REFLECTIVE: vinyl vs paint?

[TXFB.INS]

This is the follow up to my post about reflective pricing.

Seems the customer is making the signs himself and said that he was going to use reflective paint instead of vinyl, as paint is not only the better option in all aspects to vinyl but cheaper.

I have no experience with reflective paints and would like some input on them and what/when they are best used

 

[visual800]

pat whatley has used reflective paint maybe he will chime in. I just wanted to say ANYTIME a customer is handling anything its gonna be a disiaster in most cases

 

[Jillbeans]

If the customer is making the signs himself, I would charge 10X the amount than if he was buying them from me.
Are you saying you have to letter over (or warp or whatever) something he's bringing you?
I don't think I'd touch this job with a 10 foot pole even if I was starving and about to have my utilities shut off.
Love....Jill

 

[ICeMAnAbk]

This is the follow up to my post about reflective pricing.

Seems the customer is making the signs himself and said that he was going to use reflective paint instead of vinyl, as paint is not only the better option in all aspects to vinyl but cheaper.

I have no experience with reflective paints and would like some input on them and what/when they are best used

Keyword... cheap.

"Reflective" paint is paint with glass beads thrown on it when it's still wet. It's a rough surface, and usually you see it done a lot in a high visiblity area for road markers. It's messy, and if you're not a pro and throwing the stuff right, you waste a lot of material and most of the time don't even cover evenly anyway... Ive heard of people pre'mixing glass into their paint, which makes no sense, if the glass isn't ontop it doesn't catch the light and scatter it on the color propperly (since after all, it's covered in paint)

He wants cheap, cheap to the point he won't spend an extra few bucks to make it look good and sve himself the hassle of dealing with paint. I'd be hesitant of even dealing with this job. Hope the info on reflective paint helps.

 

[skyhigh]

This is the follow up to my post about reflective pricing.

Seems the customer is making the signs himself and said that he was going to use reflective paint instead of vinyl, as paint is not only the better option in all aspects to vinyl but cheaper.

Your customer is wrong. Don't assume he knows more than you.

I have no experience with reflective paints and would like some input on them and what/when they are best used

The only scenario where paint would be better than the film, is on an irregular surface where you can't stick the sheeting.

Your customer sound like a know-it-all D'bag. Find a better class of customer.

 

[TXFB.INS]

we are not doing anything to the sign,

I assumed vinyl was the better choice since that is what is required for emergency vehicles, etc...

since I have NO experience with paint I was wanting to confirm suspensions

yes this customer is VERY CHEAP, always has been always will be. and when it fails he comes back and gets charged an extra PITA from the original quote with a rush fee as he has now waited till the last minute.

 

[skyhigh]

http://www.reflectivepaint.org/Reflective-Paint.html

Here's an interesting link & read. Below is a small excerpt from the article.

There are two main variations of reflective paint – paint that has glass beads already in it when you apply it, or reflective paint that has glass beads sprayed on after the paint is put on (so they stick on). The latter is preferable, since it allows you to get a far more even distribution of glass beads. This does come at a higher price, however, but it is worth it if money is no object. In addition, something that will improve the visibility of reflective paint but that will also increase the cost is using smaller beads. The size of beads and balls that you use is vitally important, since having lots of smaller ones reflects the light a lot better than having less, larger glass balls. It goes without saying, but if you’re planning on applying the glass balls to your reflective paint by means of spraying, you’ll need to get an expert in who knows what he’s doing and that has all the correct gear to do so.

 

[TXFB.INS]

will be bookmarking this, thanks!