How would you approach this request?

[Joe Killeen]

Avery, 3M Di-noc or other architectural flim.

Composite panel would have to have a fire rating suitable for external cladding.

What about just painting it?

I’d pick option 4.

[Myriam Garrido]

Hi Jean. We’ve literally just finished doing a school today. 200m of panels. Each panel 3.2m x 600-800mm.

Using a new base material over an old one causes a world of pain (since Grenfell) and anything need to be fire rated and Building Control involved. No manufacturers will give you any guarantees of anything though – even the fire rated material. No one will take any responsibility these days

We ended up using the same panels and vinyling straight over them dry. No application tape. The entire windows in our case were replaced and we just did the facia (Avery 800 Matt grey).

Basically you have 2 options really. Vinyl the panels in situ and put a bead of grey sealant around the edge in case of shrinkage (alternatively if you’re hands on you can remove each panel and vinyl it all to the edges – that way you won’t need to put a bead round.

Mask up and spray (as suggested) – again you might need to put a thin sealand bead around

Apologies for the rubbish photo (old phone with scratch screen protector on it !)

• This reply was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by  Myriam Garrido.

[RobertLambie]

I remember you posting about this in the past Myriam. that looks really good! 👍

[RobertLambie]

the blue panel material is something I have used for over 25 years. it is basically a PVC coated steel sheet that is used to fabricate factories worldwide and has a UV stability of around 20 years.
because of the type of veined surface, you will not have bother with bubbles as the veins act as air channels, so application is easy enough. however, depending on how you clean the surface and the quality of the vinyl, will determine the life because those veins also act as a micro-cavity and can hold moisture and grime over time. still, very much doable and easy to flood coat, but worth mentioning.

I would seriously consider using a four-inch “short hair” roller, mask off the trim and roller it with solvent “INK” from Apolo Inks. a half can of ink and can of thinner will go a hell of a long way and will be dry in minutes. it will bond great and if you mix it to the correct consistency will take a quick single coat. i.e. (you want it runny as milk).

http://www.apolloinks.com

[Martin Cole]

[Gordon Smithard]

My main question is, is this really a job for a sign company? or would a building maintenance firm be better suited. I know we all get involved in all sorts of weird things that are nothing to do with signage at all and this job could be FOR a maintenance firm anyway, but I think if I was asked to do a similar job I would point them in another direction, depending on your workload etc.

[Martin Cole]

I agree with Gordon, not really a job for a sign company, especially if it has to be painted in anyway.

[David Hammond]

+1 it’s really pushing the boundaries of ‘sign making’. I’m not sure why they think a sign maker would undertake that kind of work, rather than an external painting contractor?

Yes it can be done, whether it’s worthwhile, and potential for headaches down the line that’s a personal choice.

[RobertLambie]

I think the bridge between building maintenance, painting contractor and sign maker is “how the job will be tackled”

The sign industry is so diverse these days it’s hard to categorise the work and our boundaries.
i.e.
Architectural vinyls
Building Facade vinyls
Building wraps
Digital Wallpaper/coverings
the list goes on…

with regards to Jeans task. flood coating the panels in vinyl is more a sign makers job than a painter and decorator. but if it painting them rather than vinyl, then painter and decorator could do it just as well.

as someone mentioned, it’s more a case of does she want/need the work or perhaps she could buy in the ink and sub it to a local handyman to paint and possibly get more work from it?

As Myriam shows, she did a similar job and looks great.

I was at a customer in Glasgow city yesterday. there is a team of vinyl installed wrapping the metal pillars of a huge building, the building face. the windows were wrapped and even the pavement… all done in different colours. no part of it had lettering. definitely a job for vinyl installers/sign makers and worth tens of thousands.

[Kevin Mahoney]

I’ve seen painters tackle that stuff before & it didn’t fair well. Possibly, a painter has already had a look & suggested that a sign maker do it as paint isn’t up to it, not knowing about the ink option. Our industry is massively adaptable, we can morph into lots of different fields, rarely does it work the other way round (ever seen a graphic designer trying to apply vinyl?) Agreed it depends on Jean’s workload. My own clients expect me to wear a multitude of different hats & solve many different problems for them, to them I’m a design agency, wide format expert, sign & wrap installer, fabricator, interior designer, clothing/fashion expert, health & safety officer, business advisor & unfortunately a personal banker/loan arranger. If the meter was running & I have a spare pair of hands, I’ll empty the bins or cut their hair. I’m not proud. My rate might not be what they’re expecting though. Have a go Jean, the school will think you can walk on water.

[Jean Oakley]

Thank you everyone for your comments on this post. I like the ink idea i think that’s the way most logically to do the job. On reflection Its far to much of a job for me to get involved with so will pass. I would though like to know if anyone out there would be interested based in Oswestry Shropshire, or if there is a known company that specialises in this type of work. It would be good to be able to go back to the customer with an alternative company to quote on the job. thanks again

[David Hammond]

I’m sure there are times when vinyl is more suitable, but for a company of our size, it would just consume so much time. Large projects worth £10,000’s, I doubt we’d ever win, there are better equipped companies out there.

I’ve spoken to a few small sign makers who’ve invested hours if not days, producing proposals for massive jobs, but has won zero.

The industry is very diverse, and I think there’s two approaches, either do everything and anything, or specialise in one area, and we’ve opted for the latter. There are successful companies out there who just wrap vehicles, or architectural wraps, or estate agency boards, equally there are companies who produce everything from a business card to a building wrap.

[Jean Oakley]

Completely agree David, If it all went wrong 18 months down the line that sort of job could close me down. Just not worth the risk and as you say better companies out there doing this sort of thing all day long 😃

[Jamie Wood]

There’s a company round the corner from us that may be able to help. They do refurbishment on buildings, including schools.

https://innsite.co.uk

[RobertLambie]

not trying to play down what’s to be done here, but the reality is, these panels just need to be painted using ink. If its just to sub it out, I would imagine a local handy-man / painter and decorator would do it no problem. however, the higher panels (three up) may need a scaffold or a cherry picker would be much faster and save money on the whole.

[Jean Oakley]

Hi Rob, I may well suggest a local handyman and forward the ink details you sent me. I will also forward any contacts that want to quote and leave it for the school to decide. There will be scaffolding all around the building during the October half term which is when they want it doing. I’m on my own now and it would take me too many days on my own which is why I’ve as others said RUN 😃

[Jeff]

on your own?
i think you have made the right choice jean. 👍