How do I Fit MDF Sign

[Kevin Flowers]

Lee
you just need to use cladding bolts and screw into the peaks of the cladding, MDF is heavy so i would be inclined to screw on every other peak, remember not to go mad and try to over tighten the bolts as this just stretches the metal and stops the bolts gripping. You can purchase self drilling bolts however i would pre drill the MDF first and then drill into the cladding with the clutch activated on the cordless so as not to overtighten
Hope this helps

Kev

[brian the brush]

Hi Lee,
I never fix signs with fittings that go through the sign face, that is sacrilege.
I would screw some large mirror plates on the back of the sign to line up with the corrugation of the building ( 2 each side ) and then fix the sign using self tapper screws, giving a nice neat job, hope that helps.
Brian.
http://www.brian-the-brush.com

[Carrie Brown]

Hi Lee,

Rob did a demo a while back, not exactly the same thing as his job was a lot larger and used different materials, but it may help:

https://www.uksignboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=1622

12mm mdf, any reason why you may not being using reynobond or the like which is a bit lighter? Just wondering thats all?

Carrie 😀

[Robert Lambie]

kev says:

quote :

You can purchase self drilling bolts however i would pre drill the MDF first and then drill into the cladding with the clutch activated on the cordless so as not to overtighten

yep this is the same screws i use in the demo that carrie has just given link to mate.
i think you have to buy about a hundred or so though, but well worth it in the long run… dead easy to use.,.. see demo 😀

again, like carrie says, why mdf?
rynabond, dibond, alucolour and now le-board is extremely light, comes in various colours and easily cut. doesnt warp or rot!
le-board is cheapest so far i think.. about £35-£40 for an 8×4
it is extremely light to lift into place, vinyl takes to it great and works perfect with these types of screws onto cladding…

[Andy Gorman]

I’ve heard of this Le-board mentioned a couple of times lately. Where can I get it from?

G

[Paul Goodwin]

I think Europoint do it

[Robert Lambie]

yep.. as far as i know euro is the only one.. but i could be wrong.
ive already been using it.. only draw back is the colour range, not many colours, primary ones maybe & black and white but does come in brushed alluminium that is nice.

ill check the prices next week when i speak with europoint next week and ask what discounts the uksg gets and post it in members section. 😉

[Shane Drew]

Mke sure you paint the mdf really well, with a couple of coats of enamel, otherwise it will warp when it gets wet.

I would not use it myself, as the moisture will eventually get in thru the fixing points and swell.

Sorry to be so negative.

Cheers

[Steve Broughton]

Right time for a re-education on EXTERIOR grade MDF, contrary to some peoples opinions, especially by those that have never used it 🙄 , EXTERIOR grade MDF will not swell or rot in what passes for weather in this beautiful country of ours, I know of signs that have been around for 8 or 9 years that still look as good as the day they were fitted, as long as you prime and paint with a good quality exterior paint then you should have no problems, and fit it as Brian suggested those tec-screws look horrible.

[Peter Normington]

quote :

yep this is the same screws i use in the demo that carrie has just given link to mate.
i think you have to buy about a hundred or so though, but well worth it in the long run… dead easy to use.,.. see demo

Hi rob just a quicky, How do you satisfy health and safety rules when lifting a panel on a cherry picker and no visible form of preventing the panel from falling except suckers? And as far as I can see no hard hats?
Peter

[John Singh]

If you use MDF
Just make sure it is Exterior as Steve says:
Use a good primer (I always use aliminium primer) and good quality exterior paint and it’ll be fine
Some wood firms will cut the boards to size for a small charge reducing any health risks.

Incidentally guys MDF is great to cut and routers beautifully
Whacking a coat of gloss on the prep coats results in a brilliant gloss finish

Ain’t that right Steve?

John

[Carrie Brown]

We followed Steves advice ages ago on making a-boards with exterior mdf, making sure it is coated well and as yet never had any come back and they still look in great condition outside the shops we have done.

The point I was asking was not so much why use it because it can warp … but why not use something else that is a lot more light weight for that type of fitting?

Anyway Lee …… what have you decided to do? Fill us all in 😉

[Lee Jones]

Firstly, made a mistake in the original post with the thickness, I used 9mm not 12mm as stated………….. must be a man thing, always thinking somethings bigger than it really is !

So why did I choose to use MDF ? ………. Basically, I could have used any of the available substrates such as reynobond / alucolour / dibond ect. from our local Amari depot. but being a person that never takes the easy route, I wanted to have a go with MDF.

Steve Broughton has been a great inspiration to me, and a lot of his fantastic work has been produced with MDF, also having a T. Eden depot 15 minutes away, I thought I would check out this medite exterior MDF for myself, with the intention of producing a number of exterior signs and A boards with it.
(thanks again steve for the info on making A boards).

I ended up filling the van with various thicknesses of 8 x 4 foot sheets. I did not find a 9mm MDF 4 foot square sign, to be heavy, or at all difficult to install, and took on board the advice to fixing, and everything went just great……… Have posted a picture in the ” Show us your stuff” section, and would appreciate any comments or improvements.

https://www.uksignboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=7983

quote Steve Broughton:

Right time for a re-education on EXTERIOR grade MDF, contrary to some peoples opinions, especially by those that have never used it 🙄 , EXTERIOR grade MDF will not swell or rot in what passes for weather in this beautiful country of ours

This is very true. I decided to test this exterior grade MDF against normal MDF over a period of 2 weeks. Placed both in a bucket of water that had been in the garden fermenting with all sorts in it, and the results were conclusive, the exterior grade showed no sign of deteriation / swelling or mold, but the normal MDF had swollen 10mm in thickness, stained with mold and starting to break apart.

Having built a small yacht in the back garden 20 years ago, made entirely from wood, I knew that what steve and others have stated about preperation and using a good quality exterior paint is very important, and followed steve’s methods and recomendations.

So basically that was my prefered choice of materials for this sign, I was happy with the results, and the customer likewise.

[Lee Harris]

😳 This is a silly question……

brian the brush:

quote :

I would screw some large mirror plates on the back of the sign to line up with the corrugation of the building ( 2 each side ) and then fix the sign using self tapper screws, giving a nice neat job, hope that helps.

What do you mean by ‘mirror plates’

Regards

[Steve Broughton]

[Lee Harris]

OK. Understand now! Know what you mean 😳 😳

Thanks Steve