Why Sandblasted? Why not? Sandblasted signs have been a popular choice for years for subdivision entrances, park wayfinding signs, resort signs, and business signs. Offering a great alternative to vinyl signs sandblasted signs are more of an architectural element that add to the overall design of the location rather than a flat, printed sign. First impressions are important and typically the first thing people see is your sign. Sandblasted signs give you that great first impression and the opportunity to stand out from the start.
What goes in to building a sandblasted sign?
Choose a substrate. Originally the substrate of choice was cedar planks. Cedar is a great sign building material because of it's resistance to bugs and rot. Cedar is easily sandblasted and the resulting signs can last many, many years. The downside is that cedar is a natural product and no matter how much care and skill is used in the fabrication of the cedar sign the wood is still (eventually) subject to decay. Cedar is also becoming harder to come by.
HDU (High Density Urethane) is the most popular choice of substrate for sandblasted signs today and the material we use for the majority of our orders. It is impervious to insects and rot and unaffected by temperature changes. Unlike cedar HDU is readily available. It is very dense, stable, fabricates easily and paints beautifully.
Once the substrate is chosen the sign blank is cut to shape on one of our CNC tables and is prepped for the sandblast mask. Using a vinyl plotter the artwork for the sign is cut from a rubber stencil material called sandblast mask. This mask is then applied to the face of the sign blank. The areas to be sandblasted are removed exposing the raw substrate. The exposed areas are blasted down to depth of 1/4 inch to 3/8 of an inch leaving the graphics and borders raised. This give the sign its dimensional look.
Priming is next. The blasted sign is primed by hand, allowed to dry, sanded, then primed again.
Priming is an important step and it's important that shortcuts are not taken with this step. An even, smooth coat of high build primer will give you the base you need for laying your color in. Once priming is complete, dry, and well sanded, the sign is cleaned of any dust and ready to paint.
1Shot paint is applied to the background of the sign by hand and allowed to dry for 24 hours. We use Spraylat's 1Shot Lettering enamels for all of our sandblasted signs because they dry hard, have a beautiful gloss and smooth finish, and last a very long time. After the background color is completely dry the graphics and borders are painted. Painting the text and graphics of the sign is called "Lettering" the sign. The paint is usually applied with a brush but rather than painting the color on by using brush strokes the color is "set" on the top of the letter with the brush. Because of 1Shot's good flow the paint evens out leaving a smooth finish with little or no brush marks.
After drying for another 24 hours the sign is complete. The sign is carefully wrapped, crated, and shipped.
BRF Signs.com
