I had been wanting an old metal sign for my kitchen for some time, but I just couldn't find the right thing without paying a fortune to get it! So, that's when I started thinking about how I could make my own faux vintage metal sign for a lot less money!
You don't have to be particularly artistic to create this type of sign, but it does require patience and time. It's a step-by-step process, and it took me about 5 hours altogether from start to finish. You could speed up the process by using a Cricut for your lettering, but I wanted the authentic feel of an old painted sign. That, and I don't have a Cricut!😁
I went to Lowe's in search of materials. The first thing I looked for was the sheet metal, of course. I found this 24" x 30" sturdy sheet of galvanized metal for $23.48, and I thought it would be perfect! (There was another, much thinner, sheet for a little over $11.00, but it just seemed too flimsy for a sign.)
The edges of the sheet of metal were razor sharp, so I thought I should "cap" it with something for safety so I didn't end up spending my DIY savings on an urgent care visit 😉! I pilfered around Lowe's, looking through different trim options in several departments until I found this vinyl wall paneling moulding. It was $3.28 for an 8 foot piece. Since I would need 108" of trim to surround the edges, I had to buy two. Since I was planning on painting my sign white, the trim wouldn't have to be painted, but if your sign will be a different color, I would assume you could paint it any color you want.
I used paint I already had on hand, so I didn't have any expense on paint. A can of spray paint runs around $5-6, and craft paint for lettering is usually less than $2 a bottle. One bottle did mine with some leftover. Your paint expense will vary, depending on how many different colors you need. Remember, though, if you're doing a more rustic look, cheaper is better! You want it to be more chippy and sketchy!
This trim is super easy to cut. I used a utility knife and a speed square to cut the 45° angle I needed. Once you get it scored, you can bend it and snap it. The easiest way to measure where to miter this trim is to slip it onto your sign and mark the inside corners with a pencil. The first cut I made was a true measurement of the bottom edge, which was 30", but I forgot that measurement would change once the trim slipped into the metal. That recession made about a 1/2 inch difference, so I had to cut more off.
Now that my trim pieces are cut and ready, it's time to start on the sign! Before I painted the background color on my sign, I wanted to create some rusty spots to give my sign some age. I used brown spray paint and randomly splotched paint here and there, and then immediately sprinkled cinnamon onto the wet paint splotches. I concentrated mostly around the edges, because I felt like an actual rusty sign should have more wear around the edges.
You can't really tell from the pictures, but once the brown paint and cinnamon dried, I dabbed a little vaseline here and there over my rust spots. This will result in some authentic-looking chips after you spray paint.
I just used regular old spray paint and painted my sign white. If you want, you could primer before you do the rust or paint, but I wanted it to look chippy and worn, so I opted to paint right over the metal so it would not be so perfect.
As you can see, the paint doesn't stick well where the heavier patches of cinnamon are, so it lets the rust effect show. While the paint was still tacky, I stood above the sign and sifted a little cinnamon through my fingers and let it dust over the tacky paint. After that, I stood the sign up and tapped it on the ground to shake off the loose cinnamon, and in the process it created some authentic-looking rust stains!
Once the paint is dry (about 15-20 minutes), you can carefully wipe the places you applied vaseline with a dry towel and you'll see some wonderful old chips that expose the rust underneath the paint!
While I was waiting on the paint to dry, I went to my laptop and created my design. I obviously already had a general idea, but I searched the internet and found several different things I liked. I used bits and pieces of random signs to create my own thing. Once I laid everything out on my computer, I printed it out in 8.5 x 10.5 sections and then taped it all together to make a template that was the size of my metal.
I then taped the template squarely onto my sheet metal and used a ball point pen to trace it out. You have to bear down fairly hard, but doing this will leave an indention in the soft paint underneath. Just be sure not to move your template!
Once your design is traced out onto your metal, you are ready to paint! I used a paint pen to outline my lettering and to do the finer letters at the bottom, but then I filled it all in with a flat brush and acrylic craft paint. I would suggest that you not use your best artist brushes..I ruined one of my good ones because the roughness of the cinnamon feathered out the bristles on my brush 😞.
Once the lettering paint was dry, I put a little white paint on a chunk of wood and scratched it over the letters to transfer some white back over the letters so it looks like the black lettering is weathered. You could also just lightly sand it, but I was afraid I would sand off my rust stains so block aging worked best for this project
Now that your lettering and design are done, it's time to attach those pieces of trim! I just used gorilla glue that I squirted into the channel of the side I was attaching and stuck it on. I filled in the corners where the trim comes together with some white caulk since they weren't perfectly cut with my utility knife. Then I created some more rust here and there onto the trim to make it match the sign. My husband soldered some picture hangers onto the back and it was ready to hang!
I'm pretty excited about how it turned out! It looks like it's 100 years old!
I was so inspired by my sign that I baked homemade cinnamon rolls today. I mean, I had to have something to put in that cake box to pull my theme together!
I hope you enjoy making your own custom sign! Leave any questions in the comments and I'll do my best to help you make it happen!
