Does anyone know if this type of material is good for outdoor sign making? Anything else it might be used for?
I’ve never heard of the stuff and a friend of my wants a sign made out of it.
Thanks for any input.
Yes, this is a popular material for such usages.
It cuts very well using the settings for soft plastic.
My limited knowledge of this stuff is that it is slippery. So not sure how paint would stick to it. Being plastic it will expand and contract and if the paint is not well adhered it will fall out or chip out. I am sure you have seen painted houses that the paint is chipping off. That is because the wood behind it is expanding and contracting and the paint does not expand and shrink at the same rate and ends in the paint cracking and falling off. So be sure to research about painting HDPE.
If your friend is willing to look at other options, I know a lot of people have used PVC trim board to much more cost effectively make signs.
Depending on what the design of the sign is, you could also consider looking at King Colorcore (a layered 2 color HDPE) which I believe is made specifically for weather resistant signs.
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Thanks for the input. Think I’ll try and move in a different direction.
Great feedback. Thanks
The “Starboard” as it is called under one brand name is used a lot for signage — if one can find stock which is in the right colors.
I currently have found about 13 boards, 56x96x3/4, for less than $150 unused. Worth it?
All white, no color other than white.
I am not familiar with that product but PVC would cost way more than that. If it’s good for signs and you plan to do a lot of that is seems like a good deal.
Was that price per sheet or for the whole lot? Even if it’s for a single sheet it is cheaper than what I have seen for PVC.
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4 ft. 8 inches x 8 feet and 3/4" thick — is that $150 for the lot or $150 / sheet?
I’m pretty sure that even if you couldn’t find a use for it yourself you could cut buy it, cut it up to fit into the largest USPS flat rate mail box and sell it for a tidy profit.
At $150/sheet it’s less than I pay for plain HDPE cutting boards from a local restaurant supply store, and if it’s w/in a reasonable drive, I’d be tempted to drive and get it (at $150 for the lot, I’d take vacation and be willing to sleep in my truck overnight to get it).
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The whole lot of 13 bds. for $150 and close enough that I can pick up myself with my truck.
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Why are you wasting time posting here?
Go get!
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Will is right.
I need to buy a full sheet of that material to make some tackle storage doors for my boat. From my research it looks like $450 a sheet near me.
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Hi all - just wanted to add some general info about the “boat board” aka marine board aka starboard aka … (any other tradenames I’ve forgotten?) - I’ve used it for various projects and it’s great for what it’s intended: ie, an outdoor/weather/sun resistant structural board with vibrant colors. You can’t paint PE without some special primers and paint, so you’re stuck with whatever colors it comes in, which is fairly limited. I imagine you’d use multiple layers of varying colors for signs. Anyhow, just wanted to say that it’s fantastic stuff, very tough, strong, UV resistant so the color doesn’t fade very fast even in direct sunlight so, if you have a good use-case for it, it’s worth the cost. If you’re making signs, such that there’s little structural / strength requirement, there are probably less expensive materials to select which will provide more color options. If, like the OP, you have the opportunity to pick it up on the cheap, I bet you’ll find a use for it!
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He you hesitates is lost…so they say. I was undecided since all the sheets were white in color and all the comments on painting them. Passed them up and now they are gone. Not sure i’m to sad since I really couldn’t use them, but maybe some more will show up and I’ll see if I can get just as good a deal and sell it off as suggested.
Thanks for all the input.
Love the stuff! Use a lot of it. I would have come and grabbed it if you passed & it was still available. A full sheet cost me $550 in Detroit from Larid Plastics (3/4”)
Appreciate that.
i guess I’m confused. I hear that it is no good for signs that you have to paint because of expansion/contraction and paint adherence problems.
Also, since it was only white, no contrast when you cut into it. so not sure if that works without painting???
Another opportunity but a little more expense at $500 for 13 sheets x 3/4 x 96 x 56"
I also see HPL laminate over plywood for $25. Is that useful for anything. White, 3/4" 96 x 48" ?
Usually when folks make signs of HDPE they do so by using multiple colours of it.
Understand that. That’s why I’m concerned about all white and can’t paint. Doesn’t make much sense to me to buy.
Thanks for the input.
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