information - Scottish Natural Heritage

Countryside Commission for Scotland
Battleby Redgorton Perth PH1 3EW
Perth (0738) 27921
SAND BLASTED SIGNS
Sand-blasting
This is a technique developed and widely used
in America, now available commercially in
the United Kingdom. It allows quite intricately
detailed carving to be done at a reasonable
cost, and lends itself to 'one-off' or small
number production.
The method used is to transfer the finished
graphic layout to a sheet of self-adhesive
masking material which is applied to the
prepared board. If the graphics are to be in
relief, then the background areas of the mask
are cut away. Once the masking is prepared
then a dry sand/air mix blasts away the
exposed surface. Because timber has grain of
varying degrees of hardness, it erodes at
different rates, producing a textured finish. To
obtain this effect, open-grained timber such as
western red cedar is used. Hard timbers such
as iroko, oak, etc., are not suitable.
Finally, the sign is hand-finished with stains
and surface coatings appropriate to the
graphics.
Areas protected by
masking
Undercut areas showing
textured grain
background.
Composite panel
made up from several
boards.
© C.C.S.
INFORMATION
SHEET 2.3.3