Huge sign material?

[EricSchimel]

Hey all! For the sign makers out here I'm looking for a material suggestion:

I'm going to be cutting a gigantic sign for a business. One letter is going to be 8 feet tall.

We're tossing around ideas about how we can do this. I am thinking of cutting out the letters out of some material, plywood or PVC maybe and bolting them to a back panel.

The question is about material. What do people use for huge stuff like this? Plywood seems risky because of the exposed endgrain on the letters. Maybe there is a huge PVC sheet I could use?

The letters and back panel will be painted if that helps. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I'm just looking to get a direction.. I'm not even sure what materials I should be researching at this point...

[joe]

Eric,

Congrats on the project.

I'm sure you would come by some suggestions with a little more information. How about a drawing or concept? What will the panel be attached to and how high is it off the background. Is weight a consideration? And how about a budget!

Joe

[EricSchimel]

Right now it's all a bit up in the air...

The building has siding so I think we want to do some sort of backer. What I had invisioned was a big rectangle backer that was painted. Then the letters would be milled and bolted to that backer and painted a different color.

After I posted this message I stumbled on this stuff:

http://www.kommerlingusa.com/komacel_plus_embossed/pvc-wood.cfml

I ordered some samples so we'll see. From the sounds of it, it will mill very well, take paint, and because it's PVC it resists rot. I am curous how stiff or floppy it is for huge letters. I don't want them to droop after a hot day!

[joe]

PVC with thickness less than .75" will warp like crazy. Most of our signs are from 1" HD PVC. It's heavy and sells for $250. a sheet.http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=26120&stc=1

[EricSchimel]

Are you using that Kommatex stuff or something else?

[joe]

My supply houses are Graphic Solutions, Regal Plastics, Reece Sign Supply and NGlantz. It's a mystery to me what brand they . But you will ship. You will know it's HD if the surface is smooth and slick. Slightly textured means interior use only.

I have know idea how thick you plan the letters are will to be. One of the most stable materials is DiBond or that kind of product but it's not very thick.

It's important to understand a router isn't much of a qualification to enter the sign trade. The primary qualification is good design. Seldom do we see well thought out drawings leading into a project. I'd encourage thoughtful planning and knowledge of material before starting.

[EricSchimel]

Thanks so much for the tips. There's definitely going to be a lot of planning and drawings going into this project. I just like to know the limits of the material I could potentially use before drawing. Seeing the way you make those signs out of PVC has given me a pretty good idea of how I'm going to pull this off.

[joe]

Komatex is interior only.

Please read the link you posted!

[EricSchimel]

Not according to their website. The link I posed was one of their exterior products for sign making.

http://www.kommerlingusa.com/outdoor.cfml

[Brady Watson]

KOMATEX (http://www.kommerlingusa.com/Komatex/pvc-color.cfml) is manufactured to be used for interior and limited exterior applications. Please use caution when using Komatex in an exterior application, especially when dark paint, ink or vinyl is applied. This may cause the sheets to expand in heat and contract in cold. Test before any production run. Kommerling USA does not recommend long term term/permanent use of Komatex in exterior applications.

RE: http://www.kommerlingusa.com/komatex/pvc-color.cfml

-B

[EricSchimel]

We're not looking at the same thing. Kommatex is for indoor according to their website. They have outdoor stuff like Komadur and one that's supposed to look like wood:

With a faux PVC wood grain finish, KOMACEL Plus Embossed PVC wood sheets give you plastic that looks like wood but that lasts much longer, because it won't be damaged by some of woods worst nightmares – moisture, changing temperatures, UV radiation and insects. KOMACEL Plus Embossed is made using a new technology that also protects this faux wood grain PVC sheet from rotting, splitting, delaminating or cupping under harsh conditions. You can mill, drill, screw, nail, glue, rout, cut, paint and stain KOMACEL Plus Embossed , and you can use the same tools you currently use to fabricate wood. Unmatched by any wood product, KOMACEL Plus Embossed is so durable it will outlast the test of time.

http://www.kommerlingusa.com/KomacelPlusEmbossed/pvc-wood.cfml

The reason I'm interested in using this stuff is that according to their website, it's well suited for outdoor use. The tech specs say it can be painted as well which is what I want to do. I'm not married to this, and if someone has a better suggestion I'm all ears.

[joe]

This stuff is famous for Warping when used in large sheets. The expansion of ALL PVC is considerable.

What thickness? Go for it and keep us informed. How a drawing or two?

[Alex Naumenko]

I would do them out of aluminum. 090-.125 aluminum face and 2" 063 aluminum return. So called halo letters.
Show us some artwork may be we can help with material.

[joe]

I'm with Alex. But we don't just don't know how deep the letters will be.

Here's a sample photo of a sign we did using 1" PVC. It's stacked to get extra depth.

http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=26136&stc=1

[EricSchimel]

I was thinking something sort of like that. 1" thick letters attached to a solid backer board.

Looks like the "restaurant and tavern" are wrapped in metal. The large letters up above aren't though, are they?

[Alex Naumenko]

You can seamlessly seem some of the materials. I am personally confident in HDU or Aluminum. Here is sign out of HDU 8x1226137

[wcsg]

If it were me and from the short description it's probably NOT something you would want to be routing out on your table. I would be making a 8' channel letter, or "reverse channel letter"...say 3" to 5" deep, preferably out of aluminum and you won't have to worry about the elements, warping, weight, how to mount, etc etc

[joe]

This post by Eric has not shown any respect, for us professionals, by not providing drawing or details. I'll refrain from further suggestion for Eric.

Joe Crumley
www.normansignco.com (http://www.normansignco.com)

[rb99]

I'm with Alex. But we don't just don't know how deep the letters will be.

Here's a sample photo of a sign we did using 1" PVC. It's stacked to get extra depth.

http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=26136&stc=1

Hi Joe,

When you stack the PVC do you glue 2 1" sheets together to get a 2" sheet? I see you have a couple of separate routes (the outline and the letters) married together. How do you glue them together?

Thanks

[joe]

I'll post an answer to your question under a new Topic in order to get start fresh.

Joe