Help Please! Mount Clear Acrylic Letters to Brushed Aluminum

[zebradog]

I'm new here, and this is my first post. I'm putting together a reception sign for a client. The acrylic letters are 1/2" high and about 5 1/2" high. They are clear, polished acrylic, except for the faces painted black to give a 3D effect. I need to attach them to a silver brushed aluminum back panel.

I need a recommendation for some type of mounting adhesive that will be be clear and hold together. I searched the internet and YouTube, but haven't found anything that I feel comfortable trying without a recommendation or some adhesive that actually was used in this scenario.

I've attached an example pic of what I've trying to do.

Any input is appreciated and thanks in advance.

Zebradog

 

[J Hill Designs]

If you have pieces to do tests, just try plain ol' silicone -- if used sparingly, it shouldn't be visible at all, yet still hold well.

 

[Graphic Destruction]

Another thought is reverse weed the letters out of brushed steel vinyl apply that to clear acrylic backer and use acrylic adhesive to glue the letters. You also get a mounting template already built in.

 

[Moze]

Lexel adheres better to acrylic and dries clearer than silicone. There's no such thing as an invisible adhesive though - there's always a chance you'll see portions of the adhesive since the letters are clear. You could use a few pieces of clear tape along with the Lexel, but again - you'll likely see it.

 

[PushProductions]

The picture looks to me like the aluminum is routed out and the letters just fit in place. I could be wrong but that's a possibility.

 

[zebradog]

If you have pieces to do tests, just try plain ol' silicone -- if used sparingly, it shouldn't be visible at all, yet still hold well.

That was my original thought, but I was thinking it wasn't strong enough and letters would eventually fall off. I was thinking of a bead down the middle of the letters and push it onto the aluminum to flatten the bead. Also thought of applying a thin coat to the letters, but don't know how even the coat would look. Unfortunately, I don't have extra pieces of acrylic, because the letters were outsourced. I'll keep this in mind and I appreciate your response.

 

[Billct2]

I think Push may be right about those being push thru letters

 

[zebradog]

Another thought is reverse weed the letters out of brushed steel vinyl apply that to clear acrylic backer and use acrylic adhesive to glue the letters. You also get a mounting template already built in.

Thanks for the reply. This is an idea our production guy had. He's the one putting the sign together. This might be the best option. I had the letters made to copy the look of my example pic, without really thinking how they were attached. I've seen several designs like this on the internet, with no explanation of how the letters are attached. I assumed we could just use a double sided clear tape, but there's the chance of bubbles or discoloration.

 

[zebradog]

Lexel adheres better to acrylic and dries clearer than silicone. There's no such thing as an invisible adhesive though - there's always a chance you'll see portions of the adhesive since the letters are clear. You could use a few pieces of clear tape along with the Lexel, but again - you'll likely see it.

This sounds interesting. Briefly looking at the website, it appears this to be a better option than regular silicone. I'll see about getting some pieces of acrylic and do some testing. Thanks for the reply.

 

[zebradog]

The picture looks to me like the aluminum is routed out and the letters just fit in place. I could be wrong but that's a possibility.

You may be right, but I've attached another pic of the sign being made. I didn't originally envision your thought. It looks like the acrylic pieces are being mounted with some type of tape backing. There could be outed out areas too.

 

[PushProductions]

Yea i cant tell much from the new picture. The only sign I see of it is on the first picture. On the T and E right on the tip of where i circled it seems to be a little gap.

Edit: If it is aluminium its pretty thick(Could possibly be another substrate wrapped in aluminum vinyl . It may not be routed out comptely it is possibly just routed 1/4 or so in. Doing this would take minimal glue to hold the letters in place.

 

[zebradog]

Yea i cant tell much from the new picture. The only sign I see of it is on the first picture. On the T and E right on the tip of where i circled it seems to be a little gap.

Edit: If it is aluminium its pretty thick(Could possibly be another substrate wrapped in aluminum vinyl . It may not be routed out comptely it is possibly just routed 1/4 or so in. Doing this would take minimal glue to hold the letters in place.

PUSH,

Now that you zeroed in on the pic, it does seem obvious that it's routed. Unfortunately, I can't do that, so I'll have to go with attaching the letters directly. I'll let everyone know how it goes and how it turns out. Any other ideas would be helpful.

 

[Chasez]

I agree with PUSH, it does look like the alum. panel has been routed (either all the way through or just a bit) and the letter sitting in. 3M has a thin clear adhesive tape that would probably work. I can't remember the name of it but it comes in different width rolls which you can lay a piece over the entire letter and cut it out then attach to the alum panel. I used to use the tape when I worked in my old sign shop. Another tape that we used was "tesa" tape, the **** will hold anything and comes in a clear and you can get it in different widths as well (not sure how wide though). Its a bit thicker than the 3m tape but would hold a bit better.

You will always see how you are going to attached it the way you are doing it in some sort of way, but put yourself in your customers shoes, I don't think they will be going over it with a fine tooth comb. Probably will all just sit in awe looking at the pretty new sign.

Chaz

 

[PushProductions]

This might sound crazy and be totally wrong but just an idea. What if you lay a permanent silver vinyl on the back of the acrylic and then glued/taped them to the aluminum substrate....

Signs101 members don't throw stones, just trying to come up with something!!!!

 

[ChaseO]

Lexel is good stuff. I use it in place of silicone all the time. But I agree with Moze that you're probably going to see anything, even if just a little bit. Just remember that you will likely be more critical than they will.

 

[zebradog]

I've been talking over some of the ideas with our production guy, and as I mentioned, the aluminum routing is out. Looks like we'll probably go with some type of double sided film or tape. I agree that it won't have to be perfect (although that's what I wanted), but it will be on a wall and should look good from a reasonably close distance. My concern with tape/film is making sure there are no bubbles or obvious imperfections. No ones going to be standing 6 inches away from it, scrutinizing it. I'll let you know how it goes.

I appreciate all the input.

Zebradog

 

[Chasez]

This might sound crazy and be totally wrong but just an idea. What if you lay a permanent silver vinyl on the back of the acrylic and then glued/taped them to the aluminum substrate....

Signs101 members don't throw stones, just trying to come up with something!!!!

That's not a horrible idea, depending on what the alum panel material is, there are brushed chrome vinyls (ie. Avery brushed chrome SF 100-840-S) that you could put on the back of the letter then tape. I would advise against using silicone on the vinyl as in my experiences the silicone overtime will make marks in the vinyl and you may see them. We had done an acrylic wall mural with subsurface print and the client didn't want to see hardware so we used silicone to hang the panels and over a month or two the silicone left almost like grease marks in the print.

Chaz

 

[zebradog]

Finished Sign Pics

To all that replied to my thread, thanks and I really appreciate it. Our production guy put the sign together, and I thought I'd post some pics. I thought it came out great. What he did was apply vinyl to the complete back of the letters. The vinyl he used is a light grey on the adhesive side. He applied this making sure that he got all the bubbles out. Then he applied the letters to the brushed aluminum with VHB. I was hard pressed to see the vinyl backing, and I'm sure once it's on the wall, it will look great. I'll upload a couple pics once it's installed. I'm very pleased the way it turned out.

 

[Moze]

Looks good. Which VHB tape was used?

 

[zebradog]

Looks good. Which VHB tape was used?

I don't know the exact tape part number. It is white, not clear, 3M tape.