Issue link: https://nbm.uberflip.com/i/1451373
G R A PH I C S - PR O.C O M 2 0 2 2 J U N E G R A P H I C S P R O 5 7 would secure each part in place, over 300 screws that would match perfectly. Not wanting to stain or paint the wood, before putting the metal graphics in place, each sign unit was coated with traditional ompson's WaterSeal. We let this soak in for a couple of days. To facilitate very accurate placement of each item on six signs, perfect patterns were cut on our laser from thin poster board. ese patterns were merely put in place with "push-pins," and it was easy to set each piece in place accurately. A very small drill bit was used to pilot hole each screw, and our matching powder-coated, stainless-steel screws (no rusting ever) were used to secure parts on all six signs, though the oval and the strap pieces at the ends of the signs were secured with larger athead screws, all countersunk. To complete the signs, wood plugs were made from 3/4" dowel rod, and each plug was about 3/8" thick. e holes the rod ends were recessed into were lled with clear silicone, a dowel plug was put in place, and silicone completely covered over each plug making a watertight seal. On previous signs we'd made for this camp, imitation gold (yellow) vinyl num- bers were used, and I used matching vinyl on these signs for the number only, but that of course was the weak link, lifetime- wise. ankfully none of these signs are in direct sunlight, as the cabin area is shaded most of the time by a large canopy of tall trees, so UV will not be much of an issue. However, another layer of powder-coated metal would have been a better choice. But these signs are likely going to last about as long as those cabins will them- selves and honor those who donated mon- ey to make each cabin possible, which was exactly what our customer wanted. GP RICK WILLIAMS owns Rick's Sign Company, a com- mercial sign shop in Longview, Texas. He has been in the sign industry since 1973 and has been a contributing editor to Sign Business and Sign & Digital Graphics since 1986. Contact Rick via email at ricksignco@aol.com. Matching powder-coated screws were recessed into countersunk holes in all our metal parts. Above: Finally, we plugged our metal rod r in a o it iion an totally covering the plug. Left: These six signs should last as long as the cabins.