ImageFirst News

Spring 2024

Outdoor Signage Lifespan: 3 Things You Need and 5 Things You Don’t

Get your money’s worth out of your signage by doing everything you can to extend the life of your signs.

3 Things You Need to Extend The Life of Your Sign


  1. A good car shampoo.’

  2. Soft sponges/​brushes.

  3. Gar­den hose with a water source.

Since archi­tec­tur­al sig­nage, like the ones we man­u­fac­ture, has an auto­mo­tive-grade fin­ish you can wash your sign like you hand wash your own car. Tra­di­tion­al car soaps con­tain wax that is help­ful to pre­serve and pro­tect paint­ed sur­faces. Dawn soap always works in a pinch too. Apply­ing the soapy mix­ture with a soft sponge or soft brush is ide­al. Don’t scrub, gen­tly clean the sign with a nice lath­er. Don’t wor­ry about get­ting soap where it shouldn’t be, it’s an out­door sign, it’s meant to with­stand ele­ments. Last­ly, gen­tly rinse the sign with a tra­di­tion­al gar­den hose or some sort of light spray or rinse.

5 Things That Decrease the Life of your Signs:


  1. Paper Tow­els - nev­er use paper tow­els on acrylic sur­faces like let­ter­ing or any­thing illuminated. 

  2. High-Pres­sure Wash­er - it’s too much, don’t use it. 

  3. Corse Sponges or Brush­es - use these only if you want scratch­es, oth­er­wise soft is best. 

  4. Abra­sive Deter­gents (like Comet) - Want more scratch­es? You got it!

  5. Methy­lat­ed Spir­its, Sol­vents, or Acids - Only use spir­its in your after-work drink, keep them away from your sign, they’re too harsh. 

ALWAYS:

Always make sure irri­ga­tion sys­tems are NOT direct­ly hit­ting any sig­nage.
Always use clean, soft, and damp cloths with mild detergents.


FULL DIS­CLO­SURE:

All paint­ed and plas­tic com­po­nents do fade over time. But using smart col­or selec­tion, avoid­ing direct sun­light, and reg­u­lar clean­ing high qual­i­ty sig­nage can look great for years!

Have ques­tions? Con­tact us anytime.