How To Finish a Sandblasted Sign
“How to finish a sandblasted sign?” is a question people may ask after seeing a sign of this type at a local business. In the early 1990’s I attended a hand-carved sign workshop taught by master sign carver, Jay Cooke. Lessons learned from that instructive workshop are still used in my sign-making and sign-finishing practices today.
I am the owner of Augusta Sign Company located near Middlebrook, Virginia. In this blog I will try to explain the steps in finishing a sandblasted cedar sign. These same steps could apply to the finishing of similar products which might include carved wood signs and also routed wood signs, both of which I sell here in Virginia to a variety of 
companies, organizations, and individuals. These signs are frequently used as the primary identification signs for medical offices, parks and recreation sites, museums, resorts, theme parks, city entrances, churches, professional offices, bed and breakfasts, retail stores, and subdivision entrances, just to name a few.
Before the finishing process begins, you must start with quality wood. Consider choosing mahogany, redwood or cedar for your sign panel, as all three choices are great for resisting rot and insects. They also hold paints and stains well, and they can all be finished natural and look great over long periods of time with regular maintenance.
Once you have the sign panel glued up and blasted, carved or routed, here’s what you need to do to preserve the wood and make an attractive, 
eye-catching sign:
- Mix up your own homemade oil stain by adding 30% of oil-based exterior enamel paint (I use One-Shot or Ronan brands) with Penetrol.
- Apply the homemade Penetrol solid-color oil stain to the raw wood surface. Allow it to soak overnight. Apply a second coat in 24 hours if the first coat is well dry.
- Using 100% enamel, paint the lettering.
- Second coat lettering if necessary’ and allow to dry at least 24 hours.
That’s all there is to it. Of course, you want to use quality brushes that don’t lose their hairs in your paint work! No clear coat finish is required, but you can expect to have to repaint the sign every 5-10 years. With proper maintenance the sign will look 
great all the time and last a life time.
COST OF WOOD SIGNS
When you consider the cost of a wood sign remember to calculate the annual cost over a long period. Here’s an example: Say a finished plywood sign costs you $34 a square foot and lasts 5-10 years and then it needs to be replaced. Based on a 20 SF sign, this sign would have an annual cost of $68-$136 a year. Now say a sandblasted cedar sign costs $150 a square foot. A 20 SF cedar sign with a 50 year lifespan would have an annual cost of $110 a year when figuring on the initial cost and $500 every 10 years for repainting. Not only is the pricing in the same ballpark as the plywood sign, but the three dimensional elements achieved by using carved wood far exceeds the value of a plywood sign.
Next time you need a sign, consider a sandblasted wood sign!
Mark Hackley is owner of Augusta Sign Company, the best place for wood signs in the Shenandoah Valley!
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Budding Artist
(now Middle School) where I was the artist for the school newspaper and yearbook. So it only made sense that by the time I reached High School it was appropriate that I be hired to paint the bass drum, which was a pretty challenging task for a guy used to pencil or pen and ink as a medium. I remember researching the proper paint to use for plastic surfaces. I wish I had a picture of the drum, but I don’t; But I do remember it was a success. The first of many successful sign projects!
scholarship to attend Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, but declined to take a position as a sign apprentice instead with the US Navy in Bethesda, Maryland.
billboards, airport taxiways, insignias, vehicles, you name it!
needing to get noticed and be profitable by increasing revenues; It has helped me realize and share this great gift, a gift that leaves a lasting impression everywhere I go. I’m forever passing signs all over the place that I put into service decades ago! It’s humbling to see all the work I was blessed with the ability to complete.
STAUNTON, VIRGINIA Mark Hackley, owner of Augusta Sign Company formerly of Waynesboro, Virginia has moved his sign shop to Augusta County, Virginia, near Staunton. So 
signage with his colleague Allen Gray around 1983. He then formed Kullman Signs with a friend, also on a part-time basis, around 1985. By 1987 Mark had formed Western Signs and Graphics and took out his first newspaper ad in the Laurel Leader. By 1988, Mark was married and he moved his business, still called Western Signs and Graphics, to Waynesboro, Virginia. He worked from home on a part time basis while working for Keeney and Company Architects of Charlottesville for about a year but before long, Mark began renting space above the former Doll Hospital on Wayne Avenue in Waynesboro later in 1988.
where he remained for one full year. The business began to grow and Mark soon expanded to a larger facility in Crimora, Virginia, where he rented industrial space from Gary and Linda Scrogham of Scrogham Enterprises.
GOLD OR NO GOLD
carving class in Stowe, Vermont, taught by expert carver, Jay Cooke. I remember thinking that I could share some of the craft I learned with businesses in Virginia, perhaps improving the aesthetics of our area with nice signage. From 1990-2000 when I owned and operated Tree Street Signs in Crimora, I believe I was able to do just that!
the colors of the old sign were just too drab. They wanted a white background with a black and gold color scheme. (Later on I found out they were originally from Pittsburgh, so the Pittsburgh Steelers’ black and gold color scheme was in the back of their mind in this decision.) They weren’t worried about losing the gold leaf as long as the renovated sign popped so people could read it well.
Looking for a simplified way to use old electric sign cabinets? I bet I have had a dozen calls about sign face replacement since I restarted my commercial sign company here in Waynesboro, Virginia two years ago. Many people who go into business for themselves will rent or purchase a former commercial building. When they get the building, most times they also get the old signage. Jurisdictions usually make businesses remove or reverse or otherwise block out the old sign faces in electric sign cabinets until new owners or tenants come along.
