Need a cheap of the shelf paint for sign foam

[donald_smull]

I have a project that needs some 15 lb sign foam letters. They will be 15 feet in the air mounted on a wall. I can cut it sand it, but have no idea what paint and primer to use. One problem is that this is a low low budget project. The letters will be 30 inches tall and 1 1/2 thick. Ideally something off the shelf at Lowes or HomeDepot would fit the budget.

Thanks for any and all Help.
Don

[mmccue29]

I would use a latex primer and oil base for the top coat.

[dakers]

I would use about any good durable exterior paint as long as it did not say self cleaning. Non chalking paints are best.
used to use paints that would chalk and run down the building they said self cleaning on the can.
We have had excellent results with benjamin moore impervo as well as others.

[toych]

When a customer says "budget" to me it usually takes Sign Foam out of the picture. A sheet of 15lb. 1.5" SF3 is over $500 dollars here (Toronto area) plus it's 90 minutes to the suppliers to pick it up. My shop is half an hour out of their delivery area. I usually plan half a day and hit a few diffent suppliers when I need to make a pick up ( Foam supplier, Paint supplier, Bass Pro Shops etc).

I have used Behr premium exterior acrylic enamel over latex primer as Micheal says on a low priced job using Sign Foam. Looks pretty good, time will tell how it weathers.

[joewino]

HDU (Sign Foam) does not need a primer. Almost any paint will stick to it provided you wash down the HDU with water or use air to blow off all the dust. Of course, it should also be free of any oil or other contaminates.

We use 100% acrylics to finish our HDU signs. A primer can be used to provide a smoother finish but it is not necessary for the paint to stick to the HDU.

"Low low budget" is a nice way to say cheap. Trying to cut corners to save money will result in a less than adequate project.

Both Lowe's and Home Depot have water based acrylics that would do the job. You can brush or spray.

The old adage, "You get what you pay for" is certainly true.

Edited to add: You are going to be using a lot of expensive HDU to complete this sign. The difference in cost between some bargain paint and a top quality finish is minimal compared to the overall cost of materials.

[donald_smull]

Thanks for all the input, and it helped. The sign foam was not cheap hear in Atlanta we pay $352.55 for a 4x8x1.5 sheet. The sign is going inside a warehouse and will be part of a training/sales area. About the price needing to be cheap my project manager told the client we would do it for free since we are making so many other things for this job. ("Go Figure")And this has been the most pricey material I have had to buy for this job.

Thanks again for all the help.

Don