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should i paint or spray instead of flood-coating sign?
Hi everyone. I have two signs I need to flood coat 8′ x 2′. I don’t have a laminator and am unsure whether to use vinyl (maybe too many bubbles, as I work on my own and it’s a rather large area for me to do single handedly). As an alternative I was thinking of painting/spraying the forex classic substrate. Is there a special/specific paint which is used for such a task? Thanks all 😀
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12 Replies
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Vinyl should be okay Michael,try it wet if your not confident doing it dry.
An acrylic based paint(i think) is the stuff to use and use a decent foam roller which you’ll get quite easily from your local diy shop 😀 -
Thanks Fred 😀
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I just recently spray painted some letters, they are 5mm Foamex and half of the letters needed to be brown and the others black. I got a satin brown spray paint from Homebase and it came out brilliantly and smooth, the satin also makes the finish look the same as the black because it is not gloss but if you are doing all the letters then gloss if fine because there will be nothing to compare it to.
Remember to do lots of thin coats and not a few thick coats.
cheers
Warren
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Warren that might be ok for small letters mate but I think you would struggle to get a good even finish using an aerosol on an 8×2 panel !
You’d need a proper spray gear. . . ( btw did you prime the surface of the foamboard before applying the paint ? )
Michael, don’t mess about with paint. . just flood coat it. . take your time and do it dry, foam boards like forex etc etc are some of the easiest substrates to flood coat, Use a nice new hard felt squeegee and you shouldn’t have any problems with scratches or bubbles. . . . ! -
Thanks Warren/Dave. I’m going to flood coat. I’ll take my time as suggested. Has anyone had any experiences with this piece of kit. seems really cheap for a laminator of that size. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1600mm-ELECTRONIC-COLD-LARGE-LAMINATOR-BRAND-NEW_W0QQitemZ370044416699QQihZ024QQcategoryZ46742QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
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May I ask for some clarification of terms? When you refer to foamex, are you referring to the high-density foam that you can route and cut 3-d letters out of – over here that’s called HDU, or are you referring to the thin foam board with the smooth paper face – which we call foam-core or gator board. I ask because I have experience with painting HDU foam; it needs to be primed very well with a few coats of water based primer before applying oil based enamel or else over time the enamel will disintegrate the foam. I wouldn’t want to say that’s what you need to do if that’s not what you’re talking about however. That certainly wouldn’t apply to foam core.
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kimberly
this is what we call foamex, foamalux etc
it’s a foam PVC sheethttp://www.brettmartin.com/semifinished … e_2005.pdf
there are many differnt brand names and finished, Gloss faced etc. very good and light weight for internal, goes brittle outside after a few year because of UV, and can warp a lot due to heat of the sun.
Ian -
Hi Michael!
If your getting a laminator, go for the ezytaper!!.
Bril for floodcoating & you can even laminate your full-colour prints on it.
I always use vinyl on panels.
Regarding the letters, I rub the surface of the foamex letters with 3M scotch-brite 07448, then after wiping with a tac-rag they’re sprayed with 2-pac car paint.
Great results!
Good luck with yours.
Philip -
Hi Michael
I would flood with vinyl too these days.
I will say though, that back in my signwriting days I sold some panatrim signs with foamex inserts to a local pub. He was very specific about the colour and I painted the foamex with ordinary gloss paint and a roller, two coats of primer, one coat of gloss, befrore signwriting them.
They are still up and look as new. That was around seven years ago.Tim
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i agree with flood coating, when doing a large area like that, ensure the the panel is dead flat, this helps eliminate bubbles, lay the vinyl flat across the panel, then apply the last 12" with plently hanging over the end to hold onto, the it also helps to roll the remaining vinyl onto a 4ft core, keep this taught and it stops the vinyl sagging at the edges, which is where you’re most likely to have bubbles as it touches too soon,
if you don’t have 4ft tape (like me), then apply two lots of 610, but ensure that where it might overlap along the centre, to run along the edge of the overlap with the edge of a squeegee blade, this ensures no air is under the overlap edge and will not leave a line of tiny bubbles at the join.
Hugh
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Hi all
I have always found that a good alternative, and in some ways giving a better end result, is to roller coat Foamex (etc) with screen printing ink. Marler Polyplast or similar from others gives great results.
Use a foam, not mohair, type roller and be prepared for the roller to need changing frequently if you are coating a lot of panels. They tend to swell up when you use the radiator size (100mm long) rollers or delaminate from the plastic core when using a "glosser" (7" & 9") type roller, due to the solvent in the thinners attacking the foam.
Keep your workshop well ventilated too! The fumes can be quite harmful when breathed in a confined space.
I wouldn’t use oil-based paint as it doesn’t "key" bery well and can often be scartched off with the back of a fingernail.
Hope the tips help.
Rick
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Thanks everyone for your advice. Hugh – I think that’s where I went wrong before, by not keeping the roll out vinyl tight around a core, I ended up having trouble with the vinyl sagging and touching the substrate just before I arrived with the squeegee! 😀
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