Finsihing HDU

[andyb]

Quick question for you sign guys. I just cut a sign in HDU and the painter is asking me about painting and sanding it to get a smooth surface. After I vcarved and pocket out the sign it looks pretty smooth to me, no to little tool marks. Do you guys do any sanding on the HDU or do you just primer/paint it to get the smooth surface? He said that he did a test piece that was primed, sanded and painted black and he said the he can see all the scratchs from the sanding. Any suggestions on what I should tell him?

[joewino]

What weight of HDU did you use? The lower the weight, the more work you will have to do to get a smooth finish.

We use 20# HDU for most of our work and do very little sanding, but we are not looking for a glass smooth finish either. Almost all of our signs are painted with 100% acrylics with a satin or flat finish.

Sanding of the HDU is usually not necessary.

[andyb]

Raymond,
Thanks for the info. It is 15# Duna Board. He said he is using a lacquer primer and a black oil-base paint for the background. I just saw one of the test pieces and he is getting a really smooth finish with the lacquer. I think he was just sanding the primer to knock-down some splatters.

Andy B.