Painting Canopy awnings

[Neil Davey]

Hi John,

what material is the canopy made from?

[John Hughes]

Good point – just phoned the canopy people but they didn’t know 😕
but coming back to me.

Its like a heavy weight textile.

cheers
John

[Mike Grant]

If it is canvas you can only do it by brush.
Masking is ok if it is plastic.

[Neil Davey]

quote Mike Grant:

If it is canvas you can only do it by brush.
Masking is ok if it is plastic.

Also, I used to use undercoat on the canvas type as gloss finishes just soak in to the fabric, you’ll need a paint with some ‘guts’.

[John Hughes]

Ok, thanks both for your help. I’ve got a sample piece to try first 🙂

John

[Jill Marie Welsh]

Try to make your base coat the same color as the awning.
Then letter the top coat with whatever color you’ve chosen, it may take two or more coats.
But if the base coat bleeds through, at least it’s the same color.
I have had good luck with Ronan Aqua Cote and a cheap bristle brush.
I did not use mask, I pounced mine with white chalk because that blows off with an air gun. I have also used corn starch in a pinch.
(this was in shop not on site)
Love….Jill

[John Hughes]

Cheers Jill – chalk ? Pouncing ? I knew i should have said no to the customer :lol1:

thanks for your help

John

[Jill Marie Welsh]

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-pounce-pattern.htm

[John Hughes]

cheers Jill – never know, I might end up throwing computer & printer in the bin & become an Artisan :lol1: but you’ll have to fly back over here to give me some training !!

John

[Gert du Preez]

John,

You can cut a vinyl mask if the lettering is too small for you to comfortably paint by hand. What I do is to apply the vinyl mask, carefully remove application tape (the vinyl does not stick very well to the canvas!) then heat the vinyl with a heatgun or while pressing down the vinyl into the canvas. – You will toast your fingers a bit! I have got a rubber roller that I use.

Painting is done with a foam roller and textile screenprint ink (for canvas). Apply a light coat with little ink on the roller, then dry with heatgun, and then apply a second and third coat the same way. If you have too much ink on the roller, or use too much pressure , the ink will bleed under the mask.

I use the cheap Avery MPI 3000 vinyl for this type of job, since it does not leave any glue residue behind when you remove the mask.

PS: I use the same technique to "screenprint" overalls etc in small runs, or to put the names on the front pockets of overalls. Much less work than prepping a screen to print just 3 overalls! (The client still pays for screens and posis, so it is worth the effort) If done correctly, even someone experienced in the trade will have difficulty distinguishing between this and screenprinting.

Remember to charge the price you would for vinyl lettering x2. (at least)