Need Help Flat cut acrylic installation 6mm thick

[rex rubens fernandez]

Hello, new member from the Philippines. Its an honor to be a part of handy people in this forum and would like to ask for your expertise.

Ive read some discussion and im facing a bit of challenge right now. unfortunately we dont have those lexel brands, those mounted studs for installations. the closest i could get for international brand is Selleys and some 3" flat screws as make shift studs.

my client wants a flat cut acrylic signage since they cant afford an acrylic build up. my current challenge is that we are installing it outdoor with a bit of rough texture on the wall around 12ft from the ground.

ive posted some test laser cut for you to see my progress. drilling on the letters seems to be not an option and putting a flat screw as a make-shift stud is a bit of a challenge since you can see the head on the acrylic. i was thinking of using a construction bond or selleys liquid nails with double sided tape what do you think. maybe you have some tips and advices.

cheers!

 

[vincesigns]

You will want to find something like this in your local market. Here is a link to Gemini website Dimensional Letters, Logos & Plaques | Gemini

 

[rex rubens fernandez]

Thank you for the advice. we dont really have that here so we made our own stud. we used 3mm and 6mm boss studs. and bind it with acrylic cement. hope it would last

 

[visual800]

do you have silicone? We would sand the hell out of the back of that and use silicone. GE makes a brand from Lowes that we use quite a bit, can you not order silicone?

What you have done might certainly be fine but as a rule i do not use Liquid Nails, it is not a great flexible adhesive for lettering

 

[Billct2]

I agree with vince, use studs and blocks. Hard to believe a country as big as yours doesn't have access to pre made acrylic blocks & adhesive, most of it comes from over your way.
But you can make your own with scrap pieces of acrylic. One way is to cut blacks of acrylic and flush mount flat head bolts to the blocks (you have to countersink the head) then fasten them to the backs of the letters. The nut is your spacer.

 

[The Big Squeegee]

to from OK

 

[Gino]

Nothing to do with what part of the world you're from, but what thickness are you using ?? It looks cheap and flimsy for what you're describing. They should be at least 1/2" thick or better. Tap the back sides for your threaded rod and glue in place. Drill the wall and fill with silicone cementing adhesive. If you want space off the wall, use a spacer, even washers will work.

 

[Marlene]

the problem I see is you can see the mounting thru the face of the letter. can you get an opaque white acrylic? that looks like the type you would use for a back lite sign face.

 

[Billct2]

Oops I didn't notice the pic showing the sloppy job you did using the method I described and I also didn't notice what eagle eyed Marlene did, the shadow on the front of the letter.
You used the wrong white, it should be opaque. At this point you can either redo the job or cover the faces with vinyl. And when you use the homemade stud backs place them away from the edge and nut down the bolt so it stays straight and gives you a spacer.

 

[CanuckSigns]

you want to use the gemini acrylic pads that are already pre tapped, just glue them on and you are good to go. Gemini just started operating out of Australia is I remember correctly, they might be able to ship you some since they are pretty small.

 

[rex rubens fernandez]

unfortunately, we are divided into different islands. since we are not the capital of the country, we dont have access. local signmakers are telling me that they do make things from scratch like cutting down the head of the screw to act as studs and etc.

we do have silicone but the silicone we have here is for glass. the one they use for putting in between the glass.

an update of my work, we are actually making the boss studs out of scratch and used acrylic cement solvent as binder. its pretty strong. try forcing it down and its not budging.

 

[rex rubens fernandez]

the problem I see is you can see the mounting thru the face of the letter. can you get an opaque white acrylic? that looks like the type you would use for a back lite sign face.

yes. there is a dark spot because of the screw's head.haha we are actually cutting it down and making a boss stud out of scratch. i hope this works.haha

 

[rex rubens fernandez]

you want to use the gemini acrylic pads that are already pre tapped, just glue them on and you are good to go. Gemini just started operating out of Australia is I remember correctly, they might be able to ship you some since they are pretty small.

ill be checking into that. we have access to china but they want it in bulk.

 

[rex rubens fernandez]

Oops I didn't notice the pic showing the sloppy job you did using the method I described and I also didn't notice what eagle eyed Marlene did, the shadow on the front of the letter.
You used the wrong white, it should be opaque. At this point you can either redo the job or cover the faces with vinyl. And when you use the homemade stud backs place them away from the edge and nut down the bolt so it stays straight and gives you a spacer.

yes. its pretty unprofessional work. but here is an update.

 

[rex rubens fernandez]

Nothing to do with what part of the world you're from, but what thickness are you using ?? It looks cheap and flimsy for what you're describing. They should be at least 1/2" thick or better. Tap the back sides for your threaded rod and glue in place. Drill the wall and fill with silicone cementing adhesive. If you want space off the wall, use a spacer, even washers will work.

unfortunately, client is trying to lessen the price. within budget, they can only afford 6mm. it was kind of stupid of me offering that kind of thickness.

 

[Billct2]

yes. its pretty unprofessional work. but here is an update.

Those look much better