Material question

[phil_o]

Last summer I made two signs for our local Am. Legion/VFW. I used Azek for the board (3/4' x 30" x 30") and applied a decals for the different organizations. Apparently Azek not the best choice for the boards. The decals are buckling due to the material expanding and contracting.
They will have to be redone. I'm considering MDO or HDU (signfoam). I need a material that will not expand and contract with temperature change. I'm looking for advice from sign people with experience in this area.

Thanks,

Phil

[Joe621]

Hi Phil

We do a lot of outdoor signage here in Tampa and we use foamed pvc, Sentria or Komatex are the brand names, exclusively as out backer. We print/laminate/apply in house and we get 3-5 yrs of life and usually the print or laminate will fail before the pvc.

Joe

Busch Gardens Tampa

[John Murray]

You might look into DiBond or AluBond. Aluminum skin with foamed PVC core.
John

JMP Stagecraft Oakland

[joe]

Interesting situation.

I've never had any problem with vinyl being applied and sticking to PVC. I'm with Joe621 on this topic. Never used AZEK.

[phil_o]

Well now I have another AM. Legion post who was impressed with the sign I made and has placed an order for their post. I would like to use HDU (sign foam) Can anyone tell me if signfoam expands and contracts with temperature changes? I know that PVC (Azek) does.

[Joe621]

Hey Phil

I was unfamiliar with Azek so I looked it up and it appears to be a foamed pvc like sintra or komatex but I think the big difference is in the extruding of the product. I am by no means a plastic expert but the pvc I can by at Home depot is very different than the sheet stock we use here. That said Sintra and Komatex and all the other brand names also offer the advantages of sheet thickness from 1/8" all the way to 2" thick and we have signs in the park that are well over 2 years old and still look good and have had no shrinkage issues. Just a fyi we assume that any sign in the park has a life of 18 months to 3 years as the max life on our uv laminate is 5 yrs. Dibond alumalite and products as such (pvc sandwiched between 2 thin sheets of aluminum) are great as well but if they are in a guest reachable are they will get bent. HDU or sign foam does not shrink much from my experience but it must be coated with some type of sealer to protect it any foam signs we do here are always carved and painted. I am working on an ID sign replacement for our Kumba roller coaster and it will be foam that is if I can ever get the background texture approved.