Glazing CORAFOAM® HDU to a Wood-like Finish

Widely acclaimed sign company Quint Creative Signs is making big things happen in their local community. Located in Piqua, Ohio, a small town just off of the Great Miami River twenty miles North of Dayton Ohio and designated as “Tree City, USA” by the National Arbor Day foundation, Quint Creative signs, owned and operated by our friend Brian Quinter, has been designing signs for 20 years.

Quint Creative Signs is known for their three-dimensional style and unique creative designs. They cater to their small town as the number one sign maker in Piqua. When the River Rock Bar and Grill contacted Brian to make their sign, they knew that they would be getting a sign that would reflect their atmosphere, hold up in quality and be uniquely different from anyone else’s sign. Look a little closer at what you believe is wood is in fact CORAFOAM® U150… amazing!

Brian started his design process in Corel Draw then finished building the three-dimensional model in Vectric Aspire. He then sent his mock up to his AXYZ CNC Router to bring his design to life. For the River Rock Bar and Grill sign, Brian used a single sheet of 1.5” 4’ x 8’ 15lb DUNA. He used his CNC machine for the initial base, wood-grain finish seen in the background of the sign, and once the routing was finished, he used a wire brush and small wood chisels to distress the U150 board even more and finished off the sides and edges to complete the realistic wood finish. When it was time for finishing, he coated the sign with multiple layers of hand-mixed glazes that he created from scratch from Nova color paints and finished with the white lettering and blue waves. 

Brian has used multiple types of HDU throughout his career, but just recently discovered CORAFOAM® through his supplier and hasn’t looked back since. Brian states, “I like CORAFOAM® because it has such a smooth surface, its extremely easy to finish and requires no sanding.” Brian says his favorite thing about being a sign maker is watching his design go from an idea to a finished product. 

To see more of Brian’s work with Quint Creative designs follow him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/QuintCreativeSigns