-
how can i seal channel letters properly?
Hi All
We are making steel letters of 4 inch depth, with ge led’s inside & covering it with acrylic face, i was wondering if someone can suggest how to seal it from front so that no water goes inside
Cheers
Vijay 🙂 -
8 Replies
-
are these to be face illuminated or halo letters ?
how are the letters to be mounted ? a thin bead of silicon should do the job. .. oh and make sure to use stainless steel fixings or you’ll end up with nasty rust spots ! -
yes Dave these are face lit & sides & back are of stainless steel, we are using transparent silicon, but it does not last for long, do you know any specific transparent silicon which outdoor durable
-
Vijay,can you get hold of waterproof LED’s?
That way sealing wouldn’t need to be as essential as using non waterproof ones 🙂 -
Fred, we a re using GE led’s ( tetra cl), do you have any idea of something similar in quality.
-
Sorry no specifics just know there are waterproof ones out there somewhere 😕
-
it’s still a good idea to try and seal the letters. I had a waterproof LED fail this week. They have had been installed for about 9 months, basically the bottom of the Y had filled with water which over time had ingressed into one of the LED boards, this failed and blacked out the whole chain !
Very simpe fix, but a waste of valuable time having to go back and repair !
These were some of the first Illuminated letters I did so were not sealed. . . I also was told the LED’s could work underwater and were totally waterproof !I have used silicone, just make sure everything is de-greased and clean first.
-
thanks dave
-
On this side of the pond, the general rule is to NOT seal the letters – specifically to allow moisture to exit if it does build up inside. The vast majority of letter will have weep/drain holes drilled at any of the low points to allow drainage.
1/4" (6mm) usually does the trick, though in cold areas even that can freeze over with ice.
Water can cause problems with any type of illumination – neon, fluorescent, LED… You seal the back of the can for light leakage and water entry, but the face should not be so tight that moisture can’t escape, and drain holes should be standard on anything that leaves the shop.
Log in to reply.