First paid project: Street sign

[coryatjohn]

I finished my first public and paid project. It's a set of street signs for a private drive.

Signs are hard! Cutting it on my machine was easy. The hard part was painting it. There has to be an easy way to paint letters.

I cut the sign, then painted it. Perhaps a better way would be to first paint all the background colors, mask it, cut it, paint the letters and then remove the masking.

Ok, sign makers, what's the secret? If masking in advance is done, what do you mask with? Regular blue painter's tape? Some sort of miracle goop?

Thanks in advance.

http://www.usnaviguide.com/shopbot/ROPC_sign.jpg

[zeykr]

do a google search for "masking site:talkshopbot.com"

[coryatjohn]

I should have mentioned that I already searched Google and there were no definitive answers.

There are lots of potential products. I'm looking for a recommendation for a product that holds up to a cutter.

Any product and technique suggestions?

[kartracer63]

John,

A lot of people use "Oracal 813" mask. Personally, I've got a ton of off colored 2.5mil vinyl that I use when I need to mask something. The vinyl works good.

But, I'll bet the 813 mask works great too.

[coryatjohn]

Eric,

Thanks a lot! I ordered the "Oracal 813" stuff. According to Sign Warehouse, it's for water based paints only. What do you use for laquer and other solvent based materials?

[kartracer63]

You could try some Oracal #651 Vinyl.

[gerryv]

John,

There's lots of info, expertise and Shopbotters here.

http://www.3dsignforum.com

[knight_toolworks]

myself I want to use my drag knife to cut the mask before I vcarve it that way you don't have to worry about the v bit chewing it up.

[feinddj]

Try sealing the sign before you cut it. Mask with shelf paper to keep most of the material off when you hit the letters. Then sand the surface to get rid of any bleed. That's a quick, cheap way.

David

[coryatjohn]

Steve,

The drag knife idea sounds pretty good. Thanks for the tip.

[twelchPTM]

I am definatly not a sign maker but... I have used the stencil material from our vinyl cutter by applying the material over the work piece, v-carving my design, painting and then peeling the vinyl off.

[coryatjohn]

I am definatly not a sign maker but... I have used the stencil material from our vinyl cutter by applying the material over the work piece, v-carving my design, painting and then peeling the vinyl off.

How hard is it to peel off the vinyl? Does it adhere stronger as time passes, like a week? What vinyl products are better for masking?

[bleeth]

Avery Paint mask and Gerber paint mask both work well also.
Another method is to paint your sign, clear coat it, cut the letters, paint them, and then sand the surface clearcoat to remove any "whoops" from the letters.
When doing a "rough" plank sign that isn't flat enough for paint mask you can use Joe Crumley's rootin-tootin paint mask method: Rubber cement!! After cutting and painting your letters you just peel off the rubber cement.

[coryatjohn]

Dave,

Excellent tips! I really appreciate it.

[zeykr]

John,

If you will do the google search as it was shown (masking site:talkshopbot.com) you will find several threads on this forum that go into detail on methods and materials for masking, including vinyl masking and rubber cement masking. Some of the better threads are back about 5 years ago.

[ssflyer]

Ken's suggestion is a good one. It's an underused google command that only searches the site specified; (site:talkshopbot,com) It is often much better than using the built-in search on forums. Vectric's forum is a great example. Their built-in search is mostly useless.

[chiloquinruss]

Just an additional step I do: paint the background color, mask, and cut. THEN BEFORE painting the letters a do a very LIGHT clear coat spray and let it dry. This seals the edge between the sign and the vinyl and prevents any bleed. Then finish up with the paint the letters step and peel when dry. Russ

[coryatjohn]

Russ,

Thanks for that tip.

[kartracer63]

John,

If you use the "light clear coat" before painting your letters, you might want to lightly sand (120 grit) (after painting your letters) the entire surface before removing the mask. The light sanding will break the seal's edge just enough to peal up the mask without pulling up any of your letter's paint with it.

[chiloquinruss]

Eric, good tip too! What a gang we've got here! :D Russ