I've been asked to find a sand blasted sign

[Terry Wawro]

We have a house in a partially completed subdivision. There are a lot of vacant lots here with the owners waiting for the economy to turn around before they build. At our last meeting with the homeowners in the neighborhood some of the folks with vacant lots in our cul de sac complained about people parking there during the day and throwing out fast food trash and teenagers using the empty cul de sac at night to, well..... watch the submarine races it you catch my drift. They want to put up a Private Drive, No Trespassing sign at the entrance to the main drive that dead ends into the cul de sac.

Since it would be on or near my property, I volunteered to look into it. I was thinking that we needed a nice looking sand blasted sign, not just a metal one that looks like a speed limit or something.

I don't have a sand blaster so any advice to where I should look on the web to buy one or have it made at reasonable cost?

[Scott Shepherd]

Forget the sandblast, pop into the "CNC" section of this forum and have someone cut them for you. You'll probably get more of what you want and a better price. Plus, the new software many are using can simulate the wood grain look.

[Joe Pelonio]

I still do a fair amount of sandblasted signs, the rustic look of the background grain is still more desirable to some people than routed signs. It is also more expensive, though, retailing for about $100/sf with an average amount of text/graphics/paint colors. A part of that is the cost of clear heart cedar or redwood, while routed signs can be done with a lower quality wood.

[Terry Wawro]

I had not thought of a routed sign. I'm sure that would be fine also.

[Hugh Brannon]

There is a company in Lexington, SC near my shop that will quote wholesale sandblasted signs to other sign companies. They do all of my sandblasted signs and I do their routing. They quote and ship all over the country. They do cedar, redwood, or HDU, though most work down here is going HDU. They can grain it to look like wood. They are Capitol Design and can be reached on the web at www.sandblastedsigns.com (http://www.sandblastedsigns.com).

[Michael Schwartz]

What your describing provided a simple design minus paint/finish can very easily be done in around an hour on a CNC router including design time.

[Keith Outten]

Terry,

There are lots of talented people here who can provide you with a very nice sign at reasonable prices. Cruise the Sign Design, CNC and Laser Engraving Forums and you will see plenty of very nice signs and innovative designs. I included the Laser Engraving Forum because there are some who are engraving Corian these days and it makes an excellent exterior sign that will last longer than most.

The CNC folks have the advantage of speed on their side and they can create signs of just about any size in 2D, 2.5D and 3D. A laser engraved sign can produce the finest detail of any technique. As mentioned the sandblasted signs tend to be a bit more pricey but a talented sign designer using this technique can produce very impressive signs.

My personal preference for exterior signs is CNC routed Corian based on low to no maintenance over the years and VCarved text and chisel letters are both very attractive.
.

[AL Ursich]

This is a great place !!!! Lots of help....

Don't forget to check into the Sign Permit and restrictions too.

Good Luck,

AL