Is your wooden sign looking a bit worse for wear? If the wood is still intact, and it is mainly the paint that is showing wear, you may be able to repaint it yourself. All you need an a free afternoon, some basic painting supplies, and these instructions.
Wait for a day when the weather report calls for 2 – 3 dry days in a row to complete this project.
Step 1: Purchasing your paint.
Take chips of each color of paint on your sign to a local paint store. They can use color matching technology to create the same colors for you. If you think your sign has faded in the sunshine over the years, ask the paint mixers to provide you with colors that are just a touch darker and more saturated than the chips you bring to them.
In addition to paint, you will need some small and larger paintbrushes (the foam ones work well for this project). You'll also need a container of polyurethane fixative spray.
Step 2: Sanding and scraping the sign.
The point of this step is to remove any loose paint, so that once you re-paint the sign, you don't immediately end up with more chips and peeling. Start by going over the sign with a paint scraper. Don't dig deep into the wood – just remove the flakes that were starting to fall off anyways. Then, go over the sign very briefly with fine-grit sandpaper. This will help the new paint stick to the older.
Step 3: Painting the sign.
Start by using a small paintbrush to outline each of the sections of the sign in the color it will be painted. This way, you reduce your risk of painting "outside of the lines." Be very careful when doing this step – move slowly, and work with one color at a time.
When all of your color sections have been outlined, let the paint dry for a few hours. Then, use a larger brush to fill in the outlined sections. Let the sign dry for an additional day before moving on to step 4.
Step 4: Spraying the sign with sealer.
Take your polyurethane spray, and apply an even coat to the sign. Let this first coat dry for an hour or two (your container may recommend a different waiting period – follow it, if this is the case), and then apply a second coat. Let the sign dry, and you're finished! Step back and admire your work, and enjoy when your customers do the same.
For more information on maintaining your sign, contact a local producer (such as Signs In One Day).
Share6 October 2015
When I started focusing on my business a few years back, I realized that there were more than a few things I needed to do if I wanted things to get off the ground. First and foremost, I needed to work on our advertising campaign. Instead of using the same old boring slogans, I worked hard with a graphic design team to come up with something new and different. Within about three weeks, we started to see an improvement in our customer counts. This blog is dedicated to other business owners who want to improve their business and turn things around for the better.