Wall signs are best hand painted. Vinyl stickers don’t stay stuck & peel after not much time. Painted wall signs not only can’t peel off but can allow the wall to be cleaned if need be too.
This job was requested by a client who had previously been running a food stall in Greenwich Market, but had aquired a perminant premises within Tooting Market, which like Greenwich Market is indoor, but has some more perminant structures in which to set up & serve food.
These had served a purpose, but a more refined & finished touch was required, So having the new premises building wall signs hand painted was requested.
The client provided this branding which had been strecthed out of shape for some reason, More than likely as it had been designed rectangular in portrait but had been altered to fit into a square image. The client requested the image be painted in the square shape, but it was explained why this couldn’t be the case. Stretching images & wording is never a good look. To produce into a square shape the image & lettering should be redesigned by rearranging the sizing & letter spaces/kerning, not by stretching or unstretching.
A paper layout was drawn to size, which was produced prior to being on site. This was measured into place before being reliefed onto the wall in charcoal powder.
The reliefed image was difficult to see due to the lighting within the market building. This slowed work down but didn’t prefent the work being produced. The breeze blocks were quite porous so the paint needed more coverage onto them which also slowed the process down.
Care is taken when painting wall signs not to have paint runs but also to not apply the paint too thickly but have a consistant flow for good coverage. The reason is produced slowly is to make sure the edges of the lettering dont seep & create bleeds. If this occurs then the sign might as well have been spray painted using a template or roller painted. Doing these processes generally lead to overspray & bleeds, so this is why hand painting wall signs is the best soloution if produced professionally & neatly.
Once all the black had been painted on the graphic image, the red tongue was painted, before the red lettering on the wall signs was produced. A smaller specialist brush was used for this but still using a matte finish oil based paint.
The tape was used for speed. This assists in producing the top & bottom of a letter when painted, so there are less strokes to produce. Once all the word is painted the tape is removed to give a sharp edge.
A close up view shows just how sharp & neat a finish a professional sign writer can produce on wall signs, when if not done correctly & with a stencil it can lead to paint bleed or over spray if a spary can is used. Thats why hand painted is the best method for wall signs.
The logo had the final piece painted with a small signwriter brush, which consited of a script letter style & some matching thin san serif ‘block’ lettering. Again prodcued as neat as possible without paint bleed or runs. consistancy of paint & method in strokes with the brush are key.
The completed wall signs along with the proprietor & client showing off his food ready to be served. The roller shutter had some vinyl stickers applied after I had completed.
The wall has a small seating area for eating the food on site, which many customers have written a kind of rustic trip advisor on the wall signs. Perhaps this is to keep with hipster food stall market appeal. I’m unsure, but it takes away some of the professional look, but then I’m no food stall proprietor, I just paint the signs requested. Ironic when bearing in mind the client complained numerous times that the dot in Est 2015 had not been painted in!
Traditional & Contemporary Hand Painted Sign Writing in London
Sign Writer Traditional Signs of London
info@traditionalsignsoflondon.uk