How to Create a Road Sign

A homemade road sign can be a nice addition to a driveway or personal parking lot, or it can even provide the perfect finishing touch to a home decorating scheme. Road signs can be made out of sheet metal and painted to resemble their official public street counterparts using a few basic tools and supplies readily available at most home-improvement stores. This project is suitable for beginners and should only take 1 day to complete.

Things You'll Need

• Black marker Sheet metal Sheet metal shears Paintbrushes Metal primer Paint Reflective paint Masking tape Stencils Masking tape Drill Nuts and bolts or nails

Instructions

1. Draw the shape of the desired road sign onto sheet metal with a black marker.

2. Carefully cut the sign out of the sheet metal using sheet metal shears.

3. Paint the sign with a paint primer appropriate for metal, such as galvanized metal primer paint.

4. Paint the entire sign the base color with any type of paint. The base color of a stop sign is red, so the entire sign would be painted red. Allow the paint to dry completely before progressing to the next step.

5. Use a smaller brush to paint the words of the road sign with reflective paint. A stencil will help make the letters appear clearly and evenly spaced.

6. Apply masking tape approximately 1 inch away from each edge of the sign, and paint the edge with the reflective paint to create a reflective border on the sign. Allow the reflective paint to dry.

7. Drill holes in the sign so you can hang it. The sign can be attached to a pole with nuts and bolts, or nails can be used to hang the sign on a wall.