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install small dedication plate to concrete

jtiii

I paid good money for you to read this!
I have to affix a 2"x5" aluminum plate to a concrete pedestal (see below)

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I was thinking about just putting down a tape mask and then coating the area with silicone, scratching up the back of the plate and sticking it on.
How should I be installing it ?
Thanks!
 

JBurton

Signtologist
How thick is the plate? You could weld studs to it, drill (carefully, precast capping is easy to crack) into the concrete, then use some hilti chemical anchor to fill the holes and insert the studs. Or just plain old silicone would hold fine, the cap is usually barely grouted down around here, so no matter how well adhered the sign is, somebody could just push the cap off the pillar...
 

unclebun

Active Member
VHB tape won't hold on raw concrete. Moisture gets in the concrete, the concrete chalks, sign falls off.

Epoxy can work.

Screws work.

Studs work.
 

Moze

Active Member
The tape will easily hold it in place until the silicone sets up. Once the silicone cures, you'll need a prybar to get it off. I've installed a ton of stuff on exterior bare concrete with that method and have never had a failure.
 

Gino

Premium Subscriber
I don't think tape with silicone will hold up a ton of anything for ANY length of time. fact - jack.
 

JBurton

Signtologist
IDK a great deal about concrete chalking to the point of getting silicone to let go, most letters on walls are really brick, and it sticks to that sh*t for eternity. I always like to ask how permanently they'd like something mounted, are we talking vandal proof, or just under budget? You want this thing excavated and displayed next to the pyramids in 2,000 years, or displayed on some punk kid's wall in 2 years?
 

Moze

Active Member
Exterior install. Bare concrete. Installed three years ago with about 100 others. Some inside, some outside, all exposed to the elements. Tape and silicone. Still up.

02.jpg


Exterior install. Bare concrete. Installed in January 2017, so it's been up for 6 years. Tape and silicone. Still up.

02_2.jpg


Multiples of these installed a few years ago with tape and silicone. Still up.

07.jpg


Heavy stainless steel plaques installed with tape and silicone in February 2020. Exterior. Still up.

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That was like a 5 minute search through pics. I install multiple parking garage sign packages every year with hundreds of tape-mounted panels at each one. It's almost always on bare concrete.

Pretty sure if a 5' wide aluminum panel sticks in place, his little 2" x 5" panel will stick.
 

JBurton

Signtologist
Not saying you're wrong, but these appear to be building walls, shy of that monument that sure seems to have the tell tale signs of stud mounting, but I believe all these walls have a coating, be it paint or sealant. For a little plaque, I doubt it'll fall off with silicone and tape, but I also doubt you'll need a crowbar...
 

visual800

Active Member
duct tape and silcone will work without fail. Place drops instead of lines. I use silicone to install a lot of stuff
 

Moze

Active Member
All of the photos are bare concrete. They're not sealed, painted, etc.

And my apologies, one clarification that I meant to include: Typical VHB tape (acrylic foam) does NOT work especially well on bare concrete. The tape that works best and was used in most of the examples I posted has the thick foam carrier with the thin layer of adhesive on each side.
 

JBurton

Signtologist
All of the photos are bare concrete. They're not sealed, painted, etc.

And my apologies, one clarification that I meant to include: Typical VHB tape (acrylic foam) does NOT work especially well on bare concrete. The tape that works best and was used in most of the examples I posted has the thick foam carrier with the thin layer of adhesive on each side.
I'm having a really hard time taking you seriously without a penguin avatar.
 
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