One of the major reasons sandblasted sign sales have flagged in the past ten years is the lack of availability of clear heart redwood. One of the options was clear cedar but that too isn't all that as easy of cheap to come by. I've used lots of cedar and love it but it's nothing like redwood. So why is there still interest. We can't rule out longevity. I have signs still doing well after thirty years. There are few materials that last that long. For example, the sign panel below is a replacement due to an auto accident. A major requirement is to duplicate the look look of the existing signage. However that's only a curious event. Most of my sandblasted signs come from the desire to have the natural wood grain look.
Today, with a router, we're able to get the desired depth without the difficult, labor intensive, blasting process. I'm showing here the use of common PVC as a sandblast resist. It's held in place with staples or 3m double stick foam tape.
I'll post a little more as we proceed