Painting a LOGO on glass


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Old 03-01-06, 07:03 PM
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Painting a LOGO on glass

Hello and thank you in advance for any advice you wonderful people have to offer.

I am opening up a new English School here in Japan and looking to cut my start up costs. Rather than pay a pro to make a sign for me, I am going to be painting my company name onto the glass windows so people outside can see.

I am thinking to make the template using 3M masking tape on the window. I will mark out the school name with the tape, then lay down some newspaper on the floor etc., then buying some oil based spray paint and spraying the window with my school's name.

Has anyone ever done this? Any suggestions on type of tape to use, type of paint I need to look for, tips, suggestions, advice?

I'll take any comments people have.

Thank you so much!
 
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Old 03-02-06, 07:42 AM
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Welcome to the forums

The best advise would come from a sign painter but I don't know if we have any members that are. I would think that the most important thing would be to make sure the window is clean and free of any soap residue. Denatured alchol would be a good final cleaner. The sign painters that I have been around always used a brush and I believe oil base paint [it brushes better] I don't think there would be any problems using spray paint.
 
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Old 03-02-06, 08:31 AM
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Paint to use

I heard that 1Shot sign painting enamels are the way to go. They make different kinds for different types of applications i.e. wood, glass, metal.
 
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Old 03-02-06, 10:57 AM
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i would think using tape to mask out the entire school name would be a real headache, not to mention that spray paint on a vertical slippery glass surface would, mostly likely, run.

an easier way, i'd think, would be to just use the tape as a guide to keep the letters straight in a row & freehand the name with a brush (you could probably do a light sketch using a really thin permanent marker in the same color as the paint. or, if your writing isn't all that great, draw it out (or print it out or whatever) onto paper, then reverse it, then tape it to the outside of the window & paint over it from the inside. you'd be basically tracing it onto the glass.
 
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Old 03-07-06, 06:13 PM
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Thank you everyone for the input so far. Much appreciated.

So spray may not be the best way to go then. I too am worried about it running. My reasoning for thinking of using spray paint was concern over whether or not I'd be able to brush evenly. As it is going on a glass surface, the areas where the paint is thick and thin would show up too much, and not turn out looking so good.

I thought that by using spray I'd have a better chance of applying the paint evenly and have no brush marks left behind when sunlight hits it.

But I have NEVER done anything like this before, and don't have a clue what I am talking about. From what I have read above, it sounds like brush is a better way to go?
 
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Old 03-07-06, 06:28 PM
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Originally Posted by DonNagual
it sounds like brush is a better way to go?



All the sign painters I have been around always used a brush. Of course they also only use a line at the bottom and do everything freehand. What little sign painting I have had to do - I scketched in the letters and painted between the lines. I wouldn't think that brush marks would be overly noticable and thin areas could be given a second coat.

If done correctly spray paint shouldn't run [many light coats not one heavy] but I would be concerned with overspray. With limitted experience it would be best to use the method you are most comfortable with.

Wish you luck
 
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Old 03-08-06, 08:35 AM
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it's glass - try one method & if it doesn't work or turn out well, scrape it off with a razor blade scraper & try another method til you get it right.
 
 

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