By Adam Scholljegerdes
Posted on Friday, July 11th, 2025
A good, effective sign needn’t be loaded with all the bells and whistles. When a client doesn’t have the budget for 3D graphics or gold leaf lettering, you can still deliver an attractive design using more cost-effective production.
Materials:
4-by-8-ft.-by-3/4-in. overlaid plywood: $88
Paint and primer: $68
Paint mask: $20
Installation lumber and hardware: $7
Total materials: $183
Labor:
Design: 1 hour
Painting/fabrication: 8 hours
Installation: 3 hours
Total time: 12 hours
This particular client was looking for a new look and wanted to start with their storefront sign. After consulting with the customer and figuring out a budget, a simple and effective flat painted sign is what fit the bill.
For a project like this, we use the tried-and-true sign substrate, overlaid plywood [MDO], painted with acrylic latex house paints. It holds up well and is easy to work with—and helps us stay within the client’s budget.
Adam Scholljegerdes works with Dave Correll at Brushwork Signs in Faribault, Minnesota.
This appeared in the July/August 2014 issue of SignCraft. While the prices have been adjusted for inflation as of 2025, they may not accurately reflect current pricing for such signage.
Design: 60 minutes A good design starts with a pencil sketch, then that is scanned and used to produce a computer rendering.
Cut, sand and seal: 30 minutes After cutting the overlaid plywood to size, I sand the edges and use epoxy resin to seal them.
Prime and paint the background: 70 minutes Next, we prime with a good latex primer, spray two coats of base color on the face and paint the back.
Cut, weed, tape, apply paint mask: 50 minutes When using latex paints, two or three coats are usually needed on the graphics. Paint mask helps make quick work of laying down the multiple coats.
Paint: 4 hours and 10 minutes I use a combination of a turbine sprayer, small paint rollers and large water-based lettering brushes to apply the paint.
Finishing touches: 1 hour and 25 minutes Once all the big painting is taken care of, it is always good to give the sign some finishing touches by hand—shadows, outlines, highlights, etc.
Installation: 3 hours It took two of us an hour and a half each to install it. Don’t forget to account for all the miscellaneous time that goes with installation—cutting the stringers, loading and unloading, driving, set-up and cleanup.
