Going to be doing some aluminum signs that will need to hold up outside as long as possible. They are all 4'x8' and need to be .063 and I need 3 different colors. I can only find them in white so I need to find a way to make 6 green, 4 yellow, and 4 red. NGlantz said I can scuff the surface and paint with an enamel but I'm wondering if that will hold up. I'll be applying vinyl to the sign after it's painted. Will painting work or should I get them powder coated? Or do you know of any suppliers who sell those colors in .063. I've found them in .040 but I think it's too thin
Thanks
This might sound a stupid question but why aren't you using Dibond?
8x4ft is a standard sheet size. White, Green, Yellow & Red are all standard colours, no painting no farting about. Colour warranty on Dibond is 5 years exterior life at a minimum.
If you must use aluminium I wouldn't think powder coating is an option. Many coating firms don't like re-coating panels which already have some kind of paint on them. Powder coating works best on bare metal and there is an etching and cleaning cycle which needs to be carried out for aluminium.
Spraying a full 8x4 sheet will require a proper booth and a very good quality gun. Cheap guns aren't worth buying... trust me. The difference between a DIY store gun and something like a Devilbiss or Iwata is like night & day. I would personally use 2 pack colour with a super UV resistant clear coat. Enamel is OK but it'll probably be too thick to spray unless you thin it heavily.
The last option is the easiest... face the White panels in a good quality cast vinyl colour. You can do this yourself by hand, alternatively find someone local and get them to run the sheets through a board coating lam machine.
