Thread: haunt sign resin cast from cheap vaccum formed sign?

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So here's my question for you...

I recent found a really cool sign for my haunt, the problem is that it's one of those flimsy plastic el cheapo vaccum formed signs that are made of plastic/pvc.

I'm curious to know if it's possible to use this hollow sign to make a resin casting of it? Will the plastic/pvc hold up to the weight of the resin while it dries? etc.

Here's a few pictures for reference:




Any thoughts?

If you're just trying to make the sign more durable, you might try to fill the back with GreatStuff expanding foam, which will eventually dry so that you trim off the excess and then paint the back with latex to seal it. Foam will not make the sign too heavy like resin probably will.

You also might want to test just a little bit of the foam on a small piece of the sign first to make sure that there isn't a bad chemical reaction (this is the voice of experience!)

I'd rather not use foam if I can stay away from it. I want to be able to use this for years to come and have not had the best luck with foam (tombstones in particular). They just don't hold up to the elements, etc. as the years go by.

But thank you for the suggestion!

maybe a little bit of quickrete? somehting like a thin layer just to get the details, and then mount it on some plywood to give it some substance but still keep it light.

I don't know much about it, but IMHO I would think that if you set the sign face down in a couple inches of sand, the sand would support the sign enough for you to use it as a mold.
Just use a good release agent on the sign before casting.

Finn

Just in case you misunderstood me (it happens), my meaning was to keep the original sign attached to the foam, the foam just being bulk filler which stiffens the whole thing up. One could then resculpt and paint over the original sign in order to customize it.

Here is my full recipe:

1. fill back of sign with foam, let harden
2. carve off excess foam and sign edge material
3. resculpt surface (add more dimensionality, change text) using Crayola Model Magic and/or cutting into sign of sign
4. seal with heavy coat of latex rubber
5. paint with latex base color
6. shade with lighter color for highlights
7. rub dirty/coal dust all over it to grunge it up
8. hold in ground with metal stakes (rebar?) instead of PVC

My opinion is that this would be very durable, good for many years of service (as long as it doesn't walk off). My next option would be to make a wood sign.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I don't think the resin idea will work due to the heat created by the mixing of the resin compound and the hardener...still keeping my hopes up though. I may try it on a small scale to see how the plastic reacts to the resin.

I'll keep you all posted.

Thanks again.

Originally Posted by dpeterson

Just in case you misunderstood me (it happens), my meaning was to keep the original sign attached to the foam, the foam just being bulk filler which stiffens the whole thing up. One could then resculpt and paint over the original sign in order to customize it.

Yeah, I figured thats what you meant. I guess I'm just looking for something a bit more substantial that will be as close to "real" without the weight of concrete or plaster of paris (or the fragility of it for that matter) and had heard the resin casting was ultra durable, so I thought I'd go that route.

I recently filled a really thin plastic skull with great stuff to make it more durable. I thought I would do this to all my signs as well to keep them from getting crushed. The skull ended up bulging out the front and became distorted from the great stuff. As I said....it was a really cheap THIN plastic from Dollar Tree so I can't say if it would do this to a better made sign. I haven't tried it on my more expensive things yet.......