New Restroom Sign for a Barn

[Keith Outten]

A couple pictures of a job I am working on for Yoder Barn, a very old local area icon that has been given new life as a theater, the building has been donated to Christopher Newport University.

I have the last four ADA door signs to hang today then finish the hanger for the restroom sign and install it on the wall outside the restroom vestibule to complete the job.

This dual sided sign is made from Dupont Glacier White Corian, two pieces glued together back to back with Dupont adhesive. The details and perimeter cutout were all done on the ShopBot, a 45 degree v-bit to machine the details 0.05" deep and 1/4" spiral bit for the cutout. The restroom text and Yoder logo were laser engraved and the sign was then paint filled spraying with a rattle can and then sanded to 220 with a random orbital sander to remove the paint on the surface. No mask required. The last step was routig the edges with a 3/8" round over bit and light sanding of the profile.

The sign is 20" long by 11" tall by 1" thick.

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[Randal Stevenson]

LOL


I had a picture that your sign was going to say this way to the Stalls, with a person with a shovel pointing......


seems fitting for a barn.

[Mike Null]

Keith

Great looking signs. No wonder you can get the high dollar.

[Keith Outten]

Mike,

I am posting these in hopes of enticing some of our other Members to start making signs themselves. Other than the wrought iron hangers Corian signs can be made with existing shop tools like a hand held router a few wooden patterns and of course a laser engraver for the detail work. You don't have to own a ShopBot it just makes things easier and a bit faster if you are doing volume production runs.

It took less time to setup and engrave this sign than I would have spent engraving a large photo on black marble and the profit difference is substantial...plus the amount of sign work available is infinite.

You can purchase wrought iron hangers from various companies on the net for those who cannot make their own however most of my signs have a simple keyhole routed on the back for hanging which anyone can do with a router or drill press.

These types of signs are made using a few very simple steps so there is actually very little talent required
What increases the value is the choice of design and the quality of the materials.

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[Joe Pelonio]

LOL


I had a picture that your sign was going to say this way to the Stalls, with a person with a shovel pointing......


seems fitting for a barn.

I was picturing a half-moon cut into the door.

Great work Keith. One question, OK two. Do you use the Krylon or Rustoleum paint for plastic on those? Have any of your paint filled Corian signs been up outdoors long enough to see how long the paint holds up?

[Keith Outten]

I was picturing a half-moon cut into the door.

Great work Keith. One question, OK two. Do you use the Krylon or Rustoleum paint for plastic on those? Have any of your paint filled Corian signs been up outdoors long enough to see how long the paint holds up?

Joe,

I have used both Krylon and Rustoleum paints on signs but lately I have started using the Ace Hardware house brand spray paint. I found Ace's paint drys much faster and it doesn't clog my sanding disks near as bad as the other brands. I was using one disk per door sign before I switched to Ace paint, now I get at least a dozen signs per disk which is a huge savings given the number of door signs we need to produce.

Longevity of the paint used on exterior signs is still a question. I have some that have been in the weather for a couple of years but that isn't long enough to represent a good test even with a southern exposure. The good news is that any Corian sign that needs to be repainted can be done in place in just a few minutes. Spray paint the sign while its in place, let the paint dry for ten minutes then use an ROS to sand off the excess paint on the surface and you are good to go for several more years. Engraved and routed areas are all sub-surface so this technique would work many times before the face wears down which would take many decades. This is a huge marketing advantage for places like golf courses that have to replace their signs every few years or pay a substantial fee to have them repainted. Corian signs can be refreshed by unskilled labor without the costs associated with removing them. Multi-color signs require a roll of masking tape to cover areas that need to be protected but they can still be done in place.

Winter might not be the best season to refresh painted signs

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[Joe Pelonio]

Joe,

I have used both Krylon and Rustoleum paints on signs but lately I have started using the Ace Hardware house brand spray paint. I found Ace's paint drys much faster and it doesn't clog my sanding disks near as bad as the other brands.

Winter might not be the best season to refresh painted signs

That's funny, I ran to the Ace for some spray paint when I was in a hurry the other day and didn't want to go all the way to the borgs, and I was very impressed with it too.

I just got a job refurbishing 6 sandblasted cedar signs 10 years old for a local country club. That's a good winter job since I'll bring them into the shop. One that was totally exposed will require some auto body filler but the rest were under overhangs and are in surprisingly good shape for their age.

I'll talk to them about corian signs for the actual golf course.

[Keith Outten]

Joe,

I assume that the cedar signs are weathered and gray and that you are just going to refresh the painted areas. Does that mean you will have to hand paint them with a brush?

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[Keith Outten]

A couple more pictures of the hanger I have been working on for the restroom sign. I still need to paint the finial gold, other than that this one is ready to hang.

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[Kevin Baker]

Keith -

I was thinking about purchasing a drum sander to allow for quick turn around on my signs. I don't do any laser engraving, so do you think this is a good ideal?

Thanks,
Kevin

[Keith Outten]

Kevin,

I used to own a 24" dual drum sander. I sold the large one and purchased the Performax 10/20 which is better suited for my sign work than the large sander and takes up much less shop space.

Now I own the little drum sander, a spindle sander and an 8" by 60" edge sander. The edge sander gets the most use followed closely by the spindle sander. The little drum sander is used for small plaques and delicate inlay work which I don't do much of these days.

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[Kevin Baker]

So the Performax 10/20 does a good job for your Corian plaques? This hand sanding takes so much time.

[Keith Outten]

Most of my Corian work is done with a random orbital sander...actually two as I have one that uses 5" disks and one that uses 6" disks, both are Portar Cable. The 6" disks with 80 grit paper makes short work of getting surfaces cleaned up and removing any scratches. Polishing is done with the smaller 5" disks using both conventional abrasives and 3M Scotch Pads.

What I need to find is a 3M Scotch pad for my drum sander...that wouuld be the hot setup for Corian plaques. I would bet that Industrial Abrasives could make something up that would work using a velcro backed material....

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[Keith Outten]

The last picture before it leaves the shop. The attachment hardware will be installed after the bracket is mounted on the wall.
I was told yesterday that I am to fabricate a new building sign for Yoder Barn. At ten feet long it will be the largest sign I have produced and will be mounted on a brick foundation. Bring em on

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[Kevin Baker]

Keith -

I'm still waiting on the pads to come in the mail, but I've been reading a little about paint masks and wanted to know if you use this method and if so what brand of mask do you use.

Thanks,
Kevin