tips on painting cold rolled steel

[d hard]

I am fabricating a sign frame out of cold rolled steel . I need to paint it correctly and i wondering if anyone could walk me step by step though the process. I am planning on using Mathews paint... kind of expensive.. is it worth the money? Is there a cheaper alternative?

Thank you in advance for all your time and consideration

 

[James Burke]

I am fabricating a sign frame out of cold rolled steel . I need to paint it correctly and i wondering if anyone could walk me step by step though the process. I am planning on using Mathews paint... kind of expensive.. is it worth the money? Is there a cheaper alternative?

Thank you in advance for all your time and consideration

Cold rolled steel doesn't have the scale on it like hot rolled steel, but I sill like to sandblast it anyway so it gives the primer extra "tooth".

With that said, however, cold rolled steel contains stress and will warp if you blast too long in one area.


JB

 

[signage]

steel is not the correct material to build this out of. If you do not get all edges of the steel sealed/covered, it will rust!

 

[John Butto]

Cold rolled steel is what they use for autos if I am not mistaken, and most sign cabinets years ago were made with 24 ga sheet metal. Use to wipe it down with xylol, zinc cromate prime and paint with enamels (when it had lead). So if you prep it right and put on a good primer what Matthews recommends with their paints you should not have a problem. And yes, Matthews is excellent paint.

 

[visual800]

Steel! Hate it! I'm so glad aluminum came into my life. It will always rust. I dont care how you treat, blast, lube, caress it, it is going to rust. We are ll aluminum and its all for the better

 

[rjssigns]

Sherwin-Williams latest direct to metal primer. Find your local S-W automotive paint store.

 

[Moze]

Sherwin-Williams latest direct to metal primer. Find your local S-W automotive paint store.

Agreed. Matthews is great but SW is as well and costs less.

 

[d hard]

What gauge aluminum do you use for this application? And what type of aluminum alloy do you use?

 

[ova]

Depending on the size, you might want to look into powder coating it.
More expensive, but will last a long time.


Dave

 

[d hard]

Dave are you talking about aluminum or steel?

 

[Moze]

What gauge aluminum do you use for this application? And what type of aluminum alloy do you use?

Details, man! What size cabinet, what shape, how high up is it being installed, is it being installed on a pole or on a wall, how close to the coast is it being installed....? There's no need for the extra time and expense of powder coating.

 

[signage]

As for aluminum most are done with extrusions made specifically for the sign industry.

 

[d hard]

Ok its goihg to be a led gas price sign. 97 in wide, 73 in tall, and 12 in wide. Its going to hang the top of the sign will be 14 ft off the ground. There are two exsisting rectangular steel poles 4 in wide by 12 in deep. If i make it out of aluminum how would i mount it to the pole.

 

[signage]

Fabricate a mounting bracket/system. This can be done several different ways!

 

[ova]

Dave are you talking about aluminum or steel?

Steel. There's a company in Shinston WV that has an oven big enough to do a car frame. Their specialty is race car frames. The guys brother owns Rocket Racing and he powder coats the frames for them after they are built.

I had some pieces of angle iron powder coated that I used to mount a routed sign made from wood. Had the color of the angle match the sign face so it blended. From a short distance you couldn't notice the angle.

Dave

 

[d hard]

Im new to this as you can see. Im actually a welder/ fabricator and have access to top ofthe line sheet metal brake and shear so im totally comfortable fabricating the frame i justneed to work out the rest as you can see. :Big Laugh

 

[Moze]

Ok its goihg to be a led gas price sign. 97 in wide, 73 in tall, and 12 in wide. Its going to hang the top of the sign will be 14 ft off the ground. There are two exsisting rectangular steel poles 4 in wide by 12 in deep. If i make it out of aluminum how would i mount it to the pole.

The materials you use will have to meet your local engineering requirements, so that has to be taken into consideration.

I would use 2" aluminum angle for the framing, then through-bolt one set of match-plates onto the sign cabinet and weld the other set onto the existing supports.

That's without seeing the exact setup. Pictures are always helpful, but that gives you a starting point.

 

[d hard]

What should i use to mount the aluminum frame onto the steel post...i believe the post are tubes.

 

[Moze]

You through-bolt a pair of steel match-plates to the aluminum frame. You weld the other pair of match-plates to the supports. You then bolt the match-plates together.

Similar to this: click

 

[signage]

Have you checked with the local authorities on what they require to do a jobs as you are intending to do?

Does it need to be UL approved, if you fabricate does it need engineering stamps, etc.?