[Simon Worrall]

Funny you did that vintage oil can Neil – I did two of them today for a collector! …mobiloil and caltex. I found them quite challenging to do, filling in the pressed steel indents, with the bristles trying to take their own route round the raised bits!
Nice work!

• This reply was modified 3 years, 8 months ago by  Simon Worrall.
• This reply was modified 3 years, 8 months ago by  Simon Worrall.

[Simon Worrall]

Rob you are a guru at this!

I hadnt thought of the textured surface, and I certainly missed the recess fail.

Big ups to you m8!

[Simon Worrall]

either the green or the black has to overlap a bit. Maybe it is a bit much, but the driver is the only person really who will see this close up.

[Simon Worrall]

If you wrap round the edges the ACM will be fine underneath as long as its mounted properly.

I would give him the standard vinyl guarantee for that location.

However the vinyl manufacturer might not guarantee an edge wrap unless it was a wrap vinyl

[Simon Worrall]

When my lease runs out on my shopfront in three years I reckon I shall do the same as you, Duncan. It is so much better working from home.

[Simon Worrall]

We use the following method to adhere acrylic letters to walls.
Cut a negative stencil of the sign from Oramask or similar. Apply to the wall.
Apply a thick grip and grab adhesive, using a squeegee, to the wall through the stencil, a few letters at a time. We use Siroflex, but I am sure there are alternatives. Use the thickness of the stencil material to determine the thickness of the applied glue.
Press the letters into the glue in the appropriate positions, and rock them back and forwards to bed them into the glue.
Leave the stencil in place while the glue dries. Then remove the stencil, leaving a clean wall.
This works on even fairly rough concrete walls.
Heres one we did on quite rough concrete a couple of years ago.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by  Simon Worrall.

[Simon Worrall]

Weve been using Jetbest inks in our Roland SP 540V since the warranty ran out. The machine is getting on a bit, but we have had no problems at all – They are two thirds of the price of the originals. Whats not to like?

[Simon Worrall]

CNC cutting these tiles may be problematic.
Ages ago a flooring company asked me if I can CNC cut logos into their rubberised flooring. I thought it would be a doddle, so I put a sample on the router and fired her up. As the bit approached the rubber, bright sparks started to fly off in all directions! By the time I had pressed the kill switch, the sharpened carbide flutes had worn off the bit and it was ground down to a metal rod. Turned out there was non-slip carborundum powder in the rubber mix, and I couldnt cut it. I referred the customer to a waterjet cutter.

Just to go off thread for a moment, but I was wondering what gives the tiles mentioned in the thread the title of “Eco” tiles?
Is there something about the production that is somehow cleaner than other rubber tiles, or is it just, as I suspect, greenwashing?

• This reply was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by  Simon Worrall.

[Simon Worrall]

Use a cast and sleep better at night.

Calendered vinyl will shrink away from the corner and water will get in.

Even if you feed it in correctly.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 10 months ago by  Simon Worrall.

[Simon Worrall]

Cable Ties?

[Simon Worrall]

Just your average glue gun and glue sticks from Mitre10 or B&Q works fine for small things.

It just has to cool and its ready to go, there is no curing time.

In NZ you can get 25 glue sticks for about ten bucks. There is no point buying expensive branded ones.

Bosch make a higher capacity glue gun for bigger projects. I got that on amazon/ebay.

Vcarve has a “gadget” to make the toolpaths. It uses the blade offset to turn the blade in the right direction before starting a cut.

[Simon Worrall]

Correx is really cool stuff. I have made lots of useful things as well as exhibition stands with it on my CNC. Never made anything this cool though!

I cut it with a drag knife on my shopbot..Donek makes them…A rotating bit will just shred the edges of correx and make a mess.

We also have bought a really clever hand held cutter that has two blades, one for each surface. You drag it along the flutes and get a straight cut. If you only cut one side, you can fold it and it becomes very strong along that axis. You can actually fold this a large number of times and the correx wont weaken, so it makes a decent hinge.

It can be glued with hot glue, which is pretty strong, but reversible if you make a mistake!

• This reply was modified 3 years, 10 months ago by  Simon Worrall.

[Simon Worrall]

1. Use a high quality frost so it doesnt shrink later on.

2. make sure both edges have been cut on the plotter rather than hand cut, so the edges are perfectly straight.

3. Apply wet and do the bottom piece first, so the top piece “falls” on top of the bottom piece, thus closing the gap with a certain pressure.

Ive done a number of large windows with joins that are completely invisible unless you know they are there. Not a problem

[Simon Worrall]

Yup. Try to avoid dividing it up into areas with partition walls. Keep it open plan, the more open it is the more efficient it will run.

[Simon Worrall]

3M 180 colours.
This is an air release and so easy to use. and ten year life…at least.

[Simon Worrall]

Thanks for suggestions and help.
I applied this today with no help and no app tape. It went on without any issues at all.

[Simon Worrall]

Sorry when I say Plain I mean it is not cut out patterns, just large sheets. The frost itself is a bit sparkly, and quite easy to tear when pulling it off the backing paper.

[Simon Worrall]

The more I think about it the more I think the laser level is not a bad way to do it.
It is very convenient.

And think about this:
When you submit a design to your customer those designs are lined up with the horizontal.
You dont rotate the designs so they line up with the sill. You submit them level.
This is what the customer approves, it looks right on the screen, and this is what he expects to get and it looks right in real life too.

Ill fetch the popcorn!

[Simon Worrall]

quote Robert Lambie:

The easiest most consistent way is to use the sill on any vehicle.

I agree with you in principle Rob, but some sills are confusing and it isnt really clear (or easy) where to hook your tape measure without inventing some elaborate system to draw out the VISUAL base of the sill to a point where you can reliably measure from

.. Heath Robinson comes to mind…

[Simon Worrall]

Transit is all over the place.

For this lwb transit I made sure all the tyres were equally pumped and used a laser level.
The floor is level in my workshop.
Seemed to work out as good as anything else!

[Simon Worrall]

I appreciate you lack space, but if you possibly can, go for something bigger.

[Simon Worrall]

CLean clean clean and clean again! And then clean it some more. Those things really pick up grease and dirt.
As long as you separate the slats, its not a job that requires particularly highly specced vinyl. Lay it down as a solid and cut out and remove where the hinges are.

[Simon Worrall]

There seems to be a parallel thread on perf cutting, for the fc 8600.

Chris wool you have a point,
I use it Not so much for stickers, but large prints that have to be placed exactly on a thing.

They can be much more precisely placed if the vinyl edge is also the paper edge.
There is no more guess work because you cant see the line etc.

Having said that, perf cut stickers are much nicer for the customer and you can charge for doing it.

[Simon Worrall]

Nice work Kevin!
That would take me a whole weekend!

[Simon Worrall]

Hehehe! Yes its loud. But it can do it all day long.

I have the pounce thingy as well. The price of this small item will blow you away! The pounce just makes holes.

*Important note: there are two positions for the blade, you need to put it in the outer position so it plunges into the trough and NOT into the cutting strip.

And I suspect the smart blades wont perf cut properly.

[Simon Worrall]

Thought you might like to see perf cutting in action.

[Simon Worrall]

Funny Kevin when I saw the first group of photos I thought the blue back looked out of place with the green sides…(Blue and green should never be seen is an old saying) but the latest photo you posted has a green back!
Much better in my opinion. :claps:

[Simon Worrall]

quote David Hammond:

Simon what do you find the best pattern for perf cutting?

For smaller stuff we use a solid cut and use a 440mic carrier sheet.

Always have mixed results with perf cuts.

You need to do the top cut at the normal weight for your vinyl, and then double that number to plunge through the backing paper – perhaps double it and a bit more.

The blade needs to travel about 9.5mm through the backing paper, and back up about 0.5mm for the tags.

The better quality the backing paper, the better it works.

Some papers are so cheap and nasty they come apart at the tags while cutting and you have to abort the job.
I am not familiar with ‘smart knives’, but I suspect they might interfere with the process because you need to extend the knife.

[Simon Worrall]

Easily.
It also perforation cuts through the backing sheet if you want to do that. ie you can program a pattern that will cut through the vinyl layer, and then push through the backing layer leaving small tags every few mm to keep it in place, leaving you with tear-out stickers that customers can keep on a roll.
I have even used it to cut through a layer of app tape as well.

[Simon Worrall]

must be a lot of guys with printers in their garage

[Simon Worrall]

Im with Rob here.
I bought a log of clear app tape more than a decade ago. Used it a few times, never again.
I would like to clearly state for the record:
There is NO situation where it is better than paper tape. Not ever. (My opinion only!!!)
Its very reason for existence is flawed, there are always better ways to register colours and line up graphics accurately, search the forum for examples.
It is designed to be used with vinyl on a clear liner so you can see through both, and there are only a very few of these available. ($$$!!!)
And I truly HATE the sound of a squeegee squealing on it! Worse than fingernails on a blackboard!

[Simon Worrall]

$7000 was paid straight into my account from the NZ government on the third day of lockdown. Amazing!
I am very impressed with the way it’s being handled here,our prime minister has become an international media star for her steady good natured control.

Compared with the heavy handed UK and French reaction, NZ is a walk in the park. Actually we are encouraged to walk in the parks here. Everyone in my town is out and about taking exercise, and chatting to each other from 2 meters away.

I have had a couple of work enquiries but no work. The jobs I have on the books are mothballed for now. I have the funds to get through this, although I seriously doubt I will even have a business when its all over – and a 3-year commitment to an expensive town centre commercial rent. The government can’t sustain everyone for too much longer.

Although I completely disagree with the lockdown – I think it is insane and will be a disaster way worse than anything the virus can possibly bring – I am not breaking any of the rules and I have stopped ranting.(after this!)

Normally I dislike Fox news, and Tucker Carlson in particular, but his opinion piece on 7 April was compelling, and very frightening, and he made some good points about grocery stores being the main vector in transmission, so I am going to share it here:

[Simon Worrall]

The roller (down the left hand end) is a 150mm diameter solid cylinder of steel coated in rubber, which gives it the weight for laminating. No need for complicated pneumatics. Tables are 2x3meters by 1550mm, 10mm glass top
Its absolutely vital that the glass is flat or you wont have contact all the way across.
The whole thing cost me about 6000 nz dollars (3000 pounds) to make ten years ago. Works perfectly.

---

Attachments:

[Simon Worrall]

Made my own roll over table.
I use an 8 foot ruler and a 18mm blade for corflute and ACM.
CNC Router for anything else.

[Simon Worrall]

Now I am really confused.
Why this was delisted as a "high consequence infectious disease" on UK.gov on March 19th?

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/high-conseq … KKoG4ocWvE

It just gets weirder and weirder.

[Simon Worrall]

I am starting to think more like Robert, this is a big scam. And now the chinese are moving into countries with a lockdown. – ostensibly to "help" Im beginning to think its all been fake news!

CLICK HERE

[Simon Worrall]

quote Phill Fenton:

It’s madness Companies and even nations are being ruined and will go bankrupt by the entire over re-action and panic. The damage being caused to the economy is far worse than the virus.

Ditto!
But having said that, it is still an outrageously contagious virus, with tons of tricks up its sleeve to connect with you.
But still its our reaction that is the real threat.

Perhaps, as Rob says, there is somebody orchestrating this panic for money.
I dont know about that, but there is certainly loads of people will benefit from this.

[Simon Worrall]

Get paid before the shutdown.

Then put your money in gold!
Then run for the hills

[Simon Worrall]

WE spray paint foamex, using ordinary vehicle spray paint cans.
A routed sign we spray painted over 12 years ago is still happily fending off the new zealand sunshine and wind and shows no sign of deteriorating.
We have also successfully used resene lumbersider water based paint to paint it by hand.
We have also wrapped 3d letters in vinyl. For this we brush 3m primer round the routed edges cos it doesn’t stick so well as it does to the smooth face

[Simon Worrall]

Thanks heaps Joe. I will do that this morning.

*update* I did it and it was easy. Thanks again.

[Simon Worrall]

They didnt look up the rules, but then neither did the bureaucrats from the hospital.

Everything about this contract is of low quality. The design is shocking.

Those guys have never done this line of work before!

Presumably this kind of stuff up will come out of insurance? Or you poor british taxpayers?

[Simon Worrall]

quote Cheryl Smith:

brilliant…thanks for the tip…one can spend farrrrrrrrrrrrrrr to much time looking for fonts which need matching

And faaaaarrrrrrrrrr too much time explaining to the client why it took faaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrr too much time looking for their fonts!

[Simon Worrall]

I spose that explains why its cheap! Thanks Hugh.
Actually the seller has quoted lack of support by HP as the reason for the sale.
Sounds like something Apple would do. Its bad business practice.

Guess I would just be buying a giant paperweight.
Perhaps Ill leave it. There’d be even less chance of keeping it running here in NZ.

Are the heads still available or have they upgraded these also?
I was told these are consumer changeable items.

[Simon Worrall]

quote P. Harris:

Hi
Having run solvent, then latex…
My brief view as a user… Latex, brill if using hp originals, inks, heads…
But please factor in what the machine uses, all the disposable’s …
But here’s my beef, HP need really need shaming…For Dropping Old, and very well solid built machines,
but of which are still running 100%… for why? what? reason?…
But… All other Printer Main Brands Can Go On And On And On….
No Matter the Age… Granted I Did Love The Fact and it is briil… instant Print, and ready to Use…
But as a Brand to drop and kill machines as such… is nothing more than as shameful.
…So moving back to solvent printer brand, loads of choices, loads of ink, loads of orginal part,
loads of machines.. hope this helps
Cheers Paul
ps- they are solid machines, i mean, solid machines, over engineered, but you got to keep original
consumables.. one brand, no real choice on third party consumables…
pps-but if your doing wraps, and wallpaper, their up there above the solvents

When you say they dropped the older machines, what exactly do you mean?
Is there no servicing at all available? or are there no spare parts? or what exactly?
You see Im considering a second hand 255000 purchase, quite cheap.
should I drop the idea as impractical?

[Simon Worrall]

Oh Pane!
Nice job tho :smiles:

Im thinking it might be those new-fangled self cleaning window glasses interfering with your adhesive?

[Simon Worrall]

I dare say that enormous sign looks a bit ambitious for today’s changing climate c:
I would have painted it on the wall.

[Simon Worrall]

That would be awkward.
I hope they are okay.

[Simon Worrall]

I used to do lots of these. This post made me realise I havent done a single one in over four years!

[Simon Worrall]

Adobe illustrator TEN! Yes, Ten!
I got it way back when, paid in full, and I refuse to update.
It has everything I need, and all the updates since then are a waste of time.

[Simon Worrall]

I find it makes so little difference I just put it on the side that is easiest to access.

[Simon Worrall]

quote Daniel Evans:

Steeltrack? Is that a keencut thing?

So an update on how I got on.

Bought a new 9mm knife which improved it straight away even using my old technique.

However, I now cut on the other side and only do 3 light scores which is enough to snap off.

Thanks everyone for your help and that 25mm knife can go in the bin.

I find the blade of a 9mm knife is a bit too flexible and waves about the line, resulting in a wavy cut.
I agree the 25mm blade is too thick. A good compromise is the 18mm knife.

[Simon Worrall]

Sanding and filing introduce dust into the workspace.
With my luck it gets under some vinyl. c:
Thats why I use a block plane.

[Simon Worrall]

I use a hand-plane to deburr. Easy peasy.

[Simon Worrall]

:rollseyes: Thats a new term for me…never heard of it.

[Simon Worrall]

That boat is so ugly even the gold wrap can’t save it.

[Simon Worrall]

Mine (8×4) lives in a shipping container outside the back door. I put it in there because the dust and noise are intolerable in the main shop. I would certainly isolate it from the rest of the shop if you possibly can.

[Simon Worrall]

Go on Chris…let us out of our misery :puppyeyes:
what on earth can anyone be wanting 12 used ecosol carts for? :rollseyes:

[Simon Worrall]

quote Martyn Heath:

I cut vertical strips about 300mm wide, heated and pulled it off

Use a stainless steel blade so you dont scratch the glass

[Simon Worrall]

Yup you could remove them on principle, to "Teach somebody a lesson"
but you are incurring extra expense at no gain, and to be honest people don’t learn lessons, they just get resentful.
AND you are punishing the wrong people.
Then you have to dump them, or store them on the off chance somebody will want something that size that you can clean up and re-wrap.

Do what Phill says, send the letter with the forms, but I would cut my losses – for a grand its not worth your while.
Use your time doing useful stuff.
Chalk it up to experience Bud.

[Simon Worrall]

I am using a brush, as recommended by the manufacturers, to get it right down inside all the rough surface.
but geez this stuff is gloopy, heavy, and runs downhill if there is the slightest thickness in the coat.
I suppose a roller would be better if the walls were smoother.

Dries to a very tough surface. Good stuff.

[Simon Worrall]

I got a sample of Watertite.
Iain How do you stop this stuff from dripping down the walls?
It doesnt seem to matter how thin the coat is. :shocked:

[Simon Worrall]

Thanks for the replies.

A bit of googling I found this stuff

https://www.zinsseruk.com/howto/how-to- … orescence/

Zinsser Watertite…

If anybody has any experience of this product Ide be happy to hear it.
They guarantee the results for five years. Seems too good to be true.

Otherise any structural work including cladding are too pricey for this customer…at this time, anyway.

Thanks.

[Simon Worrall]

If this is indeed one of the 3m wrap range, I have always found them quite easy to remove, never seen this happen the way you describe.
This is what cheap vinyls do.

[Simon Worrall]

Dust. The enemy of tinters, wrappers, signwriters, frosters.
I found out (after years of wrapping on a concrete floor, and not knowing the source of the dust that was often spoiling my work) that it is the concrete itself that gives off dust.
So If you have a bare concrete floor, the best thing to do is paint it with floor paint, or sealer, or whatever.
If you dont have a concrete floor, I cant help you! :smiles:

[Simon Worrall]

How about a brand new painted wooden one?

[Simon Worrall]

I have the Graphtec FC8600. Its a solid machine, and it doesnt seem to have any flaws or problems.
My only negative comment on it is that the later illustrator "cutting-master" plug-ins are rubbish.
So dreadful in fact that I back-graded to the earlier cutting master 2, which is very good, and apart from the less flash graphic interface I cant really see why they upgraded it.
I think they are on version 4 now.

As for the Mimaki I can’t comment, having had no experience of them.
I have had 2 roland plotters in the past, both of which have been brilliant.

I went for the FC because it also does perforation cutting as well as pouncing.

[Simon Worrall]

Paul heres a workaround until you get it sorted:

You say you get a CONSISTENT cut 5mm horizontal and 3mm vertically offset?
Well, after you place the registration marks in your software, unlock the layer they are in, and move them 5mm horizontal and 3mm vertical, save as a copy, and print from the copy.

Now cut from the original, and you will have tricked it into cutting in the right place.

Your welcome.

[Simon Worrall]

I use one of these. As long as you can point it at the general area you are working in it it makes for a nice working environment. (also helps heaps when stripping vinyl on a cold day)

[Simon Worrall]

As I see it the difficult part of this is getting the vinyl to sit in such a way that there is enough air space between the layers so the air can flow over all of the printed surface. Just loosening the roll and sitting it on its end is not really enough to do the job.

[Simon Worrall]

quote Hugh Potter:

If that’s the 780mc reflective wrap, it’s horrifically expensive, about £900 a half kit!!

Unless they now do a regular reflective with air release?!

Dunno it didnt seem particularly expensive.
It was not the printing one I have seen you using on Facebook Hugh. I got the red and the green one. Cant recall the code.

[Simon Worrall]

I second Iain’s post.
APA curtain sided vinyl will not come off that.

[Simon Worrall]

3M does a reflective range with air release. I just used some on a job, its really easy to fit and quite conformable too.

[Simon Worrall]

Hi Hugh
Give Ken Gleeson a call at Magpie Neon in Gillingham Kent.
+44 1634 280840
He is a very old school glass bender.

[Simon Worrall]

quote Chris Windebank:

good call Simon

I only recognised it because it was the apple mac’s first typeface.

[Simon Worrall]

Chicago

[Simon Worrall]

I fancy those bigdug tiles David. Are they installed without glue? Dont they lift?
THey look comfortable and good enough to go into a showroom.
There is probably a NZ equivalent.
Good point Rob, a lighter colour will make it easier to see.

[Simon Worrall]

ok yup I get that. Good point.
But Ive been wrapping on concrete all this time, and it is not ideal for comfort.
I have wrapped on carpet (in a hotel ballroom), and it is lovely, but obviously one drop of oil and its ruined.
maybe there is an easy clean industrial rubber surface or something like that.

[Simon Worrall]

Cheers Luke.
What makes rubber harder to clean than bare or painted concrete?

[Simon Worrall]

quote Martyn Heath:

quote Simon Worrall:

if you use a bit of 3m primer on the rubber you might find the knifeless tape sticks better.

Nice idea. Wont it leave a shiney finish on the rubber tho?

Of course. Clean it off with iso.

[Simon Worrall]

if you use a bit of 3m primer on the rubber you might find the knifeless tape sticks better.

[Simon Worrall]

This may not affect the small aircraft in question, but vinyl for planes that fly at high altitudes is perforated with small holes.
This is to equalise the pressure underneath the vinyl with the low pressure above.
Otherwise small unnoticed air pockets you might have left while squeegeeing could blow up into large bubbles in the vinyl and cause unexpected changes in the aerodynamics of the plane.

[Simon Worrall]

I have been using jet best cartridges in my SP540V for over 5 years.
The colours are the same, it works the same, never a problem, and two thirds the price.

[Simon Worrall]

Tubes with phosphorescent coating will have had a few grammes of mercury injected into the tube before it was pumped and bombarded, to produce the mercury vapour that glows UV to make the coating light up.
Mercury is very toxic.
Here is some info.
https://www.wikihow.com/Dispose-of-Mercury

Make sure you get reimbursed properly for all your efforts.

[Simon Worrall]

quote George Neagu:

It’s simple, gently peel it off, the strip is stuck with double-sided tape.
In most cases, the double-sided tape can be removed pretty clean from the strip.
Apply fresh double-sided tape, flip the strip and stick it back.

You should be able to use the strip 4 times in total.

Are you saying this is designed into the product, George?

[Simon Worrall]

Oh is that the laminate with the clear backing paper?..Thats a nightmare to use even when cold! :shocked:

[Simon Worrall]

Polymeric. For everything except temporary correx signs – we keep a roll of cheap digitac for those.

[Simon Worrall]

If money is your only limiting factor, get the cheaper one (its still a graphtec, so it will be a first class product) but get the four foot one! 24 inches is very limited.

[Simon Worrall]

How to find the nest:

Capture one wasp, and put it in the fridge for half an hour to slow it down.
When it is cold and sluggish, superglue about a foot of white cotton to one of its feet.
Let it go, and once it warms up it will fly back to its nest.
Follow it, it will be easy to follow with the thread, and it will be slowed down by it.

If the nest is underground, block up all the entrances except one.
Pour in a couple of litres of petrol and block it off
do NOT light the petrol!

If the nest is in a house or anywhere else, call in a professional exterminator.
That is much more tricky to get rid.

[Simon Worrall]

There are a lot of products claiming to be able to glue small surface area locators to metals.
Personally I would never trust them in a million years, no matter what the claims or the reviews say – specially if the letters were mounted where the heavy letter could conceivably fall on a person.
Better to weld your tags on, or drill right through, or anything else but glue.
Maybe thats just me?
But so far no dropsies (touches wood)

[Simon Worrall]

I can get very pushy when customers are faffing about!
And as somebody else here has said, always keep an email trail and insist the customer keep the "reply" thread going.
Often customers give me the go-ahead on the phone, but I always make them email it.

[Simon Worrall]

I have never understood the need to bureaucratise good sense and good practice.
What happened to reputation and pride in your work?

[Simon Worrall]

quote James Boden:

Emails for payment are always ignored and when they are finally paid it always comes with “I have two new vans to do, when can you book them in?”

Excuse me, is he blackmailing you with non payment unless you do another two vans?
That is creepy and rude. Totally unacceptable, he sort of has you in an armlock.
Or did I get that wrong?

[Simon Worrall]

quote David Hammond:

I think the measure of a good company is how they react to a mistake. I am currently on a 40 mile round trip to give a vinyl phone number to my fitter. My mistake, my solution

[/quote]

Spot on

[Simon Worrall]

Point taken. The fact that it is unlaminated is not an issue, the short term vinyl itself is the issue.
Gotcha!

[Simon Worrall]

I’m afraid this is the norm when dealing with a larger company.
In my experience the bigger it is, the more useless and careless they are with customers.
Solo craftsmen / sole traders are the best.
One or two employees, under direct supervision of the owner, work okay.
But put in an admin department, accounts, branches, managers, Human resources, etc, and the whole service breaks down.
They write "mission statements" and lose the plot completely.
There are exceptions, of course.

[Simon Worrall]

You would have to be pressing very very hard to go through the layers of paint and laquer to get down to the metal underneath!
Peel back the vinyl in the affected area and double check that it is your cut that has gone deep enough to expose the metal. I find it hard to believe a sign writer can be so unaware of his strength that this has happened. The customer might just be trying to put an existing problem onto you.
While it is easy to scratch the top clear coat surface, it is very different from gouging out a canal. I dont think i would have the strength to cut that deep even if I tried. Perhaps a stanley knife would do it, but you said you used a scalpel.
Either way, use knifeless tape next time!

[Simon Worrall]

3 options is the ideal number.
One is cheap and nasty, one is way over the top, and the middle one is the one you wanted them to do all along.
It steers them along to the most sensible option, and it lessens the chance they will go somewhere else for another quote.

[Simon Worrall]

1. Drill a hole in the sign
2. Feed in a cable tie from the back, carry it on round a strand of the fence, and back through the hole in the sign.
3. Place a short length of steel rod over the hole, and tighten the cable tie round the rod.
4. Repeat.

[Simon Worrall]

Sorry posted twice and I cant delete it!

[Simon Worrall]

You are right, but the green goes straight into paintwork at some point, and so there has to be either a perfect lineup there or the green should overlap the vinyl below by a small amount.