Basswood for exterior sign?

[alex grams]

I plan on carving a sign for someone with their name carved on it, but they want it painted white, so wood choice is irrelevant. I have some basswood which will be easy to carve in, but how will it hold up outside?

I figure the finish will just be some exterior latex (maybe a layer of shellac over the wood for moisture control. I don't expect the sign to be placed anywhere where it will be %100 in the elements, but temperature/some rain/sun will do a number on it.

My question is will basswood work for that? Or do i need something more resilient/substantial? My other cheap option is just get some poplar.

[Frank Drew]

Alex,

You're right about basswood and carving, but it wouldn't be among my choices for outdoor work (ditto poplar, white pine, etc.)

I'd be inclined to use one of the cedars, or redwood, or mahogany...

[Myk Rian]

No bassword or poplar. They rot too easily.
Cedar and Cherry have worked good for me.
Redwood and Mahogany are other good choices.

[Bill White]

Wood choice is not relevant? Shellac for moisture control? Nahhhhh!
Choose a close grained hardwood. As was stated, basswood would not be my choice. Prime with an oil based primer. Then paint with an exterior latex.
Shellac is not a water barrier, but it will seal the wood well. Your could use it before the primer if you wish, but I don't see any reason to do that
Bill

[alex grams]

I found some old cedar I had hidden in a pile. I will use that, shellac then exterior grade paint.

[Steven Hsieh]

I found some old cedar I had hidden in a pile. I will use that, shellac then exterior grade paint.

What type of cedar?

[alex grams]

western red im pretty sure.

[Steven Hsieh]

Take your time doing it, they tend to split chip

[Tom Fischer]

I'd use White cedar. Very stable stuff. If below grade, it lasts 10-20 years, above grade, really long time.
Red cedar is OK, but more brittle, might be harder to carve.

This is a garden fence I built for my wife. mostly white cedar, the small lattice at the bottom is hemlock (good outside too.)
When you see a picture of an old barn in the Northeast, siding is nearly black, that's hemlock. But hemlock is really soft, no good for carving detail.

This fence is 7 years old now, no twisting, warping, splitting. Needs to be repainted soon though.

212905

[alex grams]

Hmm, maybe I will just make it out of mahogany and paint it. But something in me considers it sacrilege to paint over mahogany...

I'm not too familiar with types of cedar. Is there a way to distinguish between western red and northern white?

Thanks again.

[Tom Fischer]

Red cedar has red heartwood, white cedar doesn't. And the white is more tan than white, but the same color throughout.
Thinking more, mahogany is a very good choice as well. Small area, and such, easy to get clear stock. Maybe fill the pores in mahogany before painting.