traditional signage: Boston Artstore

[Johnny S]

Bloody good that! What is the globe made of?

Cheers

Johnny

[Steve Broughton]

Johnny you want to borrow me specs ? 😮 the bit where I said “its made of Wood” 😆 😉

[Terry Bull]

thats classy steve

[Martin Pearson]

Another cracking job Steve, by the way what’s the globe made of? Did you make it yourself ? and is it painted ?
Oh and why have they used a Globe ?

[Johnny S]

oops 😳
Is a facia? Lol

All the same bloody good!

Johnny no eyes

[eddie cotter]

er! martin i think its er made of wood 😀 😀 😀 .
lovely job steve, did you put it up your self,eddie

[Steve Broughton]

😀 Oooh! what a bunch of comedians………. you aren’t 😆
Gray the fascia letters are cut from 18mm Medite Exterior using a fret saw, cut vinyl letters, stick on Medite, draw round with pencil, cut on fret saw, make 45o rout around edges with hand router paint then gild faces.

Eddie, yup put it up meself, not too high so not too brown trouser effect 😆 only thing is does anyone know where I can get a third detachable bionic arm from cos it would be flippin handy 😛

[Henry Barker]

Great job Steve,

I have some medite here, but been abit frightened to use it outdoors, but it seems popular to do that in the UK, I guess its down to rounding edges and good prep work, and finish.

I have been cutting out letters in HDU and then painting with car paint, you get a really lovely deep finish, I have a paint carousel here with Standox base paints.

maybe its time to play with some medite?

Thanks for sharing with us

[Steve Broughton]

Henry as MEDITE is a trade name make sure you have the right grade as they do ordinary MDF, Moisture Resistant and the Exterior grade that I use, I also use top quality oil based exterior primers, undercoats and gloss, the boards get 2 coats primer/undercoat and then 2 coats gloss front and back, doing it this way Paul Rafferty has been using it for 10 years and has never had one board fail through the weather, but Sweden is a bit dufferent so may be make a few test pices and put them outside for a while see how they go.
Talking about Mr Rafferty, he’s out there lurking, I can feel it, morning Mr R 😎

[Martin Pearson]

Steve, I dont know anything about exterior MDF, are there other brands available, do you use medite for any particular reason and is there a life expectancy on the stuff?
I have used quite a bit of ply over the last year but as you have mentioned in the past it is difficult to get a good finish on ply. How does the MDF compare price wise?

[Pete Witney]

Steve, lovely job as per usual.I recently came up with the same solution where the customer wanted a copper kettle and a coffee cup on the front of a sign,I had them turned and cut them in half,I’ll post some pics soon, I’m just waiting for them to be added to my website,thats how you do it ,isn’t it? Like Henry I’m wary of MDF and am still using exterior ply. Henry I may give you a call soon for some advice on painting HDU foam.

[stuart]

Nice job Steve,

on the subject of ply Pete, I occasionally use WPB ply outside, I think it stands for Waterproof bonded or something. Its basically marine ply which is about £30 per sheet.

I supplied some sports ground advertising boards for Highland Spring the bottled water company who refused to pay for Alucolor or powder coated alloy sheet. The signs were primed with an oil based primer, two coats of oil based undercoat and finished with two coats of oil based gloss finish. All in Dulux so not some cheapy brand.

I was at one of the grounds this week to fix some more signs and noticed the ply is starting to delaminate, could this just be a bad board or is this sometimes a problem. The boards have been outside for about a year.

Any comments on this folks?

[Adrian Howard]

we use birch faced plyboard and we caulk the edges then paint
as you do and have no problems (dulux weathershield)

birch faced ply has all the knots taken out and is very smooth and exterior graded

adrian

[Pete Witney]

Stuart,WBP I believe is Weather and Boil proof ?I always try to frame boards,or at least lip them with a strip of hardwood of the same thickness,if it is an irregular shape I would run filler round the edges like Adrian.I don’t use Weathershield because I find I can’t get as good a finish as I can using Oil based primer and undercoat.Birch faced ply is lovely to work with but make sure you get exterior grade.Ever since I started I’ve been meaning to paint up different substrates and leave them outside to see what happens,one of the most frequent questions I’m asked is “how long will it last?”Some people seem to expect to replace them every three or four years others expect it to be the only sign they will ever have to buy.It’s a tricky one that because we don’t want them to last forever do we?

[Martin Pearson]

I’ve been using Far Eastern Ply for outdoor signs, 2 coats of homebase quick dry primer/undercoat. Not because its cheap as I have tried most of the branded primers and undercoats. I have found it to be very good and normally roller it on as this seems to give a better finish than a brush and its quicker. Then 2 coats of exterior gloss, normally Crown.
For hanging signs I frame the edges to give them a better finished look but for facia signs I dont usually. The boards havent been up that long, the oldest one about 2 years but they all still look good and there is no visable damage to either the boards or the paintwork.
Being new to the sign business I was reluctant to use wood as I thought the signs would not last and would need constant painting but I have a customer who insists on wood and now have no problem using it at all.

[Robert Lambie]

I really like this Steve. Very nice!
I like the shape the style, the globe the whole thing really. I think the globe really finishes the work off. It makes it that bit different from the norm.
How did the fix the ball? I can’t see any visible fixings front or rear.

Constructive criticism: not the sign. More the fixing of it.
I can see the strap of steel at the top with the screws/bolts to one side. Would it have been possible to run the strip along the top of the panel as opposed to one side?
You could have screwed down into the sign. The strap may then have acted like a kind of cap for the panel. Stopping rainwater penetrating the top edge of the sign..
Just a thought mate. It’s all to easy for the likes of me to sit here at home pointing what could have been done after the actual jobs complete.
Thanks for sharing…… 😉

[Martin Pearson]

Robert, I actually like the strap that is securing the sign, I think it fits with the overall look of the sign and makes it look older and more traditional.
As for fixing through the top I am always worried about doing this as I am afraid the screws will pull out and always fix hanging signs through the board itself.

[Robert Lambie]

your probably right martin.. 😕
but i noticed he has it sitting on a sort of a “U” shaped steel strap also. so down pressure, i dont think would not really be an issue.
having said that, having a belt & braces fixed sign is always a better way mate 😉