How to Make Your Own Outdoor Road Signs

Signs can relay important messages, direct you to services or serve to acknowledge a business or person.

Whether you want to advertise your business or decorate your barn, outdoor road signs provide a great way to draw attention and customers. Many people decorate the exterior of barns and out-buildings with vintage and modern road signs. But since stealing real road signs can land you with large fines or jail time, making your own sign allows you to display road signs on your property without breaking any laws. You can also make your own road signs to advertise or direct customers to your business and place these signs outdoors, next to roadways to draw business.

Things You'll Need

• Plywood sheet
• Wood water seal
• Paintbrush
• Paint primer
• Pencil
• Letter stencils
• Carpenter's square
• Compass
• Miter saw
• Acrylic paint
• Artist's paintbrushes

Instructions

1. Paint wood water seal onto the front and back surfaces of a standard sheet of plywood measuring 4 feet wide by 8 feet long. This protects the plywood piece from damage caused by rain, snow and ice and extends the life of your road sign. Apply a minimum of two coats, allowing drying time between each application.

2. Apply a minimum of two layers of primer to the front and back of the plywood sheet. Use a primer color you want to use as the background color for your sign. Ideally you should use a light-colored font and black or dark text, though you can do the opposite, as long as the color contrast between the background and font colors produce a sign you can easily read without trying to differentiate the colors.

3. Use a pencil to draw any graphics and a letter stencil to produce uniform letters on your sign. You may also draw letters free-hand if you feel confident in your ability to create easy-to-read letters. Draw letters and graphics at least 6 inches tall so that potential customers can read your signs from a distance.

4. Outline the graphics and letters you drew on the plywood sheet and cut off excess plywood around your sign. You can square the corners of the sign using a carpenter's square or create a round sign using a compass. Additionally, you may cut the sign out in various other shapes including ovals, squares, rectangles, triangles, pentagons and other polygons. Cut the shape out using a miter saw.

5. Paint the images and letters penciled onto the surface of the plywood sheet. Again, use text and graphic colors you can see and distinguish from the background color; avoid using similar colors like a pink background and red text. You want your sign to be easy for someone with color blindness to read, as well as other potential customers without vision impairments. Use thinner artist's paint brushes and acrylic, water-proof paint to decorate your sign and portray your intended messages through text and graphics.

Tips & Warnings

• Allow the sign to dry overnight before placing on a road side.

• Create a post for the sign, prop the sign against a tree, nail it to a tree or existing pole or build a prop to stand the sign against.

• Check with local authorities when attempting to place a sign on public or private property other than your own.

Resources

• Science Daily: Civil Engineers Help Develop Easy-to-Read Highway Signs