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Does anyone know how traditional signage is made?
I have been looking at signs recently and found that a a whole small town had one type of sign. They were traditional looking and were made from some kind of resin. I thought they must have been fibre glass. Does anyone know the proccess of making these signs? Do you make them from cley then mould them somehow.
Many Thanks … J
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17 Replies
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Could it have been a carvagio sign blank?
They are made of polyurethane.
http://www.carvagiousa.com/
Pricey but very nice.
Here’s one I did this past fall.
Love…..Jill
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These people were at signuk
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try http://www.signmasteruk.co.uk
I use them and their stuff is great.
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Hi nnsg,
I used to make Glass reinforced plastic blanks & signs. They are very hard wearing but not the cheapest option. As for making your own "forget it". You need a plug first (mould to make a mould) then you need to take a mould from that. Hours of work to get the correct finish. Then after you have made it you have to trim with a diamond blade & not forgetting the smell and mess.
If you want to use them then buy them in. Also if you have no experience of laminating GRP they will turn out awful.
Sorry to be blunt but don’t go there.Steve
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Very nice that Jill. I wonder why it makes me think of bats?
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..probably because there are lots of bats in the attic of the very old house the sign is mounted at!
I really love the look of those fiberglass sign blanks. I wonder if I can get them over here?
I do know people who carve ornaments and things for signs and make castings of them with a product called Smooth-On. But it would be a pain to make molds for big sign blanks.
Love…..Jill
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Somehow I always see the negative space rather than the actual signage.
That’s why I see a bat shape! -
when i read this today i thought the complete opposite of sign blanks and more resin type molded letters. Lots of brewery’s used these type of solid heavy individual letters on traditional pubs. the letters were made and gold leaf applied to them after. when i do signing tours around the UK i often see these on country pubs. look much better than the vacuum formed acrylic letters we see all over the place today.
anyway… i’m probably wrong and you lot are right! :lol1: but i thought i would mention it anyway. -
This is something I been trying to find out about, anyone here share the process of how the GRP process works?
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Incidentally its something Ive been looking into, moulded signs.
will let you know how I get on, I had to make an oak framed sign the other day, raw oak, mitred and sanded, joined together, stained, screw holes filled with wood stopper etc then have to mount the sign into it and then fill and sand again, fill any minute gaps you may have and then hang it on the bracket.
A moulded resin sign would have taken hours of work out it and had a perfect finish apart from the paint from the off.
There are a few materials you could consider and I am going to play with a few.
Will post any news I have -
Hi
I used to make Grp blanks & signs and have been following this thread and see that there is quite a few interested in the manufacture of them.
This is how they are made:
First you need a mold to lay the fiberglass to. It needs to be a negative mold i.e. the opposite of the product you want.
The finish on the mold needs to be perfect any slight scratch chip or marking in the surface will be reproduced on every piece that comes out of the mold
Polish the mould (Wax polish works well)
You then paint on a coat of gel-coat which is mixed with a hardener and allow to cure.
Next you paint resin with hardener all over then lay a layer of Glass fibre matting then more resin onto that building layers up the strength required
Layers need to be rolled with a fluted, washer or brush roller to get trapped air out from within the mat. This then cures. once released from mold the blank is then ready for trimming or fixings. This is an abbreviated process cos its late and time for bed.Steve
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I used to make masks & models of things a couple of years ago just as a hobby and to see if I could, its the same process really, I made the model from poly clay, (plasticene) covered it with fine plaster left it to set, removed the clay and then pour in latex into the plaster mould, build this up to the thickness required and then once its dry pull it out and you have the mask.
We made some quite good stuff like that, we just got busy with this side of things and havent had time to make any more of it, was fun though and Ive still got all the stuff so might have another go. -
Surely using GRP is only viable for producing multiples due to have to make a mould for each shape.
Unless you were going to sell quite a few I can’t imagine it’s worth setting up.
It might take the profit on 5 sales just to pay for a single mould?
The ready made ones are certainly not cheap but there is a wide choice and absolutely ready to go. -
Oh I didnt mean transfer the process of what I did to making moulds, I was just saying its a similar process to what I was doing.
GRP is the best way to go I agree.
Unless you own a CNC router and can make them from wood, cant beat that in my book, unless you can hand carve -
I like the signs from this company:
http://www.touchlincoln.com/business/list/bid/1829740
aluminium faces and aluminium extrusion mouldings ……..and he can do curves 😕 mainly does pub work…and the v section resin letters from mettaline 😀
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One of the reasons GRP is so good is you can have it pre-coloured so there is no painting,spraying the finish never flakes or peels and can be as good twenty years on with a bit of cleaning. However like Peter mentioned it is not economical to make a mold to take 1 out of you would need to sell quite a few. Of course you can buy one and take a mold of that saves making your own. Bit cheeky though.
Steve
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Thanks for the advice all.
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