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A potential customer approached me about putting a sign up over their entrance. They are strictly wholesale so he indicated something pretty basic would be fine. They had the logo and Burgundy on white would be fine. I asked to see some of his advertising literature and came across a piece that had a gradient color and black background. I decided to offer him several variations from something basic as he asked through to a sign with a gradient, beveled edges, dimensional letters and fabricated border. I was pleased that he picked the deluxe version. We installed it yesterday and the customer is very pleased and has more work for us. Here's a case where both us and our client have benefited because I invested just a little bit of time to "kick it up". I must remember to do this more often... The size is 3'x8'. Substrate is MDO with edges glue sealed and painted. Letters and logo are cut out of 3/8" PVC. Gradient and Background are sprayed with One Shot with hardener. Outer border element is a separate piece. Edges are chamfered.
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Duncan, the gradient gives the sign an elegant look, especially since the building is neutral. How did you attach the PVC to the MDO to account for the expansion and contraction rate?
-------------------- Ron Costa Sign and Design 28 Ingerson Road Jefferson, NH 0358 Posts: 620 | From: New Hampshire | Registered: Oct 2002
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I agree - nice job Duncan...very bold and crisply defined. Easy to read with a touch of elegance using the fade and dimensional icon. Thumbs up.
-------------------- Todd Gill Outside The Lines Potterville, MI Posts: 7792 | From: Potterville, MI | Registered: Dec 2001
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-------------------- 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
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Looks great Duncan! Very sharp. Now you need to talk to that lighting place on the West End with the sign in cramped Algerian! Love....Jill
Posts: 8834 | From: Butler, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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Thanks folks. Ron, we use 3M 4910 VHB tape for this kind of application. In this case the letters are quite small. If they were large, I would use use a different material. Usually the same substrate as the backer, in this case MDO. Or I might pin mount them with oversize holes in the backer. You will see in the picture, that I use strips of tape running parallel on the larger letters. The 3M clear foam tape allows for some movement, so I don't over do it with the tape. I often use 2 different fastening systems to ensure that if one fails, the other holds. Sometimes tape and silicone. Sometimes tape and a couple of screws from behind. One failure I have seen involved using silicone only to apply Acrylic letters to Metal siding. Probably this would not have happened if the back side of the acrylic had been "roughed up" to give it some "tooth" for the silicone to grab too. Even so, I wouldn't use acrylic again for large letters (approx. 30") on a metal building. Just a note. We have huge temperature swings in our area. It can be -35C in the winter and +35C in the summer. It's a great place to "torture test" any outdoor application.
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I like it- may have to 'borrow that idea some time!!!
Good clean classy work!
-------------------- "Stewey" on chat
"...there are no limits when you aim for perfection..." Jonathan Livingston Seagull Posts: 7014 | From: Highgrove via Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | Registered: Dec 2002
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Clean! How long does the VHB Tape keep it's bond?? A long time I presume?? I always thought it'd loose it's adheasion if it wasn't "outdoor grade". If not, GREAT APPLICATION!!
Really, nice looking sign! One that I'd be really proud of!!
-------------------- Mark Neurohr "Ernest" Paintin' Place 141 Sunnyside Road Kittanning, PA 16201
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Hi Duncan. It's really stunning. The colors are nicely blended a third of the way in. What kind of paint did you use? Do you have a router to cut the letters?
-------------------- Deb Fowler
"It's kind of fun to do the impossible - Walt Disney (1901-1966) Posts: 5373 | From: Loves Park, Illinois | Registered: Aug 1999
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