• I want to thank all the members that have upgraded your accounts. I truly appreciate your support of the site monetarily. Supporting the site keeps this site up and running as a lot of work daily goes on behind the scenes. Click to Support Signs101 ...

I'm officially retireing from doing race car lettering!!!!

Jeff

New Member
Way back I enjoyed lettering race cars, don't get me wrong they (race car people) have most always been a pain in the ____!

At least back in the "hand lettering" days you would typically get handed a list of what to put on them and be given free will to do as you like. It would give you a chance to be as creative as you wanted.

Obviously vinyl changed everything and now there are way to many "logos" to have to re-produce. Although I never got rich from lettering race cars, I also was not the cheapest one around doing them either.

It seems these days that the market is saturated with X or current races that were charged to much for lettering, have bought themselves some equipment, took a toilet seat lesson in design, and shazaam, we are puking out some of the most god awful crap we can lay our eyes on and seems to be racing to see who can do it the cheapest!

This is an online advertisement from one such individual here locally.

****SPECIAL****** FLORSCENT YELLOW**************
laminated florscent yellow numbers so wont fade $55 roof both doors for a limited time add a standard color outline or shawdow to it for free
cant beat that florescent yellow numbers with shadow or outline for $55 get yours now while supplies last

*****PLEASE SHARE****

I say have at it...it's been fun...but I'm out of the race to race car poorness!:thumb:
 

Jillbeans

New Member
With spelling and pricing like that...they deserve dealing with whoever answers their ad.
Let them all dissolve into a tumbleweed of @ssholes.
:smile:
I am down to only one a year, supply only, and I just did the last one I will ever do.
Love....Jill
 

synergy_jim

New Member
I've said it a hundred times.... You want the drag racers. They spend money on their cars.... round round turn left drivers want it for free....
 

Stanton

New Member
There is so much money to take in this industry.

I did paint jobs and numbers and local sponsors on race cars as a young sign artist.

Speedway 117. On the border of US and Mexico. Couple of decades ago.
PM me for details.

Now renamed Hwy 905 and row houses. Circle track is long gone.

I did not stall there.



ALWAYS do stuff just beyond your ability.

Nobody wants to pay you what you are worth. Everyone always wants the bast price
on a washing machine or stove, right?

Who makes the best product? Some people are willing to pay the price.

Be that provider.



Stretch your talent. This is a business like any other.



Sure it is fun and what we like to do... but, we have bills like everyone else.


Just totally lost track of what I was saying.


PM me...

Just jot back from an MRI and my ears are still numb.


-Glenn
 

Z SIGNS

New Member
I understand your grief.
Yes a lot has changed in the past 30 years.

I see it like this.

The cheap plotters and printers have have created a fork in the road of traditional sign crafting for the small to medium size sign shop.

The one road leads to a cesspool that's filled with maladroit designers and craftsman and joining them are the customers who don't know the difference and
only look at price.The customers down there are looking for the cheapest and the sign providers down there are all competing for this.
What a joke and an ugly place to be.

We all know what the other road is.

Hang in there
 

TheSnowman

New Member
My cousin and my uncle both race. I don't have a ton of trouble doing their stuff because it's always the same stuff each year, so once it's in the computer, it's no big deal. However, I do tell them the deal is that they can't tell anyone where they got it, and they pay well above normal price for the same stuff, because as soon as they pick it up to put it on the car, it's always "Oh, I need one more thing!"...it just never ends because they never let me just design the entire car, or plan it all out on their end.
 

SignManiac

New Member
Nobody beats my price. I will pay each race car guy $2000. To letter their car if they will let me tag their car!
 

Pat Whatley

New Member
There was a guy at the local motocross track who was doing trailer wraps for $1.75 per square foot. You could order them at one race and he'd install them at the dirty, dusty track the next race.
 

mesheau

New Member
Funny, we're getting into the race scene more seriously. We're taking a different approach though. I've been building this off and on for the last 6 months.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOarRuyulyg&noredirect=1


Did you really just post that? Gimme a break.

So any race car driver can use your tool to design their cars? So, when did they become a designer? Prime example of whats wrong with the industry.

If I tried to use some free webapp to design a house and took the plans to a builder he'd laugh in my face.
 

particleman

New Member
Did you really just post that? Gimme a break.

So any race car driver can use your tool to design their cars? So, when did they become a designer? Prime example of whats wrong with the industry.

If I tried to use some free webapp to design a house and took the plans to a builder he'd laugh in my face.

yep, Ignorance is bliss
 

ChaseO

Premium Subscriber
I think that vid was pretty cool, but plan on seeing your designs and colors printed off and taken to their sign guy to be reproduced.
 

particleman

New Member
I think that vid was pretty cool, but plan on seeing your designs and colors printed off and taken to their sign guy to be reproduced.

Thanks, everything is watermarked, but that is just part of it unfortunately. We don't touch/reproduce other shops designs out of courtesy, looks like generally that is the way others handle it here also.
 
Top