it for Nu-Alum in the end, but there's nothing like rolling a foam roller across the board without any pressure on it, popping the bubbles. Gives me goosebumps.
Remember the Bob Parsons cartoon, the guy cutting MDO with his circular saw, cup of coffee off to the side.. and the caption: "Café MDO"
-------------------- Best Regards, Mark Smith EstiMate Sign Pricing Software It's Not Luck. It's EstiMate.™ http://www.EstiMateSoftware.com 1-888-304-3300 Posts: 724 | From: Asheville, NC, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Nothing like spraying enamel on a sheet of MDO!!!
I have never figgered out the appeal of using a primitive tool like a roller when a spray gun is available!!!!
-------------------- 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
[ August 13, 2003, 01:09 PM: Message edited by: old paint ]
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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iam with dave. only thing i roll out is the KILZ. while thats drying(30-45 min)iam getting the compressor and ACRYLIC ENAMEL ready to spray. you buy a qt of A/E, it has to be reduced by 50% with reducer. now you got 2 qts of paint. one quart(or one spray gun cup)will do 1 side nicely on a 4 x 8. i set mine out in the yard,and let the fla sun act as baking unit!!! 2 hours at most and i can vinyl or paint on the board. always get a "glass finish", clean up is a easy and i KNOW that the background will out last the lettering, be it vinyl or paint. most of the time i dont even use a hardner, but in less sunny places i would add hardner.
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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Rolling certainly lays down a thicker coat of paint than spraying. Obviously, thicker paint will hold up longer in the elements.
Wet rollers (either w. enamel or h2o paint) can be wrapped in plastic (sandwich) wrap or baggies, then put in a bigger bag, then a shopping bag, and stored in the fridge for days for reuse later. All of the bags are necessary, or else the fridge will smell like paint. Awhile back someone mentioned 'Pringles" cans for this. I don't eat Pringles, but it (using the cans) spounds even better than bags.
posted
I can't remember why all them roller covers are in my fridge.
Hey Dave thx for the mail. I use the net here at UCDavis, where I work and sometimes I use ol' Wilson Armore's when I'm up in the mountains. Nothin against Peoria, just tryin to rack up duckits to retire on. I invest most of my time doing fine art these days. I'll try and respond to your mail. It's nice to be remembered. Thanks so much.
CrazyJack
-------------------- Jack Wills Studio Design Works 1465 E.Hidalgo Circle Nye Beach / Newport, OR Posts: 2914 | From: Rocklin, CA. USA | Registered: Dec 1998
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Dave G---Some of us "Primitive" types just don't want to get away from primitive tools. Rollers aren't all that old--I think they appeared sometime around WW2. Brush painters got all in a snit and saw the brush going the way of the dinosaur. Then along came foam brushes--great for the small stuff when a pan/roller is too much.
2 concessions to modern methods, I line my roller pan with aluminum foil, and if I am real lucky, can wrap that around the roller cover and pull it off without getting paint on my hands after pouring whatever is left back into the can. Fairly neat and clean, no spray gun to clean, and then wonder if it is going to be clogged the next time.
The other concession---computer/vinyl. Does that count as one or two?
-------------------- Bill Preston Fly Creek, N.Y. USA Posts: 943 | From: Fly Creek, N.Y. USA | Registered: Jan 2000
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Heck Ray, I thought everybody did it the way you do it. I know I do. I use more MDO than I care to tell. Coated out a 4x8, 3x3, two 2x4s, and some small signs today using Porter Acrylic paint. I very seldom use any of the aluminum products, and never spray. Roll on two nice coats of the Porter after primer, put the roller in a freezer bag, and it'll stay fresh for months. At least mine do. And thats sitting on the shelf. If they ever quit selling MDO, Ill quit making signs, I guess.
-------------------- Maker of fine signs and other creative stuff. Located at 109 N. Cumberland ave. Harlan, Ky. 40831 606-837-0242 Posts: 4172 | From: Ages-Brookside, Ky. Up the Holler... | Registered: Jul 1999
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I guess Joe and I are the only ones to spray our panels.
To each his own.
But I will admit that I DO use a roller to paint the walls and ceilings in the house. And it IS a pain in the butt washing the paint off my hands after pulling the roller sleeve off. Heck, I can wash out my spray gun faster than that!!! LOL LOL ,) ,)
-------------------- 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
Last week we got in two sheets of primed / one side finished MDO.
It was horrible. We asked the supplier why they would stock such an poorly finished product. "Whats wrong with it?" was their reply.
For starters, they never putty the edges, just primer over big divits. "Well, don't you put edge caps over it?" they asked. Right, that will keep water out of the bottom of the sign right? NOT!
The edges of the MDO were not sanded and rounded slightly which would cause the paint to fail at the edge.
And the finish coat had yellowed slightly. So we put putty in the edges, sanded the edges so they had a slight rounded finish and gave it 3 more coats of an industrial polyurethane.
Never again! Dibond from now on. A sheet of Dibond would have cost a mere $10.00 more and no hassles, no putty, no sanding and painting.
No wonder ther are so many sign folk upset with MDO failures, or should I say: MDO finish failures.
posted
For all you Dinosaurs like me who still use a roller, try putting your entire roller tray into a small plastic garbage bag ( about the size used in Kitchen/Bathroom waste baskets. Pour in your paint, roll the panels, and when finished and the left-over paint is poured back into the can, you can remove your CLEAN roller tray. Turn that paint-covered garbage bag inside out for easy disposal.
PS: If you wet the roller tray first, the moisture helps keep the plastic fitting snugly in the tray. I've found this works well with both Acrylic Latex or Oil/Alkyd types of paints. Such bags can also be bought from Industrial Cleaning Suppliers in bulk, for far less than supermarket prices.
-------------------- Ken Henry Henry & Henry Signs London, Ontario Canada (519) 439-1881 e-mail: kjmlhenry@rogers.com
Why do I get all those on-line offers to sell me Viagara, when the only thing hardening is my arteries ? Posts: 2684 | From: London,Ontario, Canada | Registered: Feb 1999
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Hey Dave Draper! I know you're busy Dave, but why would you trust someone else to prepare MDO that you have to guarantee? You just pointed out the reasons that I dont. No one is going to go the extra mile to get your material to the point it needs to be. Edge sealing MDO is the only thing that can guarantee long range use. ALmost every single sign I do is non-rectangular so MDO is still the best material for me. Right now, the MDO Im using is of good quality, so IM happy.
-------------------- Maker of fine signs and other creative stuff. Located at 109 N. Cumberland ave. Harlan, Ky. 40831 606-837-0242 Posts: 4172 | From: Ages-Brookside, Ky. Up the Holler... | Registered: Jul 1999
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I timed out a 4x8 a couple years ago. By the time I filled all the voids in the edges, rounded over the edges, sanded them smooth, scuff sanded the face, tack clothed the whole sheet, primed one side and the edge, primed the other side, and the edge again, painted a top coat, painted the back side, and also figuring in the mixing and clean up time, cost of the roller cover and paint, and $35 for the MDO, I had $130.00 in material and labor.
One sheet Alumalite, $89.00 or Dibond $93.00. Only makes sense to me to use MDO only when I have more time than work or the rare occasion that a job screams MDO only. Let me know when that happens.
-------------------- Dave Sherby "Sandman" SherWood Sign & Graphic Design Crystal Falls, MI 49920 906-875-6201 sherwoodsign@sbcglobal.net Posts: 5397 | From: Crystal Falls, MI USA | Registered: Apr 1999
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-------------------- Maker of fine signs and other creative stuff. Located at 109 N. Cumberland ave. Harlan, Ky. 40831 606-837-0242 Posts: 4172 | From: Ages-Brookside, Ky. Up the Holler... | Registered: Jul 1999
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I spray so darn often, if I have an opportunity to roll a board out, I'm gonna jump on it. Good MDO is a substantial, versatile product. What's the point in knocking it. It has its place throughout many industries, including the sign industry. Produced properly, an MDO sign will serve the customer quite well. I like Ray's approach. No point in breaking the old habits if it isn't necessary. I think that many of the old practices we became so familiar with, were a big part of what we enjoyed in the craft. Every time I see a new material come along, I'm eager to try it, but many aren't what they are billed to be.
Hey Jack, thanks for letting me know the mail got through. Answer if & when you can. It's good to hear from you.
-------------------- Dave Parr Sign Painter USA Posts: 709 | From: USA | Registered: May 2003
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