A lot has changed for us in the last few years. We outgrew our home-based shop, decided to go for it and moved into a new building, but still close to home. We share the building with another sign company…talk about close competition! But that’s not the case at all. You see, the other company, Neolite Signs, happens to be owned by another “Mike Z”, my son. Together, we’ve got all the bases covered. Neolite specializes in electric signage, neon, fabrication, and service, and Mike has all the equipment to go with it. At Countryside Signs, we do typical commercial sign work, truck lettering and custom graphics.

As you can imagine, the range of signage we can provide is basically unlimited—that is, if we have enough hands to do it all. But having more employees is not necessarily the answer. How many times have you heard, “Good help is hard to find”? But in our business it seems doubly hard. Custom sign making requires people with talent and/or specific skills. Finding someone who wants to have a rewarding occupation and be part of a crew as opposed to just “putting in the time” are few and far between. It’s a slow process, but between the two companies we’ve been fortunate to have a few “keepers”.

No one is hired for a specific position and that’s made clear from the beginning, but the “right” people wouldn’t have it any other way. Where possible, who does a certain job is based on a person’s strong points.

Sandblasted signs have been only a small part of what we do, partly by choice because our stock in trade has always favored truck lettering. But it seems that now, the sandblasted signs we have done are drawing some attention and the call for them is increasing. This is not a bad thing, but I’ve been the one who does the blasting. Some skills are quite easy to learn and sandblasting is one of them. I’ll do what I have to do, but my days “under the hood” are over. It’s time for some training.

So, if you’ve never tried it but would like to know a little more about it, follow along. We’re taking this down to the very basics, assuming the reader has no experience. In fact, the young folks who participated in this article had never done this before.

Jessie Smith, a very talented young lady, has been with us for a few months, and is fitting in quite nicely. She attended Butera School Of Art in Boston and brings a lot to the table. She’s enthusiastic and eager to learn. Steven Van Eps and Ed Taylor work for Neolite. They too, are always willing to learn and do more.

SANDBLASTING

The process is simple, and pretty much self explanatory: shooting a high velocity, continuous spray of sand (or other abrasive media) at a given object with the intent to remove something attached to the surface or a portion of the object itself.

Initially used as a method for paint and rust removal, by harnessing the destructive power down to controllable levels it has become a staple process in sign making and monument decoration, as well as fine art glass etching.

Books have been written on the subject as well as numerous magazine articles, some more in-depth and technical than others. Here, I intend to get down to basics and simplify as much as possible and show you some tricks we’ve learned along the way. At the most basic level here’s how it goes: Cover the item to be blasted with a material that will resist the blasting process, expose the area to be blasted, blast away to the desired depth, remove the masking and finish as needed. If you outsource the blasting, which many shops do, the expenses involved are minimal and so are the logistics regarding space and equipment. I would strongly suggest for the novice to go this route.

WHAT YOU NEED
If you want to jump in with both feet, here’s what you’ll need:

• A sandblasting pot and an adequate air supply to sustain the large volume of air required to keep up with the demand or you’ll be spending more time waiting for the air tank to recoup than blasting, which is not fun when it’s summer and you’re in coveralls with a hood over your head.

Basic sandblasting equipment includes a pressure pot, an adequate compressed air supply and resist.

• Coveralls and hood? Oh, yeah, by the way, that high velocity spray of sand bounces right back at only a slightly diminished speed.

• Regarding the hood, it is recommended to use an air supplied version, especially if you’re using sand. More on this when we get into various media.

• Did I mention gloves?

• Of course, there are enclosed blasting cabinets commercially available. Prices for these units range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand for a large system. Right now, for us, the amount of sandblasted signs that we do doesn’t justify the cost of a cabinet. (I want the big one!) We do have a shop- made unit that we’ve been working on. I’ll share the plans in the future.

Blasting is a messy procedure, best done outdoors in an area away from everything that could be damaged by flying sand. Also a method of containment is necessary to confine the used media for disposal and/or reclaiming. A roofed enclosure would be ideal for when the weather doesn’t cooperate.

BACK TO THE EASY PART
The substrate: virtually, anything from stone to glass can be sandblast etched. In the world of sign making, wood (particularly redwood and cedar) and high density urethane (HDU) are the top choices for dimensional signage. The virtues of each are highly debatable and subjective and I won’t get into any of it except for a few observations. The natural look of wood is unbeatable, but availability and weather resistance are issues. On the other hand, lateral strength and the relatively soft and more easily damaged HDU can also be issues, but we prefer using it for its ease of fabrication and finish.

The Resist: Rubber sheeting called sandblast resist is the most widely used material used in sandblasting. An adhesive-backed material, it is available in various widths and thicknesses. Although it is strong enough to stand up to the sandblasting process, it cuts as easily as a warm knife through butter.

The Media: Sand is probably the most widely used media. I’ll go over a couple of options, but the choice is up to you. Sand is the least expensive, but not necessarily the best. The fine dust inherent with using sand as a blast media can be dangerous. Long-term exposure without using the proper air respirator can lead to a lung condition known as silicosis.

The cutting power is diminished after one use, so reclaiming the material results in progressively slower cutting, which adds to your under-hood time.

Aluminum oxide, which is the material used to make high quality sandpaper, has superior cutting power and can be reclaimed to use numerous times. This is probably the best to use in a blast cabinet where reclamation is easy. I’ve tried it and it works great but the cost is too high for the average user. Instead, I have been using a coal slag product called Black Beauty. This is the most widely used product for steel restoration such as highway bridges and such. Like sand and other media it comes in grit ratings from fine to course.

I find it cuts well with good reclaimable cutting power. The resulting dust factor from blasting is minimal compared to sand. Another problem with sand is humidity. Even if you have a top-of-the-line moisture trapping system, humidity can be a problem. Moisture and sand make mud! If enough moisture gets into your blasting pot, you’re done for the day.

Grit ratings can be numerical as in 00, 0, 1, or they can be described as fine, medium, course. The degree of finish is determined by the grit used in blasting. The same principle when using sandpaper applies here. The smoother the finish desired, the finer the grit should be. On the downside of that equation is cutting speed. The finer grit won’t cut as fast as a more aggressive grit. If the situation dictates, I will switch grits as needed. Here’s where outsourcing the blasting can be problematic. Quality control and special effects are in the hands of someone not necessarily attuned to the final outcome.

Here’s the final decision maker for me. Each bag of sand warns the user, in very large print, of the health risks involved. On the other hand, the safety warning on the bag of Black Beauty indicates a very minimal risk, to be treated as a nuisance dust. I’ll be showing more of this very versatile material in an upcoming article.

LET’S DO IT
We’ll do two signs, both the same, except for the background finish. One with what I call a pebble finish and one with simulated wood grain. Each panel is Sign Foam HDU, 1'' x 10'' x 24''.

There is always more than one way to accomplish a task and so it is here. We started with cutting the panels to size. Sometimes, depending on the situation, you can cut the panel after the blast resist is applied. Cutting the panel after the resist is applied may be the best way in the case of a very intricate shape and where aligning the mask to the shape might be an issue.

The finish we like to use is gloss enamels for the lettering and borders and a flat or satin finish for the background using exterior acrylic latex paints. HDU will accept just about any type of paint, so your options are wide open.

You can paint the panels first but you don’t have to. What makes the most sense usually is to prepare your panels to the desired finish, apply the resist, blast the sign, then paint in the background using the resist as a paint mask. On more elaborate signs, such things as size, shape and final decoration will determine the amount of finish before blasting, but at least one good coat of primer on both sides will seal the surface.

The sandblast resist will stick better to a painted surface and will be less likely to fail during the blasting process. The dust from HDU is different than wood dust. Brushing it off is useless. Blowing it off works, but not as good as this trick I learned at the Milwaukee National Meet in 2001: since HDU doesn’t absorb water, rinse off the dust with your wash hose. I’ll also use damp towels to wipe it down.

For this project I made a plotter cut mask and we hand cut a mask, using a paper pattern. We used our computer for this but a hand drawn pattern is fine.

THE HAND-CUT VERSION
We used a remnant piece from a previous job, cutting it slightly larger than our sign. Jessie peeled back the clear plastic carrier from the back of the rubber resist, being careful not to stretch the rubber out of shape and carefully applied it to the face of the sign panel. After the rubber is burnished down with squeegee and roller, the remainder of the mask is rolled over the sides. Jessie proceeds to perforate the pattern to transfer the design. This is accomplished using a tool called a pounce wheel (also handy for very tiny pizzas). For purposes of demonstration we’ll only perforate the first three letters. The NS will be transferred using Saral paper. The pattern is aligned and taped in place. Black charcoal powder is applied with a pounce pad. A pounce pad can easily be made by filling part of a sock with powder. The powder will go through the perforated lines transferring the design to the panel.

An alternative is to use Saral, which works on the same principle as carbon paper without the oily residue. Available in colors, Saral is best for transferring very small or intricate designs and where powder dust would be a problem. Simply place the Saral between the pattern and the panel and with a little extra pressure, redraw the lines of the pattern. With the letters transferred, Jessie removes the pattern, marks measurements for the 3/4'' border and finalizes the layout. An X-acto knife is used to cut out the design, then the background areas are exposed and ready for blasting.

THE COMPUTER-CUT MASK
The computer-cut mask is a little different. Without weeding the background, clear application tape is applied over the entire surface. Flipped over, the backing is carefully removed, making sure the mask stays intact. The mask is then carefully aligned and applied to the panel.

This is where it gets tricky. Remember the part about cutting the panel after sandblasting? Let’s look at a couple of options here. One alternative is to weed the job first and apply it in sections. In cases where elements of your design are very small, weeding can be easier on the sign. The mask is made to stick well to the substrate. It comes away from its backing material easier, so on the weeding bench small elements tend to come up by mistake and the risk of stretching the rubber out of shape is more likely. Still, working in sections is okay and really necessary on large signs. Border strips can be cut and applied. Once again, the job will dictate which way to go.

On our example, the edges of the sign are left exposed. All exposed areas should be protected from the blasting process. This can be done with remnant pieces and cut-offs.

Another trick is to use duct tape. This extra protection also prevents damage in handling.

TIME TO BLAST
The basic pressure pot sandblaster consists of a container to hold the blasting media, an inlet feed hose that pressurizes the container (or pot) and also connects to the mixing valve on the bottom of the unit, which is also where the discharge hose is attached. The discharge nozzle is fitted with a ceramic tip to direct the flow of media. This is a wear part that must be changed from time to time. The nozzle will have what is called a “dead man” device, which will stop the flow of discharge when you let it go. Our unit has a pistol-type nozzle with an automatic shut-off handle. A couple of ball-type shut-off valves control the amount of air to the unit as well as the amount of media going into the mixing valve.

The minimum body protection should be long sleeve clothing (unless you’re into the feeling of a hundred bee stings at once), gloves, an approved sandblasting hood, and a dust mask or respirator.

Although you can simply lay your piece on the ground to blast it, I prefer to have my work upright for a couple of reasons. The main reason is I like to use the shadows created by the sun to help me see if my blasting is consistent. It’s nearly impossible to achieve a perfect background, especially on large signs, but I think it’s important to the final look to be as consistent as possible. Secondly, what doesn’t fly back at me falls to the ground and not on top of my work.

THE SET-UP
The set-up here is pretty simple—an old 4x8 site sign on the ground and a device to hold your workpiece. How about these stands? We use them for everything. This idea’s been around a long time, simple to make and extremely useful. 2x4’s, 1/2'' plywood and 1'' dowels on leashes. We’re going to use a fine grit Black Beauty. We’ve filled our pot, pressurized the system and put on our protective gear. Here we go.

With the media control valve off, we squeeze the trigger and get a feel for the gun. All you get at this point is air. Aiming the nozzle toward a sacrificial piece, in this case cardboard, slowly open the media discharge valve on the bottom of the unit. At about halfway open you should be getting a good mix of abrasive and air. Release the trigger and step up to the plate. Get into a comfortable stance with the tip of the nozzle about a foot away from the workpiece.

Starting on one side or the other at either a top or bottom corner, you’re going to start blasting off the workpiece. Slowly move onto the sign, and move along across the face of the sign and off the other end. Work smoothly. Keep the same distance from the piece at all times. Do not stop. Keep moving. When you reach the other end, raise or lower the gun as needed and continue back across off the sign.

Continue like this until you have made one complete pass over the entire surface. As you undoubtedly noticed as you made your passes, the blasting removed the paint showing your progress. What now? The background looks the same, it’ll be hard to tell where you’ve been.

Here’s a trick that auto body shops use when they sand fillers and final paintwork. It’s called a guide coat. A light coat of paint is sprayed over the entire area. When sanding, the paint will be removed from the high spots revealing the low areas.

More sanding on the high spots slowly eliminates the low spots until the surface is the same. So, using the same principle, spray the surface with a little paint. It doesn’t matter what kind, you’re going to blast it off anyway. This is a good way to use up some of those almost empty rattle cans that tend to accumulate.

Continue with another pass and repeat as necessary until you reach the desired depth. The depth is up to you, but should be at least 1/4'' to 1/2'' or more, depending on the desired look. The key is consistent overall depth. You need good definition between the surface and the background.

This is very important. What you see is not always what you get. You’ve got to take into consideration the thickness of the blast resist. If you’re not sure, give it another pass. Most people prefer a deeper blast, so it’s better to err on the deep side.

THE WOOD GRAIN EFFECT
To get the wood grain effect, or any other effect for that matter, sandblast through any device that will stand up to the blast and give the desired effect. For the wood grain look, we use a tool called a Grain Fraim. It’s a device that holds a series of wires. We blast as before until we reach our desired depth. Then the tool is placed in front of the piece, with the wires as close as possible to the sign, preferably touching. A couple of slow moving passes across the sign are all it takes.

After blasting, blow off any excess media. Leave the blast resist on and paint in your background. Take off the resist and touch up and finish as needed.

That’s all there is to it!

…Not so fast! We’ve just touched on the basics. If you’re going to do this, practice. And not on a customer’s job! Stay simple at first, walk before you run. Get your hands on as many articles as you can regarding the subject. There are some very talented people out there who are willing to share their knowledge. I’m no expert. I’m learning all the time. It’s the nature of the business and that’s why I love it. The day you think you know it all, seen it all, stick a fork in—you’re done!

If any of this helps, good. Use it and pass it along...

More Photos...

Since HDU doesn’t absorb water, rinse off the dust with your wash hose and weed the background.

The resist is applied to the panel, burnished, and the excess is folded over to protect the edges.

Using a pounce wheel to make a perforated pattern.

Pouncing with charcoal powder.

This “digger” is what you don’t want to happen, caused by starting directly on the piece. Start each blasting pass off the piece to help keep the depth consistent.

Successive passes will catch up to the depth of the “digger”, saving the piece.

The Grain Fraim in place.