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Setting studs into holes with silicone to hold them is industry standard. A typical stud length is three inches, which normally allows sufficient penetration into the wall. If you feel that, in your case, a penetration of 1" or 1-1/2" is not sufficient, use a stud longer than three inches...

Plasticizer migration is often the cause when the adhesive begins to lose adhesion. Plasticizer migrates to the surfaces of the vinyl—both surfaces—including the surface that’s underneath the adhesive. This is the natural result of aging. Even if the initial tack seems good, on older vinyl the...

Oracal 651 has a two-year shelf. Oracal 651 But what does that mean, a two-year shelf life? Does that mean it stops sticking after two years? Usually not. The initial tack may last for many years, even if the service life is reduced. Just because it "still sticks" does not necessarily mean it's...

Matthews makes a product for this purpose. It’s called a converter and allows you to mask and paint muutiple colors in one day. The converter changes a Matthews color coat into a fast-drying dead flat film that dries quickly, allowing for masking and painting the next color without the usual dry...

As jburton asked, what is a 3/4-inch "reveal" on a push-thru letter? Sounds like they want the letters to protrude three quarters. Unless they are specifying a 3/4-inch lip on the back of the letters. If the letters must protrude 3/4-inch, then the final thickness of the letters will be close to...

You will not find a supplier for these retainers. This is not an extruded knock-down kit. The retainers, as well as the returns, were made in the shop with a sheet metal brake. I've made hundreds of these signs. In the old days, they were formed of 16-gauge Paint-Lok steel or sheet aluminum in a...

Who decides what is "too low?" If your shop rate does not cover your overhead plus wages (including your own), that would surely be "too low," because you are below your breakeven point. On the other hand, if your overhead and wages are covered, and you have included a profit margin, can anyone...

Our company fabricates many of the brackets we use for corridor signs, sometimes by the hundreds. Often, a simple piece of channel aluminum mated to a flat mounting plate works just fine and can be manufactured cheaply in quantity. We don't worry too much about hiding fasteners. A...

A couple of points: There are around 1800 registered trademarks that use the name Kodiak. There are many companies that use the same name for trademarks without any issues. Even the use of the same letter style by two logos may be a non-issue. Trademark law is not designed to prevent "copying,"...

A couple of points: There are around 1800 registered trademarks that use the name Kodiak. There are many companies that use the same name for trademarks without any issues. Even the use of the same letter style by two logos may be a non-issue. Trademark law is not designed to prevent "copying,"...

Is painting not an option? Working from a pounce pattern, this could be accomplished even by a novice at hand lettering. I use soft, brown fitches (sometimes called a "blitz fitch"). Touch-ups, as needed, would be easy, especially if the graphics are black instead of blue, which could fade with...

What do you mean by “usual steel straps?” I see a lot of people using those radiator hose-style clamps. They are a lightweight clamp, tightened with a screwdriver, that often works, but they don’t have near the strength or permanence of a standard pole strap clamp, which requires a tightening...

Is a "window cling" the same as a self-adhesive decal?

Yes, I worked for Bill Hardin for a short time. That's where I joined the union. It was my first decent wage. $15.46 was the scale at the time ('77) for sign painters. The only true union shop I ever worked at—four trades represented: electrical, sheet metal, painters (IBPAT), and laborers. A...

Tedshock, When I started out in signs, flat cutout letters in thicknesses greater than a quarter-inch were rare. It may be that, back then, Gemini or Spanjer Bros. offered thick acrylic letters (1/2" thick or greater), with threaded holes in the backs. But I don't remember them if they did. The...

Norma, Thank you for posting this picture. We need to see more pictures of ACM failures, because we are using the hell out of this product. ACM is a beautiful thing. A game-changer, really, when you compare it to the old labor-intensive MDO plywood. And the way the panel is installed in the...

Pans have served two basic purposes. They improved light dispersion, since the face was farther away from the fluorescent lamps, allowing a cabinet to be narrower, yet without hot spots and shadows. A cabinet could be made lighter in weight, too, not so much an issue with aluminum cabinets...

The first thing I do is ask such a client: "So, you're anticipating that you will be in business temporarily?"...Then I wait for an answer, giving time for embarrassment to set in. Or sometimes, I'll say, "If you were installing light fixtures, or an awning, would you not drill holes? If I want...

The drawing by Moze is good. There is practically infinite variation of plastic pans among makers. There is no standardization, especially when you consider that many small shops have, or have had, vacuum tables for making these faces. Makers just did whatever they wanted. Brad in Kansas City

New artwork is usually better than trying to clean up poor artwork. An image off Shutterstock could help with creating acceptable sign work, but I always explain to a client that a logo design cannot incorporate images from image-licensing services. “Royalty-free” makes no difference. All...