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Exterior mounting of ACM or Maxmetal 6mm product without screws

M

Magman

New Member
We are going to flush mount a 6mm cnc cutout of a 4'x4' crossroads configuration for a client. It has reflective vinyl on it and we don't want to drill holes into the face. What is the best way to mount this outside securely so that it doesn't blow off the building. What hardware would you suggest? It is shaped like a "+" sign. I was thinking upper and lower and side zclips with an adhesive on the back side to keep everything in place. Any other suggestions or ideas?

Thanks guys,

Michael
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
What kinda wall is it ?? Do you have fluctuating temperatures from summer, to fall, winter and spring ?? If you do, you should be more worried about the safety and integrity of the sign and using physical fasteners than trying to keep it pretty.
 
JBurton

JBurton

Signtologist
Gino said:
What kinda wall is it ?? Do you have fluctuating temperatures from summer, to fall, winter and spring ?? If you do, you should be more worried about the safety and integrity of the sign and using physical fasteners than trying to keep it pretty.
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New and improved JBurton here, gonna try to avoid digging into questions so much moving forward.
F26 will stick almost anything to anything. Might not work though.
 
4

4DPB

New Member
What about something like Quick Snaps that you can mount with adhesive to the back? I have been using them quite often as cost effective with bi component glue.
 
M

Magman

New Member
JBurton said:
New and improved JBurton here, gonna try to avoid digging into questions so much moving forward.
F26 will stick almost anything to anything. Might not work though.
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So it a concrete wall and we have hot and cold weather here in Wisconsin and sometimes extreme wind gusts.
 
M

Magman

New Member
4DPB said:
What about something like Quick Snaps that you can mount with adhesive to the back? I have been using them quite often as cost effective with bi component glue.
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hmmm but aren't they mostly for interior signs? I know I can do it with 1/4 studs about 1.5" length, and drill pattern... But was looking for an alternative to that.
 
Texas_Signmaker

Texas_Signmaker

Very Active Signmaker
Sounds silly to be thinking about how you're going to install a sign AFTER you bid it, invoiced and produced the sign. I would of done it out of acrylic, stud mounted w/ silicone behind it. Not sure how well studs hold up in ACM. 1.5" sounds small.
 
JBurton

JBurton

Signtologist
Alright, ya got me. Either order studs and pads from gemini and use something like lords to bond them to the panel and drill and fill with silicone (or lexel if ya fancy) Scuff the crap out of the max metal where it will be glued, clean it with alcohol and let it dry well.
Z clip only works if its heavy and can't be installed in opposite directions. Now you could install both backwards and pop the panel in place, but that's gonna bend it.
 
M

Magman

New Member
Texas_Signmaker said:
Sounds silly to be thinking about how you're going to install a sign AFTER you bid it, invoiced and produced the sign. I would of done it out of acrylic, stud mounted w/ silicone behind it. Not sure how well studs hold up in ACM. 1.5" sounds small.
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Acrylic is too fragile in our cold weather and high winds. Nothing silly about anything here. I'm looking for other ideas to mount exterior panel signs as opposed to studding them, and siliconing them in.
 
M

Magman

New Member
Gino said:
Reconfigure. Use .063, make it 46"×46" and bend a 90 both top and bottom, screw a 45" 1"×1" angle to the wall and screw down through it on the top and upwards from the bottom.
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hmmm- will have to consider this one more...
 
JBurton

JBurton

Signtologist
I'll say quick snaps would not hold up outside in the least, unless you are going to bury the barrel in the wall so the sign is actually flush, even then, at best it would hold it to the wall while you wait for the silicone to set up.
 
gnubler

gnubler

Active Member
Some type of heavy duty edge grip hardware? I know you said flush mount, there are low profile standoffs out there. Paint the hardware to match the edge color of the sign?
so-apeg-app-600x600%202.jpg
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Those will never work outside. You get any decent wind behind that and it'll fly right off.
 
Billct2

Billct2

Active Member
Agree with stud mounting. But may want to reconsider material. Did something like that once with wo layers of 6mm, with counter sunk flat head bolts on the first layer, nuts on the back (also acts as spacer) then bond the face with vhb & epoxy. More secure than just pads
 
Texas_Signmaker

Texas_Signmaker

Very Active Signmaker
Acrylic holds up better than ACM in my opinion. ACM looks like shit after 4-5 years. Metal starts to delaminate, paint chalks off. I've removed 20-30 year old acrylic letters that still looked great.
 
B

bowtievega

Premium Subscriber
We hang alot of ACM panels (building numbers and such) with some home made stud cleats. We stud weld aluminum studs onto .040 aluminum cleats, mostly 2" wide and 4" tall. Apply a couple strips of VHB tape to back of cleat. You can then apply that cleat to the back of an ACM panel. That stud will help hang the panel on the wall until your adhesive sets up. PowerGrab Ultimate works pretty well for holding up panels and keep them from moving. Scuff up the back of the ACM to make sure you get a good bond.
 
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