Quality Signs come from Quality Material

With over 40 years of experience as a Sign-maker Danny St.Clair, owner of St.Clair Signs Inc., knows that quality signs come from quality material. That’s why when he and his son/business partner Matthew St.Clair were contracted by The Pete Store of Raphine to create these beautiful dimensional signs, he knew he had to use Precision Board Plus and Companion Products.

Priming back panel             Cut pb

The frame inside was for added rigidity, but mainly used as a frame to attach four bolts through the rear of the sign for mounting purposes. You can see the detail of this in the photographs.

The frame inside was for added rigidity, but mainly used as a frame to attach four bolts through the rear of the sign for mounting purposes.

 

For this project they used two 1in. thick pieces of 15 lb. Precision Board Plus, FSC-88 primer, PB Bond 240, FSC-360 WB. The CNC machining they outsourced to Harbor Sales (who also supplied their Precision Board Plus). “They did a great job of machining the material and have great customer service as well!” Says Matthew St.Clair.

Perspective view of final unmounted Final Mounted Service(1)

“This was our first time working with Precision Board Plus and Companion Products, we were very satisfied with the end results. We have been very impressed with the reputation of Precision Board and its versatility. One of our heroes is Dan Sawatzky, so we have been greatly impressed and educated by his experiences. We wanted something lightweight with the ability to be routed and this was it.”

Parts Final Mounted Front

Full Front sign

Mounted Final Exterior Sign

If you’d like to talk with Matthew or Danny at St.Clair Signs, please call 540-258-2191 or send an email to stclairsignsinc@gmail.com

If you’re interested in more information on Precision Board or to be featured in one of our blogs, contact us today!

Going Global With Insignia!

With a motto of “Helping you leave your mark on the world,” Orange, CA sign shop Insignia was well suited to tackle the massive 3-D globe project proposed to them by DOW Chemical.

DOW requested the globe be lightweight enough for customers to lift, which was no problem for the creative minds at Insignia. According to owner Joseph Westbrook, “We worked pretty closely with DOW to make a lightweight sculpture for their trade show exhibit. Because it needed to be so light, we decided to use Precision Board Plus PBLT-6, which is lightweight, but would still allow us to retain a high degree of durability.”

With the concept completed, the next step was blueprinting the design and planning the most efficient assembly build process. “The most challenging part of this project was figuring out how we were going to cut and assemble it as a whole,” states Westbrook. “Through collaboration with Dan Sawatzky of Imagination Corporation, we ultimately decided to CNC rout the Precision Board in many different sections – 16 to be exact – which took a lot of time. Our CNC router ran day and night to get all the pieces cut.”

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With so many pieces to assemble, putting the project together was a little like a game of Tetris. “We used Coastal’s PB Bond-240 adhesive to put together the different pieces of the globe. After we assembled the entire thing, we used a combination of FSC-88WB Primer/Filler and FSC-360WB HDU Filler to fill in the joints where it came together.”

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After painting the entire project with 1Shot Paint, it was ready for delivery to DOW. As this picture shows, the goal of making the project light enough to lift was a success – through the use of a hollow globe, the globe weighs only 50 lbs.!

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Additional information about Insignia and other creative ventures they have tackled can be seen at: www.leavingyourmark.com.

Companion Products For HDU – Prime, Texture, Laminate & Bond!

Interested in trying out some of our Companion Products? Your local distributor doesn’t have them in stock?

No need to worry! We always have all of them in stock at Coastal Enterprises – TSF-45, PB Resin, PB Hardcoat, Adhesives, Primers and Fillers. As long as we receive an order from your distributor before 1:00PM PST, it will ship from our Orange, CA location the same day, right to your door if needed.

This means that you can put on that high-gloss PB Resin protective finish on your sign, or use the right adhesive to laminate those Precision Board Plus sheets because you will receive what you need promptly!

All of our Companion Products have been designed for use on Precision Board Plus HDU, and can also be used on many other materials. Trust what the experts use when crafting a professional sign. Want to try before you buy? Contact us for FREE samples!

Also be sure to check out our full gallery of step-by-step videos.

Also check out this Precision Board Plus sign made using PB Resin. Created by David Sherby at SherWood Sign & Graphic Design in Crystal Falls, MI.

 

 

Ten Tips For Working With Precision Board Plus HDU

1. Carbide cutters are not mandatory when cutting Precision Board Plus. Because it is non-abrasive, Precision Board Plus can be cut with anything that cuts wood, but much easier.

 

2. To maximize CNC efficiency and cutting time, and to minimize dust and increase chips, the Onsrud Router Bit Selector Guide provides guidelines for proper router bits, speeds and feeds.

3. After you have primed Precision Board Plus using FSC-88WB Primer/Filler, it is best to dry using a large shop fan. Do not place in the sun, as this will cause it to dry too fast resulting in blisters. The FSC-88WB Primer/Filler training video can be seen here.

 

4. Be sure to prime and paint all sides of your Precision Board Plus sign. Because it does not have grain, it has no beam strength and can be pulled in the direction of the drying paint.

 

5. When sandblasting Precision Board Plus, use a larger grit for larger texture. Similarly, a finer grit allows for finer texture. Aluminum oxide is used most often.

 

6. If something happens to your sign during the build process, it is possible to fix the damaged surface. FSC-360WB Crack Filling & Repair Putty dries quickly and sands easily, and can really save the day in the event of a mistake.

 

7. Optimize your Precision Board Plus purchase by bonding and laminating the excess using PB Fast Set or PB Bond-240 adhesive.

 

8. PB Resin can provide an eye-catching, ultra-smooth protective finish to your sign. Be sure to only add enough lettering enamel to the clear PB Resin that will hide text on a printed page.

9. If you do not have time to route in wood grain, or to sandblast, TSF-45 or PB Hardcoat are excellent time saving alternatives for simulating wood grain. Apply both directly to raw Precision Board Plus, eliminating the priming step.

 

10. If you have a question, call us! We offer free technical support and are happy to assist in any way we can.

The Ice Cream Laboratory

Mark Blackford, owner of Signcraft in Santa Maria, CA sent us some excellent in-process pictures of a sign they made for Doc Burnstein’s Ice Cream Lab in Orcutt, CA. The sign was hand-carved from Precision Board Plus PBLT-15, except for the border which was cut on their ShopBot CNC Router. It was then painted using 1-Shot Paints. When asked why he prefers working with Precision Board Plus, Mark states: “Signcraft Santa Maria exclusively uses Precision Board Plus HDU due to its ease of carving, variety of densities, and excellent companion products such as PB Bond 240 and FSC-360WB.”

To see more of the amazing work Signcraft does, visit www.signcraftsm.com.

Thanks Mark for sending all of these great pictures!