Strategic Factory Blog

Signage installation and maintenance services are heavily affected by Winter weather. Plan ahead with our guide on what to install before Winter, what to save for later, and how to maintain signs through the seasons.

INSTALL THESE SIGNS BEFORE WINTER

1. Exterior Window Graphics
2. Exterior Door Graphics
3. Exterior Wall Graphics
4. Lettering Adjustments on Monument Signage
5. Post and Panel Signs
6. Directional / Wayfinding signs

How Weather Impacts Installation

Install exterior vinyl projects before Winter. Most adhesive requires minimum temps of 45-55 for successful installation. This includes ambient air and the working surface. If the temps were in the 30’s the night before, most surfaces will not warm up in time. This is especially true for metal and glass surfaces.

Cold weather also affects small ground signage installations that require digging. Unless using heavy-duty excavators, digging for the installation becomes a problem when temps drop below zero. Frozen ground can require a few warm days to thaw for digging. Do you have an outdoor signage project? Get started before the cold hits!

Signage to save FOR WINTER

Winter is the perfect time for popular projects that can be fabricated indoors. Strategic Factory has enough indoor, climate-controlled space to fit vehicles for wrapping, large format graphics production, and fabricated signage that can later be delivered or installed. Save these signage projects for Winter:

1. Vehicle graphics

2. Indoor branded spaces

3. Indoor walls, windows, doors, and floors

4. Dimensional non-adhesive mount installations

5. Fabricated and illuminated signage

Outdoor SIGNAGE MAINTENANCE

1. Adjust For Daylight Savings

   Most exterior signs light up set to a timer. Call your electrician to update the timer for earlier sunsets. If your sign has a light-cell to auto detect light, you don’t need to do anything.

2. Clean Winter Buildup

   Keep your signage free from unwanted buildup of dirty snow, crud, road salt, and grime this Winter. Otherwise, the sun can fade your sign unevenly leaving unwanted color differences come spring. Do not power-wash signage that has glass or acrylic parts with electronic components. Take fabric signage, like feather signs, to a professional cleaner service once a season.

3. Brush Off Snow

   If you live in an area with heavy snow, keep an eye on electronic signs. While most have built-in drainage holes, it’s always a good idea to brush off snow buildup with something non-abrasive so melting snow doesn’t affect electronics.