Best Paint for sign foam?

[Signed Out]

Haven't painted sign foam before and looking for advice. We will be painting a routed sign foam 3 sign for exterior use. I have read through the material's tech info and it says you can use any type of paint or primer, only that latex may take longer to dry. So what type and or brand of paint do you recommend? The colors painted will be white black and gold, and will be painted with brush and roller. Also I need to match a paint to 3m 7125 satin gold vinyl. Does anybody know what paint would be a good match for this? Or should I take a sample of the vinyl to the paint store to have matched?

 

[FatCat]

I would first start with a quality primer and then paint it with anything you like. Typically, I have used Sherwin Williams outdoor Latex (Super Paint) coupled with their primer with good results.

 

[tbullo]

I've been painting sign foam brand for years, so I will give you my opinion. I have found that FSC-88 works really good even for brushing on. I've also used Jay Cookes sign primer. 9 times out of 10 times I will spray the primer unless it's a really small sign. Sign foam's SignPrime works ok, but the others seem to smooth out better in my opinion. After that top coat with your choice of paint.

 

[visual800]

Ive used just plain old benjamin moore and primed with latex flat, no need for all that high priced primer and other hoopla, this method will work just fine

 

[GVP]

2 coats Benjamin Moore Fresh Start primer , followed by Exterior Latex of your choice (I prefer matte). Ronan Aqua Leaf for a very nice "Gold" paint (but be prepared for at least 3 coats)

 

[Signsforwhile]

When sheets are delivered they get a light coat of fsc-88 immediately even if the whole thing is not being used right away. When they are prepped for paint then get 2 heavy coats of FSC-88 then sanded. This is the only way you can get a smooth glass finish on the HDU....we find. It's the only primer that has a high enough build to fill in the foam. I also like the fact that it is so thick and pasty allowing you to thin it to whatever consistency you want. After it's primed we either roll or spray with latex or oil depending on the budget and intended use.

 

[Signed Out]

2 coats of primer, killz premium latex. Going to use sherman williams matte black and white paint and Ronan aqua leaf gold. Ronan's Inca gold seems to be the best match to 3m 7125 satin gold vinyl but can someone confirm this for me? Talked to someone at ronan, they said if i mail them a sample of the vinyl they can tell me which is the best match but figured I'd ask here.

I posted about this last week but didn't really get a good answer. First, this project fell into our laps with the artwork posted and no real description of whether the shoulders of the lettering should be white or the color of the letter. This is our first painted 3d hdu sign, so I want to make sure I deliver a good product but I also dont want to kill myself doing so. I intended on painting the shoulders of the lettering to match the letters, ie gold around sheriffs and the bottom line, black on the rest. And I was going to paint the shoulder of the border gold. Now that I'm putting down the primer I realize that I will have a ton of tapping and steady hand painting to do... And that I probably should have had all the text cut seperately, paint it, then glue it on the sign afterwards... So the question for the 3d sign people, will this sign look like crap if i paint the shoulders of the lettering white like the background? Then I would roll on the black and gold paint on the tops of the letters. The text that is balck and gold will be painted gold and apply black vinyl. Thanks for your input. I now have a greater appreciation for sign painters, and even greater appreciation for teh advent of the computer.

 

[J Hill Designs]

I would do letter returns same as background

looks like you already have it routed, but what I do is finish paint all areas that will be raised copy, then mask and route, then paint background, then peel mask and you have a smooth finish to your letters already. then go about applying whatever overlays you need, and done

 

[Signed Out]

Yea that method makes sense. I dont have a router though, had it routed by our substrate supplier. If I paint the background and returns white, and then lightly roll on the black and gold to the top of the letters, do you think I can keep it from running onto the returns?

 

[J Hill Designs]

no, but its no big deal to go back and retouch em white

 

[Signed Out]

ok thanks. How about the ronan aqua leaf gold paint? Does anybody know if the inca gold would be the best match to 3m 7125 satin gold cut vinyl?

 

[DSC]

ok thanks. How about the ronan aqua leaf gold paint? Does anybody know if the inca gold would be the best match to 3m 7125 satin gold cut vinyl?

I used Ronan Paints once.. Then I decided to Stock all the gold colors.. They are so great.. I really can't say enough about them.. The swatches they send you are a little misleading, I actually usually end up blending them to get a match, which is pretty easy.. Best QUALITY alternative I have found if someone does not want to pay for leaf.

btw we use SignPrime .. don't use anything from Home Cheapot or Lowes .. use the best stuff, get the best results, get the best clients, get the best pricing.. there is no such thing as a shortcut with this stuff.. sorry to preach!

 

[tim h]

I would do letter returns same as background

looks like you already have it routed, but what I do is finish paint all areas that will be raised copy, then mask and route, then paint background, then peel mask and you have a smooth finish to your letters already. then go about applying whatever overlays you need, and done

what do you do with the paint build up around the rubber after you paint the background of a cnc routed or sandblasted sign? When i paint the face first when i take the rubber off the letters it leaves paint around my letters the thcknessof the rubber. I have ben doingthis for almos 3 years now ad when i have a whie background i gethis buil up.

Thanks Tim Appalachian Signs

 

[3Dsigns]

If I want my finish flawless and "glass-smooth"
I thin some FSC88 WB primer, with water.
Spray on with an HVLP gun with a 2.2mm tip (from Harbor Freight).
Let dry overnight
Take it outside on some sawhorses, covered with soft towels/rags
Get a water hose and wet-sand with 400 grit automotive sandpaper A rubber sanding block helps.
Rinse real good and let dry overnight
Tack rag it the next day and...
Spray two or three thin coats Sherwin Williams DTM acrylic latex, thinned with water 1 pt/gal, with an HVLP gun with 1.4mm tip.
Smooth as a baby's behind

But you can use any paint you want on HDU; I just prefer waterbased/acrylic latex

 

[tim h]

tim h

what do you do with the paint build up around the rubber after you paint the background of a cnc routed or sandblasted sign? When i paint the face first when i take the rubber off the letters it leaves paint around my letters the thcknessof the rubber. I have ben doingthis for almos 3 years now ad when i have a whie background i gethis buil up.

Thanks Tim Appalachian Signs

I do paint the lifted letters and stuff before i mask it off for routing or blasting but after i paint the background, and it is more with white paint because i have to use two more coates and brush most of it to get a real good cover the paint builds up on the rubbers side and when i pull off the rubber it leaves a 1/16" high edge around the rasied letters so i have to use my finger nail and go around everything that is rasied. with dark colors i just spay them and the paint layers are thinner and know build up.

 

[Jillbeans]

The best gold paint I ever used was Perma-Gild (Kemp's or Keep's, I can't recall)
The second best gold paint is Ronan's Aqua-Gild. It requires double coating but is super nice looking.
Novacolours also makes some lovely metallic paint.
I would "pat" it on with a 1" Foamie. (after all the other portions were painted)
Love....Jill

 

[rossmosh]

I do paint the lifted letters and stuff before i mask it off for routing or blasting but after i paint the background, and it is more with white paint because i have to use two more coates and brush most of it to get a real good cover the paint builds up on the rubbers side and when i pull off the rubber it leaves a 1/16" high edge around the rasied letters so i have to use my finger nail and go around everything that is rasied. with dark colors i just spay them and the paint layers are thinner and know build up.

I think you've answered your own question: You're putting too much paint down. It sounds like you need to take a bit more care when you're applying the paint so it doesn't build up so much. It also might be worth while looking into changing paint or just living with doing more, lighter coats.

Also I'm curious as why you keep calling the mask "rubber". I'm curious what you're specifically using for masking. There's a chance a thinner masking may work for you. For example, the Avery paint mask I use for routing is quite but holds up well to routing. Can't give you any suggestions about sandblasting.

 

[petrosgraphics]

we had used ben moore fresh start years ago. have been using j cooke *primer for some time, much better primer. you can finish the background in any latex color you wish. for your lettering you can finish the face of the letters with an oil base enamel and then cut vinyl color of your choice and with clear mask place the vinyl on the letters. works really well. *

 

[Cheezer]

Rubber stencil is used for sandblasting and paint does build up along the edge. However, it can usually be easily trimmed off when dried with a plastic scraper and a bit of skill or even your fingernail or a stiff bristle brush. Pre-finishing the surface before blasting will save you a lot of time and provide a much cleaner finished product. Well worth the cleanup time afterward as opposed to freehand painting the raised areas.

Not sure why anyone would be using rubber sandblast resist when router cutting??