Yesterday, Mike and I completed a series of dimensional signs that we designed for the City of Fairfield, a small town of about 1,700 folks in Central Texas - about 120 miles from us.
Of course, we choose one of the hotest days of the year (107 with a heat index of 112) to install the last two projects.
All are Corafoam HDU (15#) with letters cut from 20#. Everything was sprayed with Coastal Enterprises FSC 88 WB primer and then finished with Porter Acrylics. Small letters are PVC sprayed with Krylon. Posts are redwood.
Everything was cut on our ShopBot.
The star on the Police sign was painted with Ronan Aqua Leaf water based acrylic (Rich Gold) and cleared with Ronan Aqua Leaf Guard UV (#WPC50 Gloss).
These two signs were actually installed by the city maintenance crew a few months ago.
The two that we installed yesterday will be in the next post...I got ahead of myself.
OK....here's the ones we installed yesterday. The "before" sign on this one was just vinyl on aluminum (2' x 16')
Our replacement was dimensional HDU 16' wide installed in three pieces. I failed to get an "after" photo before we left but this shows Mike installing the PVC letters over the seam in the panels. The heat must have effected my brain...at least that's the story I'm sticking to.
This sign was the last one of the project. It is basically a 2' x 8'. There was not a "before" photo because there was not a sign here before.
[ July 10, 2009, 10:30 AM: Message edited by: Raymond Chapman ]
Posted by Duncan Wilkie (Member # 132) on :
That's outstanding Raymond and Mike. What a transformation and terrific selling tool you've created. I absolutely love what you guys have done here. In case I didn't make myself clear, Holy Cwap I like what you've done!!!!!!!!
Posted by Donna in BC (Member # 130) on :
Beautiful! And love the colours together!
What is it about the word POLICE and that star that makes me anxious though?!? I'm scared'a getting caught at something I'd never do anyway?
Posted by Rene Giroux (Member # 4980) on :
Nace woiek ya funney tawkin' littl' main !
Yo gittin handeh witt dat rowtar thin o'yorz, nace te seyh. Wuzzit awl dunn witt EnRowt ?
Kuestchan izz... had ye dunn de pravius wonz ?
Wrelleh nace woiek, praddaya!
Posted by Dan Sawatzky (Member # 88) on :
What Rene said... you both talk funny to me..
-grampa dan
Posted by Jon Jantz (Member # 6137) on :
Raymond, it would help me if you'd put "BEFORE" and "AFTER" on the actual picture so I could tell which is whi....
Man... I tried to say that with a straight face and couldn't.....
Very nice upgrades! I love these posts, Raymond.
Posted by Raymond Chapman (Member # 361) on :
Rene - get back on you medicine.
No, it was done with ArtCam Pro.
Posted by Raymond Chapman (Member # 361) on :
This morning we received a call from the City Manager and they are wanting some ideas for a sign for their rodeo arena, so Mike and I drove back over there today to check out the area where they wanted the sign. They are also interested in some signage on the roads leading into town -"Welcome to..." stuff. So, it looks like we may have some more work after all.
Also, I took a photo of the Conference Center (spelled correctly) sign that I missed yesterday.
Posted by Si Allen (Member # 420) on :
Geeese! Do you realise haw bad the other sign guy feels now that he's seen your new signs!
Posted by Raymond Chapman (Member # 361) on :
Si - there is a sign shop in Fairfield, but I don't know if they did the "Before" signs or not. Mike and I talked about stopping in to see him (or her) today, but decided against it.
I've often wondered if they would say, "Oh, you can't sell that kind of work around here."
These jobs all began by us doing some graphics on a new concession buiding at the school's football field. The painter for the contractor contacted us about doing the lettering and graphics because we had worked for him on several jobs before. Someone saw us painting, liked our work, and asked if we could replace the old sign at their city park....and the rest is history.
Posted by David Wright (Member # 111) on :
You guys have a wide area of service. 120 miles for me is a vacation.
Excellent work which actually would have made a nice article for Signcraft. A lot to learn from this one.
Posted by Brian Ooms (Member # 487) on :
Great stuff man!!
Posted by Catharine C. Kennedy (Member # 4459) on :
Love the new consistancy among the signs as well- good branding. Job(s) well done
Posted by Dennis Raap (Member # 3632) on :
The before and after shots are great. Nice job Ray and Mike!
Posted by Raymond Chapman (Member # 361) on :
David - we don't normally do work that far away but these dimensional signs are an exception. After we figure a price we normally add about $500 for the trip back and forth. That wouldn't be practical for a MDO sign or something small.
In the past all of the preliminary work has been done by emails.
Good idea about the SignCraft article. I just may give that some thought.
By the way, thanks all for the nice words. One of the best payments of doing work like this is having our peers appreciate them.
Posted by Dave Sherby (Member # 698) on :
Joe Crumley tells me you carve your signs on a paint shaker. Looks like it's still working pretty good. Nice work Ray.
Posted by Raymond Chapman (Member # 361) on :
Dave...that old man is just grumpy because his ShopBot came over on the Mayflower and he couldn't figure out how to make it work right. Then he went and spent a fortune on some Chinese thing and he's jealous that it won't do any more than my ShopBot.
I'll keep my paint shaker or pea shooter or whatever anyone wants to call it. It still does everything I want it to do. And it's paid for itself.
Thank Dave. Actually, that Crumley guy could make great signs with a dull screwdriver. Just don't believe everything he says....especially about me.
Posted by bill riedel (Member # 607) on :
Ray, you have given the place a look of class, what a difference. From ho- hum to WOW! Bill
Posted by Jillbeans (Member # 1912) on :
I liked the befores better. Just teasing. Turned out fantastic. My fave is the shield-like police department sign. Dignified and authoritative. Just like you. Love....Jill
Posted by Raymond Chapman (Member # 361) on :
In case you were interested in the prices for these:
Police(3' x 4' D/F) - $3,500 (no installation) City Hall (4' x 5' S/F) - $3,000 (no installation) Civic Center (2' x 8') - $3,000 installed Conference Center (3' x 16' overall) - $5,500 installed.
Total - $15,000.
Two trips - first to deliver the Police and City Hall signs, which were installed by the city crews, and then a second trip to install the Civic and Conference Center signs.
I might add that there are some rather nice signs in this little town, but I'm not sure who does them. The ones we saw were all are flat, vinyl or paint.
[ July 13, 2009, 02:42 PM: Message edited by: Raymond Chapman ]
Posted by Joe Cieslowski (Member # 2429) on :
Great job as usual Ray.
Signs like that help a town take a little more pride in itself. For the last few years, those "Welcome to:" signs have been showing up in a lot of the little towns around me......all cnc carved. It all started when just one town did it.
You might want to think about putting together a little brocure on this project and send it to the surrounding towns......hate to see you loose this kind of work to someone else.
Thanks for posting.....there is a lot here to learn.
Joe,
Makin Chip$ and Havin Fun!
[ July 13, 2009, 03:04 PM: Message edited by: Joe Cieslowski ]
Posted by Len Mort (Member # 7030) on :
Great work, from a talented individual. Posted by Bobbie Rochow (Member # 3341) on :
Raymond they are so nice!!! Very classy indeed! I like your before & afters too.
Posted by David Harding (Member # 108) on :
Nice work and a big improvement.
The guy that first hired me in the sign business in 1971 lived in Fairfield but commuted a hundred miles each day to Dallas, where his company was based. He'd known me since I was twelve but took a chance on me anyway, and hired me when I was nineteen. He's retired and moved about twenty miles away from Fairfield but still calls me to sub an occasional job that comes his way.
Four and a half years ago, we did the following sign in Fairfield as part of a volunteer project. The faces are sandblasted Granite with 23K Gold and Palladium leaf, the structure is stone and cast stone.
Posted by Joe Crumley (Member # 2307) on :
Wish I'd dont this sign. I'd be blabbering about it all over the place, like Chapman does.
Posted by bruce ward (Member # 1289) on :
awesome transformations! i love before and afters, man that was some shoddy stuff they had
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