Bookkeeper Sign Layout - Layout Help

[jen.reelez]

Gotta love a client that takes their time to make up their mind. I've had them come to me two years later to say, go ahead and get started....

They must have been very busy within the past two years,
but glad to hear they have finally decided.. :Big Laugh

 

[briankb]

I have a bunch of Oracal 831 exhibition vinyl and I'm going to do a test on a scape piece of ply, I think for this it will do the trick. I don't want to buy a 50yd roll of 810s or 811.

 

[Gino]

Don't forget pic's.................



Good thing she's still using you. By this time, the other guy might be outta jail and she could save $250...........

 

[briankb]

The exhibition vinyl works ok but the edges were a bit inconsistent, which could very easily be attributed to my skill or lack thereof.

I used 3m edgelock tape to make the border and even it did not provide 100% clean edges... not sure I could have screwed that up so it could just be the pre-painted substrate the customer provided.

The white paint is Valspar Ultra Primer + Paint from Lowe's and White Semi-Gloss.

The green paint is Super Paint Gloss from Sherwin William's to Pantone 349 C. I tried to just get the paint from Lowe's but they didn't know how to match the color without a paint chip... despite having me provide them the exact hex, rbg, cmyk, and even the web link to color on http://www.pantone.com/pages/pantone/colorfinder.aspx?c_id=6742

So I gave up and called Sherwin William's, which is where I get the paint for my house anyway. He had a swatch book and the paint was ready the next morning. I'm not very impressed with the Super Paint. I used a 6" smooth poly roller and it took 4 coats to get full coverage. I was expecting much more for such an expensive brand... also there is hardly any gloss on the green.

I am having a hard time getting the Oracal 751 white vinyl to stick to the green and I'm afraid it will peel shortly after I hand it back to the client. I plan to give it a good spray of clear acrylic but that isn't going to make it adhere any better to the paint.

Details for Each Photos

1. 1/2" Plywood substrate provided by client to match existing sign
2. initial masking using Oracal exhibition vinyl for paint mask & 3m edge lock tape
3. close-up
4. detail of bottom left edge
5. detail of center left contour
6. 1st coat of SW Super Paint Gloss - Pantone 349 C
7. 2nd coat (2.25hrs later, ambient temp 68f)
8. 3rd coat (next morning)
9. after 4th and final coat to try and remove roller marks, removed border tape
10. after removing oracal exhibition vinyl

The current state of the sign is that I have placed the phone number on the bottom and I'm trying to let it adhere to the green paint. If it doesn't, I will just use paint mask and do those in the white super-paint that the client provided.

Thanks for ALL of the excellent help so far from everyone. I want this sign to be as gorgeous as possible. I don't have a photo of the current sign but I will try to get that and add it in a future post.

I would appreciate any suggestions or tips on getting the vinyl to stick to the green paint. Otherwise I will do paint masks for those and just use the white paint which I also have on hand.

 

[Jillbeans]

I do not use latex paints for backgrounds.
I use regular lettering or bulletin (oil based) enamel.
Paint mask and vinyl do not adhere well to latex paint.
I'd sand all that off and start fresh.

 

[briankb]

Well that explains it Thanks!

So I will use more of my stock of 631 to create paint mask for the white lettering.

I have a hplv sprayer, would anyone suggest I use that instead of a roller for the white lettering that will be stenciled, or the other side which will be an exact copy of this side?

 

[briankb]

I'd sand all that off and start fresh.

Really?

I'm fairly picky about attention to detail but the sign looks decent IMHO. Even if I wanted to start fresh, it would be faster and less work to get a new sheet of plywood and use a router with a pattern bit and make a new board than trying to sand the 7 coats of paint from this side, and 3 coats of white on the other plus the edges.

That said, I DO wish I had asked what type of paint to use before starting production on this project. I ASSumed the cast vinyl would stick to pretty much anything and especially fresh paint. Lesson learned

 

[Jillbeans]

At least it's pretty much sealed.
No matter what, you are not going to have good adhesion with the 751 on the latex.
Even if you use a paint mask and paint the lettering, it will bleed.
It's already been two years, I would start fresh.
I wouldn't use a roller for the lettering, I would dab with a 1" foam brush over the mask.

 

[briankb]

I would dab with a 1" foam brush over the mask.

I will do exactly that!

 

[Jillbeans]

Carefully heat the mask with a hair dryer before applying paint.
Pull mask off almost immediately.

 

[briankb]

What does the heat do?

 

[Jillbeans]

It will help the mask stay adhered to the sign so paint doesn't seep. But only do this if you really feel you need to do so.
(it could cause all those layers of uncured background paint to pull up)
I'm assuming that the mask is sticking about at well as the 751.
Heat may also help the 751 stay put.

 

[Gino]

I'm sorry, but may I ask..... what are you doing ??


Before you get in any further over your head, please post a mock-up of what the end results will be. It seems as if you are doing things in a wrong order.

 

[briankb]

Gino - I'm just learning and having fun

Doing signs, banners, and the like are no longer something our company pursues but it is still one of my personal interests and I was excited to work on this project despite the time gap.

This is the first side and I will concede that it could have been done better and more efficient. I plan to do the other side "better". In that respect I would appreciate any tips, tricks, or help anyone would like to provide. I'm working on this project throughout the week as I have time but mostly I expect to finish it up this coming Saturday.

I've attached a mockup but change the name and number.