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can i use clear-coat on vinyl onto Aluminum material?

Posted by Darrell on 16 May 2006 at 00:01

My question is, I usually just make small indoors signage but recently was offer a job of doing a 3′ x 8′ aluminum sign for an auto center. My concern is the durability or life of my work outdoors. I use LG Chem. vinyl which is rated 6 years outdoor. Can this be extended by using a good urethane clear coat over top of the vinyl? Is there special prep work that can be done to extend the life of this sign when using aluminum and vinyl?

What would be the best brand of clear coat to use with a brush or a spray can for vinyl and paint?

Better yet, maybe I should scrap the idea of using vinyl and just paint the design onto the aluminum… What do you all think would be best?

If I decide to go with painting the sign, what would be a good going rate to charge per sq ft? The design is nothing difficult by far. Only 3 colors and nothing complex either.

Thanks for reading,
Darrell

(mod-edit) please read board rules

Checkers replied 19 years, 4 months ago 4 Members · 9 Replies
9 Replies

Shane Drew

Member
16 May 2006 at 04:45

Hi Darrell, and welcome to the site.

It is against the rules to post your email address tho, so I suspect the mods will delete that when they log on in the UK morning.

Vinyl on aluminium goes well, as long as the ally is cleaned and preped properly.

The manufacturing process is oil based in the finishing stage, so it is not uncommon to have an oily film on the product when you buy it. This also reduces scratching in the storage stage.

Clean the surface with IPA or similar, really well, don’t think near enough is good enough, as it will be the only down fall. I am assuming you want to flood coat a colour over the ally?

A urethane membrane will work, but a quicker option would be to laminate with a Tedlar UV film. It is expensive here, but being a USA product, probably much cheaper there.

If I need to do a colour change here, I powder coat it. Or use one of the new ally sign products like Dibond, CBond or Alugbond.

Cheers, hope that helps.

Shane
Checkers

Member
16 May 2006 at 13:00

Hiya Darrell,
Putting 6 year vinyl on aluminum and clear coating it is, imho, a waste of time and effort. If you want the sign to last, buy HP cast vinyl, like 3M or Arlon/Calon.
Painting is an option, but oil based sign paints have suffered a lot over the years because of EPA regulations. So, unless you’re set up with the equipment and want to paint hte sign with automotive eurathanes for durability, vinyl with be the most profitable.

Checkers
a.k.a. Brian Born
Harrisburg, PA USA
Shane Drew

Member
16 May 2006 at 13:29

quote Checkers:

If you want the sign to last, buy HP cast vinyl, like 3M or Arlon/Calon.

..or Oracal 751 or 851 series. Both are very good cast materials.

I don’t totally agree with Checkers tho, I’d use Oracal 551 which is rated 5 to 7 years here in Oz, but is a very good poly, so is not a cast vinyl
Darrell

Member
16 May 2006 at 13:58

Thanks everyone for the quick responses. I think I’ll take Shane’s advice and have the aluminum powder coated white. Graphics will be done in vinyl and finished off with an UV laminated across the entire sign. What is a good ballpark figure for doing such a sign anyway?

Darrell
Louisville, KY USA
Shane Drew

Member
16 May 2006 at 14:00

quote Darrell:

Thanks everyone for the quick responses. I think I’ll take Shane’s advice and have the aluminum powder coated white. Graphics will be done in vinyl and finished off with an UV laminated across the entire sign. What is a good ballpark figure for doing such a sign anyway?

Darrell
Louisville, KY USA

Checkers or Jill may be the best people to answer that, your market will be different to mine anyway.
Checkers

Member
16 May 2006 at 16:31

A shoot from the hip price for a 3′ x 8′ x .080" prefinished aluminum sign with a white background and 2 color lettering should be $450 – $500, depending on the design. I estimated a half hour to cover design time in my price.
Add an additional $2.00+ sq. ft. for lamination, but I would avoid that part because the laminate probably won’t last as long as the vinyl.

Checkers
a.k.a. Brian Born
Harrisburg, PA USA
J_J_O

Member
16 May 2006 at 17:06

Hello Darrell,

Why powdercoat alu white? Like Shane mentioned there are alu products designed for the purpose you need it for and they come in colours.
Dibond for example has a Platinum White standard in the collection, this is high quality long lasting material.
Like said, for the graphics you will need some durable vinyl (like Avery 900 – 12 years).

Don’t try to make something that will last longer than 10 years …
you do want some business in the future don’t you!

Good luck!
Jaap-Jan
Darrell

Member
16 May 2006 at 17:57

I estimated around $600 myself but this was back when I thought of using a clear coat, changed my mind on that. The reason for not buy the DIbond or something similar is that I already have alum lying around to use. I’ll definitely give them a try one day in future projects but I need to use up what I have first. Once i finish this project i’ll post some pictures for you all to see.

Let me just thank everyone again. This has to be one of the most informative forums around! : )

Darrell
Checkers

Member
16 May 2006 at 18:52

Hiya Darrell,
If the client is supplying unfinished aluminum, $600 isn’t out of line. Finishing raw aluminum can be a real pain. That’s why I use prefinished aluminum in my price.
Any savings by the client providing an unfinished substrate is lost when you figure the extra time it will take to properly prep and paint the substrate.

Checkers