Plastic wood look for your signs

[SignManiac]

Thought I'd share this with you guys. I doubt most people in the industry are aware of this product I discovered a few years ago and have used on a variety of projects.

It's a solid PVC siding product called Frontier Board manufactured by Azek. http://www.azek.com/azek-trim/styles.html
It has a subtle wood grain texture molded into the face. It comes in board sizes up to 18' long x 11.25" h. I glue it up just like I would with ordinary wood to make blanks for sign faces and backgrounds. Unlike wood, it won't rot and it's reasonable in price. It's not as rustic as a sandblasted sign would be, but it still gives a nice effect.

Here's a sign I just finished last week. On the Hut#8 sign, we glued up four boards using biscuits, polyurethane glue and pipe clamps. We then hacked out the sawtooth ends, and in this sign we inlaid the logo from regular PVC. The logo was cemented to the background. The second shot shows a close up of the grain detail.

The Lighthouse sign uses the same material and techniques for the green background. The YMCA sign also with some additional inlay work.

This is a good way to get the look of wood on your signs if the job calls for it.

 

[Salmoneye]

OK, I am going to take a lot of crap for this but I don't care. The only signs that I make are signs I can print or cut off of my XC-540. I see a beautiful sign like the lighthouse sign you have there and I wouldn't even know where to start. Would you mind educating me and going through the basic steps that were required to create that sign?

 

[signgal]

I think he did a pretty darn good job of that in the op. I was shocked that he went into that much detail. The man is obviously a maestro at this type of sign making (if you've seen any of his other work) and you wouldn't ask a maestro to show you how to conduct a symphony.

Beautiful work, maniad and thanks for the info!

 

[tcorn1965]

Very Nice!

 

[Circleville Signs]

That's really cool substrate! Thanks for sharing. I think i might go order some now - been meaning to re-do our sign for the past 3 months, and now I feel excited about it!

Salmoneye,

It really isn't as difficult as it looks - I mean, it is, but with some basic knowledge, it isn't.

PM me and I'd be happy to share some techniques with you, as I'm sure, would a few others here.

Gary

 

[SignManiac]

Salmoneye, no reason why you couldn't add these kind of signs and the additional revenue to your printed work.

I started with a 2"x2" aluminum framework. This was to give the sign added stiffness and support for the two post it was being installed between. I glued up the frontier board for the background and cut it to shape. The lighthouse lettering was prismatic carved on the router table but you could easily order letters from Gemini or any of the other letter manufacturers, or find a local CNC guy to cut them out for you.

I also carved the lighthouse graphic on the CNC from a photo I converted to replicate the actual lighthouse. I glued and screws the background to the aluminum along the edges and then hid all of the fasteners with the edge molding I made. All paint is Behr's premium exterior latex house paint.

Thats all there really is to it. Try to make a few samples for your shop and then you should have no trouble selling this kind of work. This sign could have been made with basic wood working tools and the carving done with chisels by hand. It's not hard to do at all.

 

[Salmoneye]

Thank you for the simple and informative answers. I really appreciate it. I have tons of construction tools (I have about 40 rentals that I work on myself) but I never seem to get creative with this kind of stuff. Maybe you have inspired me. What type of material did you use for the edge molding and what process do you use for the curved piece. I will also check out one of the letter manufacturers.

 

[SignManiac]

The edge molding is HDU. You can easily cut the curved section with a good saber saw and then you run a hand router around the inside edge with a double ogee bit for the detail. I mitered the intersection corners and the rest of the runs were straight sections and mitered.

 

[TheSellOut]

Great Work and thanks for the substrate tip!

 

[Salmoneye]

I have seen some flexible vinyl type trim with a wood grain before. Do you think that any of it is flexible enough to be bent like that out of straight stock and just mitered at the ends? I just saw your post Gary, thank you. What software do you use to produce 3d files for the router from photographs like that? I have cs4 but have only used it for 2d work.

 

[John L]

Really nice work SM. I also find Azek a much, much better value, I think cause it isnt marketed as a "sign supply" product. We buy the smooth Azek in 1/2" and 3/4" 4x8 sheets from a roofing supplier for about a 35% savings over sign supply houses. I never bought the textured, thats a great idea. Those signs will last a long long time (you trying to put us out of business, hahaha).

 

[JoySigns]

Thanks for sharing the material idea. Those are very nice looking signs.

 

[Mosh]

I put that on my house when I built it. Good stuff, never passed my mind to make a sign out of it.

 

[ChiknNutz]

Cool idea, thanks for sharing. Do you buy it locally or have it shipped?

 

[SignManiac]

Here in Florida I get if from Dixie Lumber Co. I get it shipped but they do have a minimum order for the shipping. I usually meet the minimum because I buy my 5'x10' sheets of spoil board for the router table at the same time.

Here's the last price I paid for it. Frontier Board 3/4" 12" x 18' $74.41 ea. One board cut in half, glued up will yield a nice 2' x 9' sign blank for $80.00 which aint bad.
I believe you can go to Azek's website and find a local distributor in your area.

 

[wes70]

Thanks Maniac. I'll be checking my local building supply store too see if they carry Azek.

 

[GP]

Thanks!

- and congratulations on the sign work. Looks incredible.

GP

 

[Pat Whatley]

Looks a whole lot like the stuff you see on playgrounds.