When Mike Smith with Creative Scribing needed to make a sign for the CNC department at his company, he went with 40 pound Precision Board HDU. He knew it would be easy to finish and could take the abuse of a busy area of the company. Read on to get some tips on how to save time on sign fabrication by using higher density Precision Board as a sign substrate.
“We’ve been redoing our company stuff, so we wanted to make our sign look better. I used PBLT-40 because I had a piece of it left over and it was really smooth and easy to work with,” says Mike Smith. He added, “I can use spray paint primer/filler instead of having to spend a lot of time priming it. It’s also in a shop that can take the accidental damage from workers and materials being tossed around.”
For Mike, Precision Board works really well for carving with fewer passes. “I can use a ball end bit and save myself some time by skipping the rough cut. I’ll do a mill pass and not have a single problem with bit deflection.”
Mike wanted to add some texture to to his sign, so he took pictures of a wood fence wall and added it into his Enroute Software to give the sign a paneled wall look.
Once he’s done machining, Smith will lightly sand the Precision Board HDU to make sure the paint sticks to it. He says Precision Board is easier on his machines and bits. “I save machine time because I don’t need to do an overlap fill and can go back and lightly sand the sign to fix any issues.”
With the design cut into the HDU, it’s time for him to add some color to his creation. “I like to use graffiti spray paint for filler. Everything is either graffiti or acrylic.” Mike says, “I used the 40 pound Precision Board so it didn’t take a lot to make it look nice.” He adds, “gloss black and grey acrylic paint gave it a little added grainy pattern.”
For that old time western look, he put a glaze coat on the letters, then feathered gold acrylic paint on.
Smith adds, “I love doing the 3d stuff. It’s what makes me happy.”
Michael Smith has been working CNC routers in the signage industry for a decade now and truly enjoys his work, but wanted more, so he started his passion project- Creative Scribing. He says, “I have so much fun making these odd and different things and being able to design them myself is fantastic. Going from the CNC Dept. sign to a tiki head to making an art piece then to a skull. I’m over here then over there. I don’t know if I really can describe where I’m going or what I’m doing. Constantly doing something new and different. I just want to do it all.”
Creative Scribing is based in Orlando, Florida. You can find his company on Instagram. If you’re interested in learning more about the various things he’s creating, you can contact him via email or give him a call at 321-354-4890. He’d love to hear from you.
You can get free samples of Precision Board HDU from Coastal Enterprises, request a quote or learn about our companion products, including adhesives, primers & fillers, textures & coatings.