Prime and paint aluminum

[sign_noob]

Customer has an old stop sign. He wants to have vinyl lettering put on it but sign is pretty dirty and needs to be sandblasted.

I want to sandblast the sign, prime it and then paint it. Then I can put his business logo and name on it with vinyl lettering.

Does anyone have any primer and paint recommendations for vinyl lettering?

Could I use Rust-Oleum Self-Etching Primer and if so, what would you suggest for paint?

 

[rossmosh]

You can apply vinyl as the base. Then you don't need to paint.

If you want to paint, just about any red enamel will work. On a job like this, Rustoleum is probably a good choice. Otherwise Ronan make good enamels. One Shot is no longer recommended, especially in red. If it was a larger job I'd recommend DTM paint or Sherwin Williams Latex Enamel.

 

[TXFB.INS]

with the amount of time that you will spend prepping the old sign it is usually cheaper to use new material.
If it is a custom shape use the old sign as the template and go from there.

the fasted way is use vinyl and color change the substrate then overlay the logo
instead of painting the background and then applying the logo

 

[player]

You can't just paint raw aluminum and expect it to adhere.

 

[sign_noob]

Fortunately, he doesn't want it to be painted red. Just a solid white background with black and red letters and graphic. There isn't any way for me to clean the aluminum good enough to simply just overlay with a sheet of white vinyl so that is why I was hoping to sandblast it and prime/paint it. I suppose that I could prime it and then lay down a layer of vinyl but I would think it would look better if it was primed and then painted. I already have a 30x30 sheet of aluminum that I could cut and I have signabond but he didn't want that. Has to be his aluminum for whatever reason. Some people get attached to their junk I guess.

I'm going to try the rustoleum primer but I really want to make sure that whatever paint I use, the vinyl will adhere to it. I would imagine any automotive enamel paint would work.

Any insight?

 

[player]

When I said paint, I also mean primer. It's not the vinyl sticking to the paint, it's the primer/paint sticking to the aluminum that's the problem.

 

[Gino]

Retreads are still doable, so if done properly, you could completely sandblast this, prep it, primer it and then apply a coat or two of top paint. If someone wants something bad enough, they must be prepared to pay to do it correctly or just let go of it and start with a new panel. You can buy ready made .080 stop sign blanks in white, if need be.

 

[OldPaint]

iam confused.......
you say its ALUMINUM.........you want to sandblast it??? then cover with vinyl..........how distressed can this sheet be if its aluminum, that you cant take a DA or oscillating sander to it to get it clean enough to just lay down white vinyl???
iam sensing.....you really are in over your head.
if it is an old STOP SIGN.....it is more then likely .80 metal, which aint cheap. and painting it is a waste of time!!!!!!

 

[Brink]

how distressed can this sheet be if its aluminum, that you cant take a DA or oscillating sander to it to get it clean enough to just lay down white vinyl???

+1 on sanding it smooth then using a white vinyl base. No paint needed.

 

[sign_noob]

+1 on sanding it smooth then using a white vinyl base. No paint needed.

I appreciate everyone's help here. It sounds like painting is just not going to be as easy as I would have thought. Obviously you have more experience with this so I am going to take your advice. I'm going to hit it with a sander and I'm going to lay down some white Orafol 751 vinyl (He wants that glossy cast look over a matt calendar look).

Sounds simple enough and I'm glad I asked. No need to make it anymore difficult right?


Thanks again!

 

[rossmosh]

Painting is easy. Anyone could paint a piece of aluminum in their backyard. You sand down the aluminum. Prime it. Paint it with some enamel paint. Sand it. Paint it again. Final wet sanding may be required if you're looking to do an A job.

It just happens that it's a lot faster and easier to sand the aluminum down and throw some white vinyl down. It won't last as long as the white paint will but it will last as long as the other vinyl on the sign and it should be a hell of a lot cheaper and faster.

 

[Jillbeans]

Spare yourself a world of grief and just buy a new blank.
The amount of time and effort you are going to put into "fixing" something is worth more than just starting fresh.
Love....Jill

 

[Marlene]

Grimco sells blanks from 24" up to 48" stop sign shaped at would be much cheaper and easier than re-working the used one

 

[player]

After you prime and paint your aluminum in your back yard and it has dried, try sticking some 3M 233 masking tape to the panel, then ripping it off. That is what is called the tape test. There is a good chance your method will fail. It is hard to get paint to bond to aluminum. As I recall we used to use a metal etching primer that has to be sprayed on after the aluminum is properly chemically sanded and degreased. The coat used has to be very very light, and the etch was a translucent light green. Then we would prime and paint with industrial coatings. Even with these steps, it still was not guaranteed we would be able to get a good bond.

 

[rossmosh]

After you prime and paint your aluminum in your back yard and it has dried, try sticking some 3M 233 masking tape to the panel, then ripping it off. That is what is called the tape test. There is a good chance your method will fail. It is hard to get paint to bond to aluminum. As I recall we used to use a metal etching primer that has to be sprayed on after the aluminum is properly chemically sanded and degreased. The coat used has to be very very light, and the etch was a translucent light green. Then we would prime and paint with industrial coatings. Even with these steps, it still was not guaranteed we would be able to get a good bond.

http://www.amazon.com/SEM-39683-Grey-Etching-Primer/dp/B000GTIRAU

Again, a job that can be done in your backyard if you wanted to.