Sandblasted Sign

[Joe Pelonio]

I just got back from installing this. It's sandblasted cedar, 18" high x 6' wide and " deep. Way too big for the laser. Had to rush out and get it in befoe the rain came back.

[Larry Bratton]

Joe, what is the base material? Cedar? Redwood? or other.

[Mike Null]

Joe:

Nice work!

[Joe Pelonio]

Joe, what is the base material? Cedar? Redwood? or other.
The face (sign) is clear cedar, 2x8s glued with biscuits. The "box" is fairly clear construction grade cedar 2x6, the back is 1/2" MDO. Painted inside and out and caulked. The lettering is painted with 1-shot metallic gold with some primrose yellow added to lighten it up.

[Larry Bratton]

Joe-Good work!

[David Harvey]

Man!...that looks good!

I'm really stupid when it comes to sandblasting...never done it and probably won't ever, but how do you get that wood grain effect? Your sign really looks awesome!


Thanks for sharing!

[Frank Corker]

Very nice job Joe. I take it you cut the lettering out and stuck it on before blasting then painted and finally removed the masking? Brought the grain out well and very interesting effect.

[Joe Pelonio]

Thanks for the nice comments all.

The rubber stencil is cut on the plotter, weeded and applied to the wood. he grain is from shooting the sand straight ahead, the softer wood blasts away and the harder grain stays for that effect. If it was shot at a vertical angle there would be less grain. Then I peel the rubber off, sand the edges, border and letters with several different grits, fill any voids, sand again and prime.

Then I paint everthing with two coats of the brown, sand just the letters again back down to the primer, and paint the gold. Where any of the gold drips I have to touch up the brown. With drying time it took over a week to paint.

[Mike Klafehn]

What did you charge for that sign? I curious since you spent almost a week to paint it.

[Joe Pelonio]

What did you charge for that sign? I curious since you spent almost a week to paint it.
It took almost a week but then the actual time painting was not that bad, 15 minutes to an hour a couple of times a day. Most of it was drying time.

I got $1,850 installed.

[Keith Outten]

Joe,

Thanks for the pics of your sign, its a beauty.

.

[Evan Stockton]

Joe, don't be surprised if I bug the fire out of you as I get my legs about me on the boards - This type of signage is one I'm very interested in getting into, but when I say I'm a newbie, I mean I'm REALLY a newbie - I may be asking (begging?) to pick your brain a bit, as well as the other artisans here...

That looks awesome - Thanks for sharing!

[Gene O. Carpenter]

Hi Joe,
Another nu-bie ;<) with a ? !! What size compressor did you use for this fantastic piece of signmanship?

[Joe Pelonio]

Gene,

I only have a 50 gallon compressor, so I only do the small ones myself. This one I sent out to a friend in the eastern part of the state that has a compressor with a tank as big as a small room. His hose is 2" and nozzle looks like the ones on a fire hose. He's been doing signs and rocks for 20 years out of a shop at his home. I send him the cut stencil, he applies it to the wood, blast it and ships to me for sanding and paint.

[AL Ursich]

I ordered my vinyl cutter this week. What thickness did you use for your mask? I am still learning what I can do sand blasting wood.

Thanks,

AL

[Gene O. Carpenter]

Joe,
Thanks for the reply! I've been thinking of trying a small blasting project of some sort, I have a 5 HP 80 gal comp that came out of a large auto repair shop. It's heavy duty so can run for a long period of time and I have a new HF 60 LB pressurized sand blaster..
HOWEVER I also have a 110 LB Rottweiler who isn't afraid of anyone or anything EXCEPT my compressor! When I turn it on he goes into a panic stage.
We got him at a 1 year old from a painter who I suspect teased him with an air hose. When my neighbor was building his garage he used a nailer and if "Shaine" was outside he would run inside..
If he was going out he'd stop, look over towards the garage, if Joe wasn't working he'd go on out, otherwise he'd turn around and come back in..
I haven't been able to use it for 7 years now but that's OK, I've come to love the mutt and hope that I'm as great as he thinks I am!
Yesterday I was squeezing between the comp and the and accidentally turned it on. It was on for no more than 5-6 seconds and my wife told me later on that he had ran into the bathroom, jumped into the shower and sat there shaking..
She couldn't get him out so she gave him a bath. That calmed him down and he got that much needed bath. Now I know how to get him into the tub!

[Joe Pelonio]

Gene,

That setup should work fine.

We used to use redwood before it became so expensive so now we use clear cedar. Both will hold up a lot better and give a more dramatic texture to the sign than other woods. Be sure to post your first one.