Covers for Electric Signs

February 15, 2017 By Mark Hackley

Covers for Electric Signs

I frequently get calls from new customers who have purchased existing electric signs with their new business property within my service area of the Waynesboro, Staunton, Harrisonburg, Richmond, Winchester, Roanoke, Lynchburg regions of Virginia. They call me for pricing and timing needed to change their covers for electric signs. They regularly call “covers” what I call “faces” but what they are needing is new sign panels for electric signs.

I generally would need to survey their situations to get them an accurate price and turn-around time. Most often, these replacement signs fall into one of these types:

Least expensive type: Flat plastic sign panels of either acrylic (Plexiglas) or polycarbonate (Lexan) with either graphics on the outer surface or backsprayed.
Stronger type and best for thinner cabinets: What I call “pan” faces, which are vacuum-formed plastic signs made of either some type of acrylic or polycarbonate material with either graphics on the outer surface or backsprayed.
Or, Strongest of all and dimensional for added good looks: Embossed graphics on a pan face.

If you are in need of replacement covers for your lit sign in Central or Western Virginia, I would be happy to take a look.

Mark Hackley, Augusta Sign Company, 540-943-9818

Augusta Sign Company Service Area in Virginia

December 9, 2016 By Mark Hackley

Augusta Sign Company designs, manufactures, and installs custom wood, metal, and plastic signs and building letters generally within a 90-mile radius of Waynesboro, Virginia which includes:

Waynesboro Culpeper Lynchburg Wintergreen Nellysford

Staunton Crimora Elkton Grottoes Verona Stuarts Draft

Harrisonburg Greenville Weyers Cave Bridgewater New Market

Winchester Front Royal Woodstock Covington Clifton Forge

Lexington Hot Springs Warm Springs Strasburg Mount Crawford

Charlottesville Stanley Luray Roanoke Richmond Scottsville

…and many other areas in between!

Give us a call today at 540-943-9818 or e-mail mark@augustasigncompany.com for more information.

www.augustasigncompany.com

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

Can Sandcarved Signage be Implemented into Wayfinding Systems?

December 1, 2015 By Mark Hackley

Can Sandcarved Signage be Successfully Implemented into Wayfinding Systems?

Can sandcarved signage be successfully implemented into wayfinding systems?

I recently got a call from the new dentist in Waynesboro, Virginia, Dr. William Potter, in need of a new sign for his office. He was taking the place of Dr. Michael Kivlighan who along with his real estate partners had contracted my previous company, Tree Street Signs, to make all the signage for his professional office park some 20 years ago. Now they had to hire a sign company that could closely match the existing signage system.

The unique thing about this particular professional center is the signage. It’s all made of sandblasted cedar, stained dark green with raised white graphics denoting the name of each tenant. The signs are single-sided and are attached to the brick walls facing the main road. The main office park sign has been there probably since the complex was built, and I had rehabbed it 20 years ago by removing the routed metal letters, applying a stucco background over the bare brick, and then repainting the letters in the same color green as the cedar signage to make everything mesh.

So does sandcarved signage make sense for wayfinding systems? I think so.

Large Promotional Sign Made for Omni Homestead Resort Golf Event

November 23, 2015 By Mark Hackley

Large Promotional Sign Made for Homestead Resort Golf Event

“Your job must be a lot of fun but also frustrating with customers sharing crazy ideas like mine,” joked Lori Hicks, Director of Regional Accounts at the Omni Homestead Resort in Bath County, Virginia. She was explaining that she needed to order a big, tall full-color portrait of Thomas Jefferson to erect in the fairway of their world-famous golf course for an upcoming tournament.

They were hosting an Omni Brand Golf tournament at The Homestead the weekend of October 23^rd. Each of the resort properties sponsors a hole contest for their top customers. Their idea was a wild and crazy one called “Tip Tom”. Their vision was to provide a huge Thomas Jefferson portrait sign placed in the middle of the fairway for customers to hit with golf balls to win a prize which ties in with the resort’s celebrating 250 years as America’s First Resort.

The project was a lot of fun and a little challenging. The portrait would need to be digitally printed. Since it was only needed for a one day event, the materials didn’t have to last that long, yet they had to be durable enough to last a day out in the mountains of Virginia in the fall, potentially facing strong winds, and possibly rain. The customer suggested using 2″ thick foam for the body of the sign, and a tin for the skin so the golfers would know when they hit it from the ping. So that’s what I did. The challenge was to figure out how to assemble the thin metal skin onto the Styrofoam core. After some thought, I fabricated several horizontal cross beams for the back out of 1 X 4 pine boards that were used to “clamp” it all together using carriage bolts with washers on both ends. For the material that the portrait was printed on, I picked 13 ounce Scrim Vinyl and cemented it to the tin with contact cement. It worked just fine for the one day event and cost less than printing the image on regular adhesive-backed vinyl material.

The event was a success, and even Tom himself showed up! Thanks to the Omni Homestead Resort for the neat project!

Mark Hackley is the owner of Augusta Sign Company, former founder of Tree Street Signs of Crimora, VA and former sales executive with Holiday Signs of Chester, VA.

You can contact him at: mark@augustasigncompany.com; 540-943-9818

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