Mark Hackley, Author at Augusta Sign Company

Wood Sign Restoration

November 7, 2016 By Mark Hackley

Reviving the Color

Wood sign restoration is what I love to do! I made Webber Payne’s sandblasted wood sign in the mid-1990’s, and he recently contacted me to restore the sign back to its original brightness that grabbed attention of shoppers in downtown Waynesboro, Virginia.

The process of restoring redwood and cedar signs is not difficult, it just requires multiple steps and knowledge about what materials work best and last the longest. First, me and my helper Marshall Carpenter took the sign down and transported it to my sign shop in Waynesboro. Next, I ordered the colors needed, which is getting harder all the time as hand-painted signs are becoming a lost art along with neon as digital sign techniques and LED technology take over the industry. While waiting for the paint to arrive I steel brshed and sanded the background, filling any major gaps with painters putty. Once the materials came in I mixed up a custom color purple stain to match the existing background color and coated out the entire sign. (I choose not to reveal my background stain recipe that I developed in the 1990’s…kind of like the Kentucky fried Chicken recipe, or McDonald’s Big Mac secret sauce.)

Next I primed the letters white and painted all the flat areas to complete the sign. I hung the sign and touched up any edges that needed it. (The photo of the sign hanging here in this feature was taken before final touch-ups, but it’s hard to see any issues from the distance in the picture.)

Mark Hackley owns and operates Augusta Sign Company, Waynesboro, VA 540-943-9818

Changing Letters on Entrance Signs

October 24, 2016 By Mark Hackley

Changing letters on entrance signs is a typical request at my sign shop in Waynesboro, Virginia, Augusta Sign Company. This particular week, I had a long-term care customer contact me to change the tag line letters on their sign from Senior Living Center to Assisted Living.

The existing letters were injection molded plastic characters with straight back edges. It’s important to order matching letters from a sign company that understands the various letter options, so your letters match when changing part of the wording. There are rounded formed letters, then there are solid, flat-cut out letters made on CNC routers, and each has it’s own visual characteristics. Colors and sheen are also important to match, but in this case, it was easy: matte black, Helvetica font. If you ordered the original lettering from a company that’s still in business, it makes the most sense to order any updates in the sign lettering from the same company. That way things should match, since most sign companies keep old project specifications for some time.

HOW MUCH DOES IT ALL COST?

How much does it cost to change lettering on existing signs? It depends on the size and type of lettering and the height off the ground. In this case, non-illuminated plastic letters stud-mounted to a low profile brick and concrete monument sign, the cost was under $1,000. Of course, illumination, size and quantity of letters, logos, etc., would add cost.

It was fairly simple to make the changeout in this case: first, I used a stiff putty knife to remove the old letters; next I used a paper pattern with stud holes marked to drill the holes for mounting; next I cleaned and painted the concrete background with a flat, white, self-priming paint that matched the existing paint color; next I installed the dimensional letters using clear silicone, taping the letters that needed help until the silicone adhesive cured in less than 30 minutes.

Mark Hackley is the owner and operator of Augusta Sign Company, Waynesboro, VA (former founder of Tree Street Signs of Crimora) 540-943-9818

How to Test a Surface for Proper Graphic Adhesion

October 13, 2016 By Mark Hackley

Indoor Display Tech Talk…

How to Test a Surface for Proper Graphic Adhesion. Lettering on glass or acrylic is one thing but applying vinyl graphics to painted walls, especially flat, satin or eggshell finishes, is questionable. Semigloss and gloss finishes are a better bet for successful adhesion. When in doubt about quality sign or display products and application procedures, always ask a 3M rep. They are very knowledgeable and responsive when you have a question.

I am working on some interior wall designs for a Virginia client today who wants some nice acrylic graphics panels with stand offs that raise them over super graphics of some really cool color photographs that will be enlarged as backdrops under their mission statement and core beliefs that will be rendered on the overlaid panels. I would like to propose applying the base graphics of several neat wall displays directly to the painted wall surfaces at their organization’s walls of focus in addition to using PVC as an option, but since the walls have either a flat or satin sheen, I’m uncertain about the success of adhesion if applied direct.

BUT..I found out there’s a neat wall test kit available from most 3M distributors that helps test whether the sheen of the paint is glossy enough for the wall graphics to stick without any problems. You know, there’s a test for anything, and it’s always wise to do your homework and get it right the first time.

An edge I may have over some in my field is more than 35 years experience in the sign industry where I have learned about some things that others may not consider important!!

Here’s the video on just how I can test your walls to make sure they are graphic ready should you ever have a project in mind…

Building Letters for Natural Bridge State Park

October 11, 2016 By Mark Hackley

Augusta Sign Company provided building letters for Natural Bridge State Park. The Natural Bridge in Virginia, one of the geographical wonders in our area, recently changed hands and is now a public park versus having private ownership. A parent of one of my teacher-wife’s kids has an electrical contracting business, Roscher Electric, and he contracts for the Natural Bridge Park. A little bit ago, he contacted me to tell me the park needed new wall letters after the name change took effect, and wondered if I could provide them. Since my company is an eVA vendor, I submitted a quote and was awarded the job.

Wall letters come in many forms. The simplest method to add your brand to a wall is to hand paint the lettering right onto the building surface. In my day, I have provided direct hand-painted graphics for walls of AutoZone stores, Sam’s Clubs, Virginia Frame Builders, and others. These projects entailed lettering on various surfaces from cinder block to stucco, to corrugated metal siding. A step above flush wall graphics is dimensional wall graphics.

Dimensional wall lettering can be made of solid or molded materials, usually plastic or aluminum, but can also be cut from wood and other materials like stainless steel, etc. When a customer orders a set or sets of wall letters, I first take a measurement of the space requirements, check local code for area allowances, and then submit several design options. In the case of the Natural Bridge letters, the customer wanted to keep the same 12″ letter height and typestyle of the previous letters.

When the letters are complete, a mounting pattern is also provided so the installer can set the letters correctly on the surface, in the case of Natural Bridge, the letters were set in wood. Many times the surface is brick, stucco, or corrugated metal, each application having specific choices for mounting the letters, but usually letters are stud mounted with non-rusting metal studs set in clear silicone filled holes.

Roscher Electric got my letters and did a great job on the sign installation down at Natural Bridge! Thanks goes out to them for the referral.

Mark Hackley owns and operates Augusta Sign Company, Waynesboro, VA 22980 540-943-9818. Contact him for all your signage needs!!

Reflective Signs Offer Less Expensive Options Than Electric Signs

October 10, 2016 By Mark Hackley

Reflective signs offer less expensive options than electric signs. The manager of marketing for a group of several hardware/feed supply stores in Central Virginia contacted me last month to provide options for a new wood framed ACM sign that would help lead potential customers to one of their sites.

Their store in Weyers Cave, Virginia is located off the beaten trail, so she was wondering about the cost of a reflective sign to replace the existing non-reflective one that had been there for quite some time. After seeing that the cost between reflective or non-reflective options was about a 30% difference, she ordered the new reflective sign to mark the turn off the main road.

We knew that standard DOT and traffic signs are okay to be reflective, but we weren’t all the way sure that commercial road signs could be. After checking with DOT’s office that deals with off-premise advertising, we found out that reflective graphics were legitimate as long as they didn’t resemble traffic control signs, such as traffic lights, etc.

The biggest benefit of reflective signs is their cost over internally illuminated signs. When you calculate the cost of the manufacture of the signs, the installation, the on-going maintenance, and especially the installation of a new circuit to provide power, reflective signs are quickly seen as one of the better alternatives.

Mark Hackley is the owner of Augusta Sign Company, Waynesboro, VA 540-943-9818