[Steve Morgan]

A sad loss my condolences to his family, he was, I’m sure, a husband and father as well as a friendly signmaker

Steve

[Steve Morgan]

Not quite the answer you need but I used this technique when I sent pictures to a model maker who was building the car in the picture. The squares are all 25mm and I stood back what I thought was far enough to loose the distortion. Not brilliant for overall dimensions but quite accurate for scalling the smaller gaps and features.

The guy subsiquently produced a very nice accurate 1/43 kit of the car.

[Steve Morgan]

I didn’t do many stickers like this but I used Martyn’s method too and laid a piece of backing paper on top of the registration mark, silicone face up, then cut it out by hand.That’s easy of course if you only have 4 marks per sheet of stickers

Steve

[Steve Morgan]

I made all of my trays using a relatively cheap router, £100, and a flat bottom cutter as David mentions. If you look at ‘Trend’ router tips you’ll find the one. However I had a 3.0 X 1.5 metre bench which was big enough to accomodate anything I was ever likely to do and that made working much easier, oh and I had a BIG broom because even the smallest job creates a lot of mess. Once I’d cut and swept up I just bonded short lengths of aluminium angle on the inside of the folds.

Steve

[Steve Morgan]

Some years ago, when I was still working. I did a lot of work re-creating stickers for old racing cars and frequently the only references came from old magazine pictures. I used Signlab v8 and that included a pretty good vectorising application so having something that, although not perfect, started off the vectorising process was very very helpful. I must have spent hundreds of hours fiddling with logos trying to get them absolutely dead on and none of them charged because I loved doing it.

On reflection I would have had more time to do other work if I had found a trustworthy supplier to provide that service and of course it’s a cost with a mark-up to pass on to the client.

Steve

[Steve Morgan]

It could well be that the & is a different font. I can remember doing that on occasion because I didn’t like the & used for the other letters. You have to sensible of course.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by  Steve Morgan.

[Steve Morgan]

I struggled in my early years with big bits of vinyl and used Rapid-Tac with great success and when I didn’t have any Johnson’s Baby Soap mixed with water was a very good substitute. That said I’m pretty sure the adhesives were quite different from the current materials.

Steve

[Steve Morgan]

This, I think, is the final update on my need for help. The machine is now working quite well although a head soak repeat failed to change the many deflections on the black head, however having printed a couple of picture tests and a small sign the difference isn’t really apparent. I’m going to leave it as it is now.

I used Josero as recommended for the parts and I was very impressed with their service.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions.

Steve

[Steve Morgan]

Thanks David, I think I’ll go with the manual wind up and down, I’m not brave, and stupid? well I don’t agree with my wife :smiles:

[Steve Morgan]

Just an update, thanks for the help again. I’ve now changed caps and wipers and all is nearly working perfectly. Just one little niggle is the black head which whilst firing all over, the test print shows a lot of deflection, so I’ll do another head soak. I’m not convinced that my head soak the other day was done correctly can someone explain the best sequence of operations for me please?

Thanks, Steve

[Steve Morgan]

Thanks David and everyone, I gave the head a bit of a soaking session over a couple of days and I was quite surprised that it went from virtually completely blocked to practically clear, another overnight soak should resolve that, I’ve just got to change the caps and wipers now and all should be perfect again – I hope.

I had thought to get my old Roland engineer in to do the work and give the machine a once over at the same time but despite his offer to do the work with me free issuing the parts his secretary seems to have now declined that on the basis that I might not be getting genuine Roland spares – he must have plenty of work.

Steve

[Steve Morgan]

Thanks for the replies. Longish story cut shorter; I’ve resolved the original issue but now have what I am reliably informed is a capping problem to resolve. Someone has kindly sent me the engineers manual for my machine and it doesn’t look like a particularly awkward job to replace the caps although at first look I haven’t seen how to perform the ‘cap height adjustment’. I’m sure someone will have done this replacement – is it tricky?

Thanks in advance

Steve

[Steve Morgan]

Thanks, the best I’ve found so far is in Germany and the cost, €550, suggests that it isn’t genuine.

[Steve Morgan]

Thanks everyone for the advice, after a bit of messing around recently one of the heads has virtually failed completely so It’ll have to be changed. First task is therefore is to buy a new one, I think I want a genuine part and wipers etc at the same time. Can anyone recommend a reliable supplier in the UK please?

Thanks

[Steve Morgan]

Although I’m retired I due to help another board member with a job next week and I can’t go because I’m currently self isolating. I probably won’t stop the job but it will be easier if I’m there.

[Steve Morgan]

You could try this chap as an alternative to 3D print, his work is very very good and he’s not that far away from London. https://www.sculpturestudios.co.uk/.

Steve

[Steve Morgan]

Even if I had a million quid there’s no way I’d even consider buying something with a name I can’t pronounce :smiles:

[Steve Morgan]

Thanks for the advice, I’ve been given a manual for the machine so I’ll take a look in a couple of days. I’ve no need to hurry

Steve

[Steve Morgan]

"I’d have thought it would have been more beneficial for TS to let the labels get to the customer, and find out who is distributing the knock off goods, and disrupt that operation."

Looking in the phone book for ‘John’ :smiles:

[Steve Morgan]

Well ignorance of the law probably wouldn’t stand up as a very good first excuse and what about common sense? If someone walks in off the street, without prior arrangement no full name or contact details, and asks for 500 labels for a national brand wouldn’t that you make you think?

Steve

[Steve Morgan]

Jean,

I put some text onto the blades and handles of a friend’s kayak paddles a couple of years ago. Admittedly they were new carbon with a surface finish as good as acrylic, I used Oracle 751 and he’s not said anything about it coming off.

Steve

[Steve Morgan]

BLT Lighting – Peterborough I think but they have a website if you Google it.

Steve

[Steve Morgan]

It’s poster writers who have disappeared Neil, I used to have 2 writers write 400+ 20" x 30" cards for me every 3 weeks – all brush and Plaka paint, the same job now is done digitally, interestingly, using one of the fonts from Letterheads.

Is Plaka paint still available?

Steve

[Steve Morgan]

Some fine work there Neil. The two alphabets remind me of the work I used to get from some poster writers that I worked with, it’s a lost art nowdays.

Steve

[Steve Morgan]

Just one aspect that you or your customer might consider is the finish. If you cover the whole aircraft in a matt finish it will have an appreciable effect on the maximum speed and equally on the the fuel economy and range.

Steve

[Steve Morgan]

If you intend using acrylic then it’ll need to be heat formed to make sure it retains it’s shape. It would need to be engraved first. A collegue from some years ago does, or did, a lot of that kind of work.
Company name is Fibresports in Honywood Road, Basildon, Essex. Ask to speak to Steve Foster on 01268 282723 mention my name and he’ll double the price ha ha ha!

Steve

[Steve Morgan]

You need to look for something called a ‘P Clip’ . They come in all sorts of sizes and materials, the handrailing looks like the Kee Klamp system. I suppose it depends how many you need and how smart they need to look, the link below will give you a start.
https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/cable-cl … s/2875597/

[Steve Morgan]

Happy Christmas to one and all.

[Steve Morgan]

I would avoid screws – they move about and unwind – could be embarassing. Rivits and a bead of adhesive around the edges to make it all tidy.

[Steve Morgan]

Well Google Maps shows 30 Brunswick Street as err maybe not the area for an interior design company :smiles:

[Steve Morgan]

Adam,

You’ll need to check, but I think one of the principle differences it that the SP runs with Windows XP and no higher whereas the VP will run with later versions of the Windows OS.

[Steve Morgan]

Regardless of which method you use for the text I wouldn’t even think of doing the job on acrylic, it’s too soft and will scratch far too easily each and every time you remove some text especially if you use cut text. A piece of glass by comparison will allow heat, solvent glue removers and even careful use of a razor blade scraper, it won’t attract dust and it’s clarity is far better than acrylic. A local glass merchant will cut the holes in a laminated panel.

[Steve Morgan]

Rob,
Am I right in thinking that Acrifix was made by tha adhesives division of ICI? If so that part of ICI was sold to a German company called Henkel shortly before ICI was taken over by AkzoNobel.

[Steve Morgan]

All Print supplies do a plotting paper, not very heavy gauge but quite adequate other than on a windy day. I seem to recall that Hexis do paper as well but a heavier weight.

[Steve Morgan]

You could try All Print Supplies and also Hexis, you’ve probably already done the job by now though.

[Steve Morgan]

All the very best for the future Ewan.

[Steve Morgan]

Derek,

I’ve known and used this guy for many years and his work is first class.

http://www.sculpturestudios.co.uk/defau … tpage=home

He recently featured in the BBC Fake or Fortune program.

[Steve Morgan]

Although I’m now retired I still do one or two jobs for friends and old customers. I used a desktop machine with a proper screen and a cble connected mouse for years, I now manage with an i5 laptop using SignLab. If the going gets serious I add a bluetooth mouse because as Rob says the touchpad is horrible added to the fact that the screen is really quite inadequate.

I think that a proper desktop machine, which you can always upgrade, probably a lot cheaper, linked to a proper screen are really essential if you want to work efficiently and they are almost certainly more reliable when you consider that it may be running for 10 hours a day. Cloud storage; well I never went down that road but I would now.

Hope that’s of some help

[Steve Morgan]

The youtube idea works well, I used to do it, but you need a crosscut saw. If you don’t have the saw, and I’ve used this method several times, follow the method of tapeing, measuring and marking the roll and using a good heavy duty knife very carefully cut along the line as you roll the vinyl away from you on the bench, a few inches at a time. Keep this up applying a little more pressure as you get a bit deeper into the cut. Providing your initial cut was good and straight the whole cut will remain straight. Depending on how much vinyl is on the roll will determine how long it takes to get all the way through but with a bit of patience about 10-15 minutes should get you all the way through a 25 metre roll and core, and all without the expense of a crosscut saw.

[Steve Morgan]

Yes it does, Ordinary flourescent tubes are not generally ‘daylight tubes’ and equally the sames applies to ordinary light bulbs. Daylight tubes are available as are incandescant light bulbs, I’ve been using them for over 20 years and more recently daylight LED lamps.

[Steve Morgan]

As Phil has correctly pointed out LED’s are available in different colour temperatures, the attached scan may be useful.

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Attachments:

[Steve Morgan]

I produced a number of magnetic faced ACM boards a couple of years ago using a ferrous material from Anchor Magnets (www.anchormagnets.com). I found them to be very helpful, they laminated 20 metres of relective vinyl onto some normal magnetic sheet for me at the same time, for a charge of course, awkward job with my steel made laminater.

They have a good catalogue of products which I used many times.

[Steve Morgan]

I’m with David and Chris on this.I used polypropylene on my bench for many years, however my initial reason for using it was that is was far more practical for me as my bench was used for many jobs other than just cutting and weeding. I got involved in a lot of exhibition carpentry, painting and occasional welding so whilst glass would have been very nice on occasions on balance it just wasn’t practical. The only time the sheet was completed ruined was after a lot of heavy cutting with a Stanley knife, and I wouldn’t have wanted to try that with the very slippery nature of glass anyway.

I’d like a quid for every time this subject has been aired on here. :smiles:

[Steve Morgan]

Davy,

Have you tried All Print Supplies? They supply a canvas for printing and I think they also have a library of profiles, although I have no idea to which machines they will be suited. Hexis also do canvases for printing and they may also have a profile library.

[Steve Morgan]

I have to say I aggree with Phil. When I finally packed up work last year I had a lot of throwing away to get on with and amongst all the work related stuff that was thrown were the better part of 15 years of job files and I think 14 years of those hadn’t been touched from the day they went into the file boxes.
If I were doing it all again I think keeping 2 years of handwritten files would be more than sufficient.

[Steve Morgan]

Warren,
I’m in the process of digitising a couple of thousand photographs, I went through a similar process of hunting for a semi automated system and similarly drew a blank.
It would seem that unless you spend a small fortune on a machine or an outside service the only alternative is a rather slow manual process. The Epson scanner I’m using doesn’t even save files with a proper date, every file has the same 2015 date!
I scan in batches and use Adobe Bridge to rename the whole batch with the same name and a consecutive number – it’s mind numbing! Best of luck :smiles:

[Steve Morgan]

Glen,

This became a bit of a topic some years ago.
A friend of mine who was an architectural engineer, when I quized him, explained that is was, and surely still is, a very complex subject, however his advice to me was to calculate the Wind Load using a rule of thumb figure 15lbs/sq.ft of sign panel for each mile per hour of wind speed. That will give you some pretty alarming numbers to consider. Then consider how high up for the bending moment at the point where the post goes into the ground and of course how many stiffeners, ribs or whatever will be needed to support the flat panel and prevent it folding up.
I would be inclined to seek professional help to get the figures calculated rather than guess it.

Steve

[Steve Morgan]

Try All Print Supplies 01753 696977

[Steve Morgan]

I only ever did work on one bike and the All Print material left over went on some dustbins :smiles:

Most of my motorsport work involved 12 saloon cars in 2 different one make series and I only ever used Oracle 551 and 751 and a lot of reflective yellow, on one car only. Fortunately there were never any problems with payment.

[Steve Morgan]

Exactly has Hugh has said. On the face of it the work sounds quite a profitable venture but no two stickers are ever the same and the whole project can become all time consuming for a relatively low turnover and they are always wanted on a Friday afternoon.

[Steve Morgan]

I think I would steer clear of that as a project. That kind of hull is, I think, called a clinker build and is normally constructed in timber although I imagine there could be fibre glass re-inforced versions. The preparation of the surface would be a ridiculously long affair. As a shape to wrap, it might not be that difficult, but the environment that a boat hull is subjected to is far worse than any vehicle will ever have to withstand and with overlaps, joints and edges either submersed or partially submersed all the time. If it was a nice new smooth glass re-inforced or carbon fibre hull it would be worth looking onto with the correct material – my advice would be to stay with modern paint and anti-fouling.

[Steve Morgan]

quote :

”I could show you a few places round there, you didn’t know existed”

Do we really want to know about your life away from signmaking :smiles:

[Steve Morgan]

Chris, I had to remove some text from a dibond estate directory board last year, only 50mm upper & lowercase, I had my heatgun but forgot the extension lead so I used a pencil blowtorch with great success. Not much good on a breezy day of course but it saved me driving back to the workshop.

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Attachments:

[Steve Morgan]

I would stick with the knife and straight edge then clean the edge with a smooth file or a de-buring tool. Jigsaws are difficult to use on very thin material and not at all good for cutting long straight cuts, the footplate can also leave a mark along the panel. Angle grinder !!!. If it’s only a small amount to be removed on a short length, 2 – 4mm, a Cabinet Makers Rasp can be usefull but the panel needs to held firmly and a bit of patience and skill is involved.

[Steve Morgan]

David, very best of luck on Monday and I sure a few of us will be keen to hear of your experiences.

I looked at their site some while ago after you posted details and I recall a good number of images of ‘their’ work, I’ve just looked again and the number is greatly reduced to a point that, for a company whose claims of experience and work quality, all looks pretty pathetic. An interesting note at the foot of the page says :-

‘We do not claim all of the pictured work on this website to be our own. If you would like an image removed please contact us’

which suggests the use of other peoples pictures, with the inference that permission hasn’t been requested.

[Steve Morgan]

Simon,

Similar to the stuff I did, I still think I’d cut it on the bench and or the plotter as I described.

[Steve Morgan]

Simon,

I used to make some of what you need for a client. The lower side stripes were in the style of the racing GT40’s of the late 1960’s ie; 2 narrow outer stripes with a broad centre and a bit of text towards the front, so a little more complicated than yours, all cut and applied with application tape without any problem. In the end all I cut on the plotter was the door section with the text (left and right hand), the rest I cut by hand on the bench in 3/4 metre lengths and cut off pieces as needed.

The bonnet and roof bits came from America and were fitted by the client with application tape so I can’t comment but I would be inclined to use a wrapping vinyl without tape to help go around the subtle curves, some careful measurements needed though; nothing worse than slightly off centre out of parallel lines :smiles:

[Steve Morgan]

Warren, There would be no problem with applying leaf to small stuff like that with a tight radius on the edges. I think that you will need to coat the PVC with something to which the gold size will adhere, I think I would go for an aerosol paint car paint, I always used yellow. The entire surface needs to be really smooth because the leaf is so thin it’ll show any imperfections.
Best wait for John Singh to post and answer he’ll know best.

[Steve Morgan]

And it’ll only go on dead flat shapes

[Steve Morgan]

I used this company in Grays in Essex for several years and they were always reliable. http://www.essextubes.com/contact-us.html.

Dimensions were always accurate and consistant and from my point of view they were always competitively priced. However I used to collect from the factory which wasn’t far away so I never had any delivery costs, if your’re based in the midlands then the unit cost will obviously be higher.

[Steve Morgan]

He may well have been down that path before and knew what the implications were. Glad it’s sorted for you.

[Steve Morgan]

I once bought a very similar looking frame from Kestrel Signs in Birmingham I think. They manufacture frame aluminium section.

[Steve Morgan]

Well spotted George, she clearly hasn’t got any idea of how to use a vernier calliper or probably even what it is used for.

[Steve Morgan]

Almost certainly made by a banner writer who would have brushed the numerals on. If you’ve been asked to produce a similar replacement I suggest to get in touch with Russell & Chapple in London

Office and Shop
30-31 Store Street, London WC1E 7QE Telephone: 020 7836 7521

You may be able to get a similar canvas or heavy cotton twill as the original. As far as brushing the numerals there are several traditional writers here on the boards who would be able to help. I don’t think that PVC banner material will work and it certainly wouldn’t look right.

I used to love jobs like that because I always enjoyed the challenge of finding the materials to reproduce the job exactly as the original and I got a great deal of satisfaction when finished.

[Steve Morgan]

Dan, I wish I’d known that a couple of years ago – I’m still cleaning my bike with the remains of a T shirt order that I did incorrectly, and I clean my bike weekly :smiles:

[Steve Morgan]

I think that you are trying to get full payment for the work and materials you have supplied. If you now go and take a part of that service back then how can you proceed with the claim?
Additionally you could leave yourself open to criminal damage etc etc, just stick with the claim through the correct channel.

[Steve Morgan]

You two not very busy then?

[Steve Morgan]

Phil , when you’re retired every day is a day off ha ha ha, oh and it’s always sunny down here in Essex :smiles:

[Steve Morgan]

Don’t even consider letting it go. Use the Small Claims Court It works; although somewhat slowly and you need to sit down and fill out the details carefully but as those of us who have used it will agree – It works.

You could start the ball rolling with a solicitors letter and you could add that to your expenses. A County Court judgement is a pretty serious matter and could affect him a great deal in the future and the bailifs on the front door step are not a welcome sight for anyone.

Think of it as theft of your property.

[Steve Morgan]

Who owns the pathway?

[Steve Morgan]

I think that the manufacturer of Dibond, Reynobond or any named ACM would have a spec sheet on their website or available by phone, failing that then your supplier should be able to provide one for the product.
It might be wise in the to be able to provide those details for any sign that is to be fiited into an indoor area.

[Steve Morgan]

I believe that a year ago, or maybe two, there was a similar fire that engulfed a building somewhere in the middle east, could have been Dubai. I don’t recall the same loss of life but I do remember that it was thought, on the day, that a composite cladding material was responsible for the rapid spread of flame.

[Steve Morgan]

There are some aspects of working that I miss since I retired, dealing with w-nkers like that is not one of them :smiles:

[Steve Morgan]

For as long as I can remember I used the elastic bands that the post was bundled with, they’re free and there’s a ready supply each week. The downside is that they can leave a mark on cast material that is unused for a few months or canvas for printing, although I avoided that problem by keeping all my print material in the long polythene bags.

[Steve Morgan]

Can we all know who they are?

[Steve Morgan]

Unlike many I only spoke and met John a couple of times but I do remember that I valued his opinions and views on the subjects he contributed to on here. On the occasions when there was a bit of acrimony I used to eagerly await John’s sensible input and I miss that.

[Steve Morgan]

James, Try Industrial Metal Services in Shoeburyness 01702 296955, they are a big metal stockist of ferrous and non-ferrous and they deliver all over the home counties. I used them for years.

[Steve Morgan]

Vince, we rolled the letters and that was done before any Bigheads were bonded. The tricky part was drilling accurate holes, on that job the wall had been finished with a very expensive decorative plaster finish so no extra holes :smiles:

[Steve Morgan]

I done almost exactly the same as Martin describes, stainless with M5 studding silver soldered to the reverse, and letters I made myself with Bigheads bonded with Penlock adhesive and M5 studding. I nearly always used 3mm foam PVC sheet as a template.
Probably the biggest difficulties to overcome are the positions of the studs – I always seemed to get a couple holes that needed to be right down the edge of a brick or stone and the other was holding the template on the wall securely for long enough to mark the holes.
I had one job with stainless letters on a curved interior wall where I got my local sheet metal fabricators to roll the letters to match the curve on the wall. It took a lot of work getting the measurements correct and the fitting was tricky but the finished job looked very nice.

[Steve Morgan]

I’ve bought 19mm foam from Amari Plastics but of course it depends if you are within their delivery area.

[Steve Morgan]

I’ve used Ralawise for several years and mostly just T shirts, polo shirts and sweatshirts for myself so small orders and always has good service. They have an extensive range and you can order by phone or online, there is a catalogue available.

[Steve Morgan]

Best of Luck Stewart.

[Steve Morgan]

Ditto all that David says, used them on my bench for years.

[Steve Morgan]

Phil, I remember one of the vinyl reps that I spoke to telling me that vinyl was slightly porous so that when applied wet the material allowed the moisture to evaporate, that was a long time ago so it may not apply to more modern material.
One problem is that you cannot guarentee that there is no corrosion already taking place before you start, bare aluminium certainly always has oxidisation on the surface which prevents a good bond.
It does sound a bit risky.

Steve

[Steve Morgan]

I think that a replacement USB dongle is now about £100 +VAT. You’ll need to send your damaged one to Cadlink first.

[Steve Morgan]

When I first started getting involved in sign making all the boards were timber, there wasn’t really any other sensible options. On a board of that size we would certainly have used 5/8" or 3/4" (that’s old money ha ha) 15 or 19mm but not always marine quality. Regardless of the board quality the whole board would have been given mulitple coats of primer, undercoat and gloss, the same would also have applied to the frame, which would normally have been softwood and fitted after painting. Generally speaking, we did not put any frame on the lower edge as it was always considered a water trap, and to further help the bottom edge we usually cut a fairly generous chamfer on the back of that edge to create a ‘drip edge’

Obviously your project needs the frame all round so I would suggest drill a few drain holes into the groove that your boards will sit in, otherwise the painting regime could be the same.

In the end sadly, it’s cost that will probably govern you and your clients decision.

[Steve Morgan]

For many years I used 1220 X 2440mm Polyproylene sheet from Amari, 2mm thick if I remember correctly. I could get it to last several months using both sides, it’s an off white opal, not clear, but it does allow a fair bit of light through and it isn’t expensive. See if you can get a sample?

[Steve Morgan]

Very nice Phil, now that I’m retired my interest has moved away from signwork and toward 3D printing, I’ve been looking at printers for months and just when I decided what to buy a new model appeared so I’m waiting now to find out if the new model is much better.

[Steve Morgan]

All my best wishes Mike. I cannot imagine what it must feel like. Try and sit back for a couple of days and take stock of what you can realistically do in the near future, don’t make any hasty decisions and don’t be bullied by your insurers.
Sadly I’m no longer in a position to offer any help but I’m sure there are other members here on the boards who may be able.

Ahe very best, try and keep us all up to date.

Steve

[Steve Morgan]

Bar a couple of occasions with local council jobs worths whilst I was fitting work I managed to avoid all this legistlation.

Am I glad to have retired or what!! :smiles:

[Steve Morgan]

I would paint the letters with a good emulsion and give them plenty of drying time then a coat of PVA which will seal the emulsion an give it a semi gloss finish and also a reasonable level of weather proofing. If you attempt to use an oil bound paint or solvent based paint you will destroy the poly.

Many years ago I made a set of letters for a shop to be used as a temporary sign, finished in a similar fashion, they were still up about 5 years later :smiles:

[Steve Morgan]

As an apprentice engineer if I couldn’t draw, cut and finish a simple shape in metal accurately I would have been kicked out.

Machines are irreplaceable for mass production but hands, eyes and handtools are still the option for single items. Lets not forget that there are many examples of fine engineering flying and driving around that include many accurate and beautifully hand made componants.

[Steve Morgan]

Very nice Simon, I quite like time lapse it’s a much more interesting way to show work. When I last wrote some text with a brush there was no such thing as a digital camera ha ha

[Steve Morgan]

Phil, have a good look around your area for an engineering company that are able to do sheet metalwork, I’m sure that you’ll find one tucked away on a local trading estate. Over the years I’ve had all my sign trays made by a company just round the corner from my factory, both stainless and aluminium, I bought the metal from a local metal supplier, had it delivered to their factory and they did the folding and welding and the bonuses were that I could go a speak to the man who was preparing the quote, speak to the man who was making it and at almost half the price of the companies who ”specialise” in tray making. I also had 3 local companies who did powder coating and they provided colour matching and finishing.

I used to search for these services in Yellow Pages directory, before the internet, and in my experience most of these companies still don’t have a web site although they may use email. They may still have a Yell.com advert though. I think we are slipping into a belief that if it doesn’t appear on the first page of a Google search then it doesn’t exist and if there isn’t an app or YouTube video it can’t be done.

Steve

[Steve Morgan]

That looks very nice Phil, I think the Gulf colours look just right as well. Are the headlamp covers removable or have you just left them covered for the ‘roll out’ ?

I always wanted to do a car wrap before I packed up working, I did a couple of vans a few years ago but with very thick printed material unlike the latest generation of coloured vinyls.

[Steve Morgan]

Congratulations Cheryl, and I hope you carry on for many years to come. I think I remember meeting you at a sign exhibition in Birminham not long afterwards. I certainly remember you winning an award some years ago.

I’ve just looked and it would appear that I have been on here for nearly 11 years although I’ve packed up work now so my need for advice is not so any longer and hence the reason I’ve let my membership lapse.

[Steve Morgan]

Love the work van Hugh, very impressive.

[Steve Morgan]

Some nice work there Phil, like David I like the Kilt Studio and I imagine that it looks better in the flesh than in the picture.

[Steve Morgan]

David, I applaud you making regular postings of your work, and I agree with you that it would be nice to see a few more examples from the other regular posters, it’s not something I’ve ever had the confidence to do.

Some years ago I posted an idea on how to do a job and the replies centred not on whether the idea was good but more on the material that I had used in the post – that confirmed to me that I perhaps I’d better not show any of my work.

Please continue to post your work, but chances are, that as an untrained graphic designer, I’m unlikely to comment.

Steve

[Steve Morgan]

No comment on the layout but you might want to check the spelling 😉