Photopolymer - how to mimic a cast plaque in 1 hour.

[MikePro]

initially was going to engrave/route this project out of 1/2" aluminum, but our router has been bogged down with work this month, so this donation plaque went from "sure, we can do that for you!" to "%^&*, how am i gonna get this *&(% done in a DAY?!?"

photopolymer to the rescue!
was able to salvage a chunk leftover from our last batch of ADA signs, exposed with rubylith, and came out like a charm! (first image)

next headache. no time for two coats of paint, nor the drive to mask, paint, peel, mask, paint, peel, clearcoat. We sometimes screen our copy, but i wanted a chrome finish for the lettering.
solution? laminate chrome vinyl with paintmask, cut, and apply. (second image)

two coats of Krylon Satin Black, with a bit of texture to coverup how horrible of a painter I am (third image), and I was ready to peel off my mask 10min. later (fourth image)
going to add a couple coats of clear to seal it all together, but the finished product looks pretty darn good for a 1hour-flip!

 

[Finishline Signs]

Very nice work!! I really like the way that turned out.

 

[tattoo.dan]

Looks good! Nice quick thinking!

 

[Stealth Ryder]

Very Nice...

 

[bachaar]

very nice

 

[MikePro]

initially made this to be a temporary placeholder for the aluminum plaque, buuuuut this actually turned out pretty darn good! everyone was so grateful and happy I was able to come through at the last second that I didn't even bring up that I had gone a different direction with the project.

maybe a few years down the line I'll swap it out with the real deal. good incentive to learn how to run our router and be able to take care of these things myself in the future.

everyone cringes at the thought of "free work", but this one felt really good. 21 years attending/working at this camp and now I can officially claim a piece of it as my own.