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We love putting awesome, kick-ass signs on our buildings. They add so much character to buildings and they take an otherwise simple and structure and turn it into a living building with a purpose.

There are a bunch of ways to put signs on buildings and depending on the type of sign you’re creating or the look you want to achieve, this method might not be best suited for you. But if you’re looking to achieve that painted on, well weathered and aged sign, this is the method that I’ve had the most luck with.

Note: The video above includes some aging/painting techniques that we won’t cover in this post. That will be saved for another article where I’ll elaborate more on that specific topic.

What you’ll need:

A sign. This is pretty self-explanatory.

Fine grit sandpaper, I used 220 grit and cut about a 1/4 sheet off.

White or Wood Glue

Dish or pallet for the glue

Water

Paint Brush

Sponge

Cutting and sanding the sign

The first step is to make a copy of the sign, whether it’s a custom printed one or one from a kit. I always scan and make a copy just in case I rip or ruin the original. And believe me, eventually you’re going to rip and ruin one. Most likely right when you think you’re done sanding… haha.

Now cut the sign out. Make sure all of your edges are clean and it’s exactly what you want. After the sign is cut out from the page, place it printed side down on a hard surface and begin to lightly sand the back of the sign.

Continue to evenly sand the sign until you reach the desired thinness. I like to take it all the way to the very thinnest where you can almost see as much detail on the back as you can on the printed sign. I think the thinner the better, as it will reveal more detail and texture of the wall material.

Gluing and applying the sign to your structure

I put about pea-sized amount of white or wood glue in a well in my pallet (you can use a small dish or whatever tickles your fancy) and mix it with about 3x to 4x that amount of water. So roughly a 4-1 mixture of water and glue.

Once you’ve mixed the glue and water up evenly, turn the freshly sanded sign over so the printed side is face down, and apply the glue with your brush. The sign may bleed a little to the back of the paper, but I’ve never really lost any detail using this method yet, so I’ll keep doing it until I do.

Now that the back of the sign has been covered with your glue/water mixture, you can place it on your structure in it’s designated spot.

Once you’re happy with the placement, use your sponge (as directed in the video) and lightly dab it on the sign which is now on your wall. If you press too hard, you’re liable to remove or ruin parts of the thinly sanded sign, but doing this lightly at first will allow you to determine the correct amount of pressure that brings out the most wall detail through the sign.

Once you’re happy with the sign and application, set it aside and let it dry!

Congrats, you’ve made it through another one of our tutorials without crumpling up your whole project and starting over (or throwing it in the trash)!

Happy Modeling!