DSF

Hello peeps. I've been asked to do a few signs for a local garage. Problem I'm having is finding a decent material to use as the sign itself. The stuff he has at the mo is some type of white headboard in simpleton terms.

Any ideas on what I should be searching for please?

If they are for external use an aluminium composite sheet - often called by a trade name such as Dibond or I Bond - which is basically a compound material sandwiched between two layers of ultra thin aluminium. The cheaper unbranded Chinese sheets are often called "hoarding" panels. These are normally 3 mm thick and quite durable. It's widely used in the sign trade but the downside is that this is the same sort of material featured in the Grenfell fire tragedy so you might want to pay a bit extra and get a fire resistant sheet. It's pretty difficult to identify which panels are fire resistant when the branding cover is removed but at least you would have the invoice to show proof of purchase.

If you use foam board (Foamex) it is likely to discolour and warp with temperature extremes over time so may be a false economy.

Not sure where your nearest supplier would be, the nearest I can think would be Amari in Wednesbury. They sell sheets of 8' x 4 ' and 10' x 5' which they will cut to size for you or they may have part sheets as offcuts.

Unfortunately their delivery charges (by own transport) can be quite high.

Thanks very much for your reply. I will give them a call

Try online suppliers as they will cut to size rather than you having to by a full sheet.
Just look for ACM panels cut to size.
As for the fire issues unless you are cladding the whole of a building I wouldn’t worry about it.
I have been making and fitting signs for 20 years and haven’t been asked once to confirm the fire rating.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quinsfan;136448 wrote:As for the fire issues unless you are cladding the whole of a building I wouldn’t worry about it.
I have been making and fitting signs for 20 years and haven’t been asked once to confirm the fire rating.

Same here but it occurred to me that the only real way of identifying it was by the printed protective film which is removed before use. I have several part panels here which I am unable to tell apart.

I have never been asked but wondered if customers would start asking questions after the adverse publicity for ACM.

I use our local Dorotape for ours. I clad the sides of my bus conversion in the Alu panel

Would love to see pics of the bus?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]6610[/ATTACH]

W3sty3oy;147769 wrote:Would love to see pics of the bus?

That is it after the panels were added, all of the windows were taken out, and aluminium extra supports added, then the panelling, then we cut out windows from a caravan and added them, it is still in use, in Bristol.