Steps for reviving a billboard telling traffic this is a private road?

Why not cut the letters out of wood, then nail them on the face of that sign. They may get old and faded, but the lettering will still be there with some remaining contrast to the background.

 

you can make the wood as wide as you need it. use exterior wood glue and then clamp the boards together much as would be done to make a table top or carving board.

 

Really good idea. the basic structure looks pretty sound. I was thinking that if you had a sheet of plywood the same size as the sign structure, you could do all the work at home and then screw or nail it the whole thing to the existing structure.

 

Good idea
and every couple years you can bring it home and take your time fixing it up, then put it back up

 

Make sure it says

YOU ARE LOST!! TURN AROUND!

 

Good plan Larry. If the number of letters is minimal, jigsawing letters is very doable. If you decide to go this route wildwest & WildWildWest ...

- Spend the extra $$ and buy a sheet of MDO marine grade 1/2" plywood, (finished both sides). It's worth every dime... won't de-laminate.
- Once you have your letter patterns drawn on the MDO... if you have some, you can lay the sheet flat on top of some old pieces of 1-1/2" styrofoam insulation. The styro will hold the plywood perfectly as you cut out the letters (normal blade length zips through the styro below, without hitting the supporting bench/work table underneath).
- Paint your letters.
- Screw the letters onto the sign background using stainless screws so they won't rust. Even galv nails will bleed rust stains down surfaces. Use a cigarette butt filter as a paint "dabber" and touch up the screws.

- In the future years, a new coat of paint on just the front surface is as easy as it gets. Tight nap roller... takes 5 minutes (letters are raised off the background surface). And, if a letter is damaged, you can easily unscrew it and replace or repair it. Save your letter pattern if possible.

 

BIOWEAPON TEST AREA AHEAD!

 

... I like that one... a lot...

 

MDO plywood... ... Medium density overlay panel, or MDO panel, is a paintable surface made of plywood with a weather-resistant resin overlay bonded to the wood by heat and pressure. The overlay, which has at least 27% resin content, resists water, weather, wear and degradation.

Most lumber yards can get a 1/2"x4'x8' sheet for you but may not have it in stock unless there are sign companies locally who buy it from them. If you were going to free stand a sheet on a pole, you'd have to use an MDO sheet that was finished on both sides so it wouldn't warp eventually. But, because you're going to use it to cut out individual letters and screw them to a background, you should be fine with using a sheet that's finished on just one side. Having said that, if MDO isn't available, I'd get the best grade 1/2" plywood I could and prime and paint them really well, especially the edges.

 

That's great. Are you going to free hand draw letters on the MDO and then cut them out? If you do, be sure to take advantage of any letters that are repeated... cut one out and then trace around it for the others. That might even help you decide what you want to say and whether you go with upper and lower case or all caps, making as many repeated letters as possible.

 

you can make your own, or download what ever you want, then trace. Keep the font the same size and you should be good to go.

 

try this