Styrofoam Letters

[mklafehn]

Thanks for the info. How did the client (or you) make these letters UV stable for outdoor use? How were they prepped prior to painting?

[andyb]

Mike,
I asked him the same thing and he said it is all in the automotive paint and the clear-coat. He puts on a couple coats of thick paint, sands them smooth then another coat or two then the clear-coat. The automotive paint is very expensive and dries hard. The clear-coat makes the letters shine. The sun never penetrates the paint. He has been doing them this way for years and has never had one to fail.

He painted a sign I cut for a local college for me in automotive paint and it turned out great. We had to match an existing sign. The customer I cut the sign for thought the original sign as a PVC material but after a closer inspection it was HDU with automotive paint. So we match it perfectly.

Andy B.

[gc3]

nice work andy!

[andyb]

CORRECTION:
Ok, I wanted to correct the way the letters were painted. I talked to my customer yesterday and the letters are painted with several coats of Latex Acrylic paint not automotive paint. He said that he puts the paint on thick to build it up and its fills in the void areas. Since the paint is thick and encases the foam the UV does not hurt it.

Andy B.