Powder Coating an Interior Frame to Protect Your HDU Sign

A sign is your chance to show off what makes your business special, and when your business is signs, you want it to really shine!  Mayfair Signs in Chilliwack, BC, Canada, specializes in powder coating of sign frames, something not many people are doing.  They recently created a CNC routed Precision Board HDU sign for their mailbox with a powder coated metal frame inside to protect it from the elements.  Kevin fills us in on the benefits of powder coating and why they prefer Precision Board for their sign clients.

powder coating

Kevin & Darren of Mayfair Signs recently created a branded sign for their mailbox post.  They offer signs, sandblasting and powder coating and really wanted the sign to show off those techniques.  They used Precision Board PBLT-20 to fabricate the sign, which is 28″ x 15″ and 3″ thick.  Darren did the design with Enroute Software and cut the Precision Board with their MultiCam Apex3r CNC.  The cut time took about an hour per side with approximately two hours for painting.

The sign is attached to a metal post that has been sandblasted and powder-coated so that they could show off the powder coated look.  The HDU sign itself has a metal frame inside it for stability and resistance to rust.  “When we do a metal frame inside an HDU sign, we’ll sandblast and powder coat it.”  Kevin adds, “It really cleans off the metal and etches the surface for the powder to stick to it.”

Kevin routed a slot into the two halves of the Precision Board and then attached the metal frame using PB Bond 240.  “Where the eyelets are sticking out of the sign, they can be exposed to rust if not properly coated, and that rust can go down inside your sign.”  Kevin adds, “That’s why we powder-coat the inside metal as well to protect the sign.”

Mayfair Signs puts powder-coated metal frames inside all their signs for this reason.  Whether it’s a hanging sign or a wall-mounted sign that has metal bolts going into a wall, the powder-coating protects the metal elements of the Precision Board HDU sign from the weather.

Powder coating is a protective coating that is applied as a free-flowing, dry powder. The main difference between conventional liquid paint and powder coating is that the powder coating does not require a solvent to keep the binder and filler parts in a liquid suspension form. The coating is typically applied electrostatically and is then cured under heat at 400 degrees Fahrenheit to allow it to flow and form a “skin”.  It is used to create a hard finish that is tougher than conventional paint.  Kevin says it has been used in the automotive industry for years, especially when you see black rims on cars.  Mayfair Signs not only does signage, but also specializes in automotive, motorcycle, snowmobile parts, rims, household fixtures and more, and offers over 50 colors of powder coating.

Kevin & Darren prefer to work with Precision Board HDU over wood as a sign substrate.  “It’s just so easy to work with, especially when machining on a CNC.  It cuts like butter.”  They add, “This material resists weathering, lasts up to 10x longer than wood, won’t absorb water, chip, crack or peel, unlike conventional materials.”

Mayfair Signs is family owned and operated. They have been making and selling solid cast aluminum house signs, cottage signs, custom garden plaques and address plaques for over 30 years. They have over 40 different sign shapes and sizes and more than 450 emblems in their cast aluminum line of signs. They guarantee high quality workmanship on all the signs they produce. All work is done on site.  Visit their website, drop them an email, or give them a call at 866-823-4141.

Coastal Enterprises offers free samples of Precision Board HDU if you want to try it for yourself.  Our website offers numerous resources, including how-to videos, helpful blogs, and a newsletter sign-up,  so you get our Monthly Blog Roundup and won’t miss a thing!

Dan & Peter Sawatzky’s Fantastical Hazelnut Inn Signs

Coastal Enterprises, manufacturers of Precision Board HDU, is proud to announce a series of guest blogs written by Dan Sawatzky of Imagination Corporation, which will be posted on the Precision Board Blog at the end of each month.  In this month’s entry, Dan tells us how they created the signs to go with the three suites in the Hazelnut Inn, a fantastical property with themed rooms catering to the anniversary and honeymoon crowd.  The Sawatzkys used plasma cut steel and Precision Board HDU PBLT-30 to fabricate the signs.sawatzky

Every sign maker has a dream project where the sky is truly the limit. A project where signs aren’t the last thing to be done, a project where the signs inform the design of everything that follows. We have just such a project in the works.

sawatzkyWhen Peter and Hailey were married a few years ago they stayed in a castle on their honeymoon. They had to travel all the way to Europe to do it. That stay sparked an idea. They would build a castle in the little town of Yarrow for the same purpose. A second trip, a year later, to the Hobbit set in New Zealand added the idea of an underground suite to the mix. And a third idea of an ‘explorer’s suite’ was added for good measure. They purchased some land next door to the shop that was big enough for the three suites and a new house for their growing family and the planning was begun in earnest.

The inn will cater to a honeymoon and anniversary demographic. The suites will be luxurious and create an experience guests can get nowhere else. Each suite will be about 600 square feet with a like sized private garden. We will lavish exquisite detail throughout.

The project was named Hazelnut Inn, honouring the former use of the property. Over the last year they have been working on the final plans and done the extensive engineering such an imaginative and unusual project requires. Proper zoning is now in hand with final permissions and permitting underway. While we were waiting for those things we began work on the signs.

The dimensional signs reflect the character of each suite. They are constructed using plasma cut steel and 30 lb Precision Board. About half of the work was done using our CNC machines with the rest of the labour provided by our skilled team.

This project will unfold over the next year and a half. In that time there will be a whole lot of construction and detailed fabrication. I’ll be taking lots of pictures and posting updates from time to time. Stay tuned…

Sawatzky’s Imagination Corporation is a small family company that specializes in the design and creation of dimensional signs and environments. They tackle projects of any size from small signs to entire theme parks. Their work has garnered numerous national and international awards.

Dan Sawatzky is best described as a creative force and visual storyteller extraordinaire. His art career spans almost fifty years of magic. Dan’s passion is to design and create imaginative places that take people from the normal world to a setting of delight and wonder.

You can get free samples of Precision Board HDU, request a quote, and sign up for the monthly Blog Roundup from Coastal Enterprises.

Read January’s guest blog here.

RELATED:

Signing Off (Dan Sawatzky’s Blog)

Why Dan Sawatzky Exclusively Uses PBLT-30 Precision Board HDU

Imagination Takes Flight: Our Interview With Dan Sawatzky

Making Art Out of Precision Board HDU Drops

Mike Smith with Creative Scribing has a boneyard with drops of Precision Board HDU from his day job and uses them to make various projects- like shop signs and artwork.  His most recent creation involved some drops that he turned into an Art Deco wall hanging.  Mike gives us some tips on how to turn those Precision Board remnants into Rembrandt’s.

drops

“I was watching television one day and I saw something on a wall and I wanted to do something like that. It was an Art Deco design,” Mike says. “I originally cut the full thing out of PBLT-20 foam, but decided there was too much going on, so I kept tinkering and adding pieces to it.”

Because the Precision Board HDU pieces were drops, Smith used primer to fill in spots from where they had been kicked around a bit.  He says he messed up on it, but kept at it, adding pieces here and there until he had it like he wanted it.

Smith made the base out of acrylic and the little pieces out of Precision Board and then painted them in different colors and shapes using Kobra Paint.

“I was going to paint it incredibly crazy colors, but decided to make it look more neon,” he says.  “I’m a fan of really neon colors, so I thought it was something different and cool.”

Mike added, “in the theming industry you have a whole lot of artists, but you don’t really see different materials coming together, truly 3d and popping out at you.”

The Art Deco project was originally going to be one giant panel, but Mike decided to change it to smaller pieces.  “They’re all 3d milled pieces and no single piece is alike.  They’re not all the same kind of square,” he adds. “Some are smaller and different sizes and don’t fit exactly right.  It gives it character.”

Mike tells us he didn’t want to make it out of aluminum because it would be too heavy and not really changeable. “The advantage of using Precision Board is that it’s lightweight, durable and easily carveable.”  He says, “that’s the fun part of working with these materials.  You can do it fast and be flexible.”

This isn’t the first time Mike Smith has used Precision Board HDU drops to create something new.  “I’ll throw stuff together with all the drops I have.  Being able to do all these fun things with the foam and show off what you like to do on a daily basis is a gratifying experience,” says Smith.

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.

RELATED:

Creative Scribing’s Precision Board CNC Shop Sign

MultiCam Waterjet Cutting Precision Board HDU

MultiCam Inc., a global supplier of CNC cutting solutions, tested out their 5000 Series Waterjet on several densities of Precision Board HDU and sent us video and settings information. They cut a variety of shapes into the Precision Board, showing off the 5-axis capabilities of the machine.  Read on to get MultiCam Waterjet settings and watch some really cool videos of our high-density polyurethane being cut by a waterjet machine.

multicam waterjet

MultiCam cut different shapes and sizes out of 2″ thick PBLT-15, PBLT-30, and PBLT-40 and recorded the cut settings using their 5000 Series MultiCam Waterjet. This machine is designed to offer end-users the capability to cut through nearly any type of material at almost any thickness. Since the cutting medium is water, this system is ideal for industries that require a finished non-heat-affected part or piece. Because Precision Board HDU is a closed-cell, rigid, non-porous material, it makes it perfect for waterjet cutting.

Machine: MultiCam 5000 Series Waterjet
PSI: 60,000
IPM: 46.487 (PBLT-15), 33 (PBLT-30), 25 (PBLT-40)
Orifice: .01”
Focusing Tube: .03”
Abrasive: Barton 80 HPX
Abrasive Feed Rate: .75lbs per minute

The basic settings stayed the same for all cuts on all densities. The only thing that changed was the IPM (inches per minute), reflected in the chart above.

“By cutting with a highly-pressurized stream of water from our MultiCam 5000 Series Waterjet, there is virtually no chips or debris which is beneficial for quickly and easily cutting intricate parts in one pass,” says Joshua Santa Cruz, Marketing Specialist for MultiCam.

MultiCam is a global supplier of innovative CNC cutting solutions for industries ranging from sign making to digital finishing, sheet-metal to plate-steel processing, hardwoods to cabinet making, thermoform trimming to plastics fabrication, as well as a wide variety of aerospace and automotive applications. Check out their website or give them a call at (972)-929-4070.

Coastal Enterprises offers free samples of Precision Board HDU. While you’re on our website check out our material selection guide. Subscribe to our YouTube channel so that you don’t miss any new videos like these. You can always give us a call at 800-845-0745. We’d love to hear from you!

Chuck Miller Featured on Composites World Podcast

Chuck Miller, President of Coastal Enterprises, manufacturers of Precision Board HDU, was recently featured on the Composites World podcast. He discussed his background and involvement with the evolving world of composites and tooling from his time as a Manufacturing Engineer on the Saturn S-II, the second stage of the Saturn V Moon Launch Vehicle (fabricated by North American Aviation in Seal Beach, CA) through the founding of his company, Coastal Enterprises, and into what the future may hold for composites.

chuck miller

Chuck Miller, founder and president of tooling board manufacturer Coastal Enterprises, details tooling board technology and how it continues to evolve. 

Listen to the podcast on the Composites World website HERE or find it on iTunes and Google Play.

CW Talks: The Composites Podcast is a biweekly podcast that highlights the people and technologies shaping the world of composites. Interviews feature guests with expertise and insight about where composites have been and where they are headed.

CompositesWorld is a business-to-business media brand that produces a monthly print magazine, digital media, research and live events for the global composites market. The CompositesWorld editorial team and expert contributors produce information on new product technology, operational best practices, market intelligence and industry news.

Check out some photos from Chuck’s time on the Saturn program as well as some photos from the early HDU tooling board work he was involved with in the aerospace industry.

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”2″ gal_title=”Chucks NASA Photos”]

UPDATE: Check out the blog post that Composites World did on the podcast!

Coastal Enterprises is a privately held company founded in 1973 by Mr. Chuck Miller, President, after his participation in the Saturn S-II Space Program at Rockwell International. The Saturn Launch Vehicle used polyurethane foam as its exterior fuel tank insulator, and it was at this time that his experience with this unique material began.

Products manufactured by Coastal Enterprises and sold internationally since 1973 were primarily for the machining industry. They were high density urethane blocks used to “proof” computer programs on numerically controlled milling machines. Ease in machining and lower cost made urethane the preferred choice over proofing on the actual steel used for the part being machined.

Initial development of Precision Board began in early 1989. By redesigning the chemical formulation and manufacturing methods of our machining product, Coastal Enterprises developed Precision Board Plus fabrication material with physical characteristics to meet the rigorous demands of an artist’s creation and the machining standards of today’s 5 axis milling machines alike.

You can get free samples, request a quote and find technical data and information sheets at PrecisionBoard.com.