6 super simple tips that make things a little easier

By signcraft

Posted on Monday, January 22nd, 2024

Keep track of your trimcap adhesive

If you make electrical signs, you know how easy it is to forget how many coats of glue that you’ve used when you are applying trimcap to a panel or channel letter face. A simple way to keep track is to put one of your wrapping nails on the letter after each coat. It’s an obvious reminder of how many coats of glue you have already applied.

Rocco Gaskins Sr., Abco Signs, Pennsauken, New Jersey

 

The perfect holder for painting fasteners

It’s a shame when a good sign gets cheapened by installing it with unpainted mounting screws. l always paint mine. If they have to dry overnight, the problem is what can you quickly mount them in while you paint and let them dry. A roll of toilet paper to the rescue, LOL!

James Dobson, Revolution Signs & Graphics, Lake Macdonald, Queensland, Australia

Reuse that Styrofoam packing! When we need to color match screws to a job, we push the screws into pieces of foam and paint them that way. Then we either spray or brush the screw heads. The same piece of foam can be used multiple times.

Rocco Gaskins Sr., Abco Signs, Pennsauken, New Jersey

 

Make your own wash trays

It seems you never have enough trays for washing brushes, spray equipment and what not, so we make our own from empty one-gallon thinner cans by cutting them down and hemming the edges. They work really well.

Redgie Adams, Adams Sign Co., North Little Rock, Arkansas

 

Put an end to buildup on paint can lids

If you’ve been in the sign business for any length of time or are a sign painter, you’re probably already using this. Often we have cans of paint that get opened and closed multiple times. Primers are a good example. No matter how careful you are, the dried paint tends to build up on the rim.

When you first open the can, take a finish nail and pierce the inside of the rim so paint can flow back into the can. You’ll be surprised how easy it makes to open and close the can going forward, and how much tighter the lid seals. I was taught this by the late Joe Bauder Sr., a terrific old-style sign writer, and have used it for years.

Rocco Gaskins Sr., Abco Signs, Pennsauken, New Jersey

 

Pool noodles protect sign faces

To slide sign faces in and out of my van when transporting, I slice “pool noodles” lengthwise and slip them over the edges of the sign before I strap them down so that the faces don’t get scratched. Works every time!

Brad “the Bandit” Bandow, Brushfire Signs, Elkhorn, Wisconsin

 

Make roller covers last

Here’s another one that reduces waste. If you have to apply multiple coats of paint to a sign panel, you can save the roller cover by putting it in a plastic grocery bag and twisting the bag closed tightly. The roller cover will stay soft for a long time. This works with brushes as well.

Rocco Gaskins Sr., Abco Signs, Pennsauken, New Jersey