New Outdoor Sign Job

[Tony Dentino]

I've been asked to make a 2X8 foot storefront sign; white background with raised black letters. The approach I'm considering is using Glacier White Corian for the background and cutting the letters from the same Corian and painting them black so I won't have to buy a whole other sheet. i'll either glue or screw these to the back. Couple of questions:

Will the black paint hold up well on the Corian? What kind of paint works best?

Should I be considering an alternate material? I checked with my local Corian distributor and was quoted $346 for the sheet. Not sure the customer wants to pay that price.

Tony

[Joe Pelonio]

Sign design requires a little more information than just the size. It has to fit into the decor of the building and others around it, has to be not only durable but light enough to install without major damage to the facade, and if it's like our area, the city will have to approve the design, size, colors and materials and issue a permit. Do you have the job already, or are you bidding on it? While Corian is a great product you can save the customer money while not affecting you profit with a variety of other materials. People looking for value are happy with a substrate like Dibond, the a thin aluminum on PVC core that is about 1/3 the cost 4mm.

[Keith Outten]

Tony,

It's no secret that I am a big fan of Corian for sign work. Should you decide to use Corian the Dupont Corian adhesive will provide a permanent bond between the substrate and the letters.

You can paint Corian with just about any kind of paint you prefer, I haven't found any paint that won't adhere well to Corian.
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[Tony Dentino]

Thanks for the replies; I'll probably go with Corian. Joe... the customer specified the design based on requirements from the town. Just simple black letters on a white background.

Tony

[Ross Moshinsky]

You will need to mount the Corian to a backer board. You'll want to mount the backer board to the building and then the Corian to the backer board with Corian adhessive or at least silicone adhesive to allow the Corian to grow and shrink. Make sure you pick the right material for the backer board. It should be MDO or even cedar. You need something water/weather resistant.

[Keith Outten]

I have never used a backer board for Corian signs, can't find any material that will last as long as the sign :)
Honestly the lateral expansion isn't a big deal with Corian, acrylic is a different story. I mounted a ten foot long Corian sign on a brick wall using sheet metal studs for a standoff five years ago and it looks just as good today as the day i installed it. I have also installed Corian directly to a masonry wall, I machined large keyholes on the back and used stainless steel masonry screws.

I don't trust any adhesive when it comes to hanging a heavy sign. I might use a bit of silicone to dampen any movement but mechanical fasteners are my choice to hold the sign in place.
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[Joe Pelonio]

I don't trust any adhesive when it comes to hanging a heavy sign. I might use a bit of silicone to dampen any movement but mechanical fasteners are my choice to hold the sign in place.
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I agree, adhesives are fine for corrugated or thin PVC but anything heavy means a huge liability issue. With dimensional letters, you can leave a few letters off until installed, drill and countersink mounting screws then attach the letters to hide them.

[Keith Outten]

Joe,

Your method will work perfectly but God help the poor soul that has to remove the sign in the future :)
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[Joe Pelonio]

Joe,

Your method will work perfectly but God help the poor soul that has to remove the sign in the future :)
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Ha, 19 years and I've never had to remove one that I installed so I must be lucky! ;)

[Tony Dentino]

I'm not responsible for mounting the sign. The customer is a builder and wants to mount it himself.

[Tony Dentino]

End of story: I quoted $835.00 for the job; the customer wanted it for $600.00. I told him to look elsewhere.

Tony

[Joe Pelonio]

Heck, in this area a plywood and vinyl lettering sign will bring that much.

[Scott Shepherd]

End of story: I quoted $835.00 for the job; the customer wanted it for $600.00. I told him to look elsewhere.

Tony

Don't tell him to look at us, I would have been double your price, or triple what he wanted it for. That was a real bargain at $835. Corian signs are at the top of the price list. If he wants a $600 sign, like Joe said, he's look at plywood with vinyl lettering on it.