HOW TO PAINT THE LETTERING ON A TRUCK & A WINDOW

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2.  Painting the letters >>>

1.   THIS PAGE IS ALL ABOUT LAYOUT AND MEASURING.

First, we have to know exactly WHERE to put the letter  !! 

- BUT FIRST.  .  .  .  .

HOW DID THEY PAINT A SIGN in the SIGN FACTORY? - Up to 1990.

 Fred selects a font (e.g. "Goudy Bold") 

and applies ¨Letraset¨ transfer lettering (Blue)

About a centimetre high - or whatever he has available.

- to a strip of clear cellophane. 

Then he puts the strip into an epidiascope. 

It´s like a Victorian ¨Magic Lantern¨.

A light shines up and casts a shadow of the lettering 

on to a nearby white wall. 

There for the purpose.

By adjusting the focus, it is then ¨blown up¨ to the required size. 

About 4 metres long.  

It can be a bit fiddley- 

getting EXACTLY the right length 

AND pin sharp.

Next Fred fixes tracing paper to hang over the image,

 and traces the outline with a waterproof felt tip (RED, below)

Then he joins the separate pieces with masking tape.

Unless he has tracing paper 4 metres long. Doubtful. Maybe.

Then he runs a spikey wheel over the outlines,

which makes little holes in the tracing paper.

 Then he rolls it up. 

Then, if there is nothing else to do, 

he sits around drinking tea, and talking football, 

waiting for the endless English rain to stop. (Ha Ha)

No "Ha Ha" - It´s an effin nuisance . . .

Then he and his mate, go to the site 

and tape the tracing paper in the correct position.

Then, while he is getting his paints ready, 

his mate, with a cloth full of powdered chalk, 

dabs over the little holes.

Then he takes off the tracing paper.

Lo and behold!

Lots of little white chalk dots 

depicting the outline of the letters.

Fred did not have to be concerned with 

creating a specific area for the letters -

or bother about spacing.

or even creating a letter.

All he had to do 

was paint the area of the letter

bounded by the dots!

Simple enough!

This method, of course, could be applied to a vehicle like the one above.

But using a black charcoal pencil instead of chalk.

-----------

Let us assume we have to do one . . 

¨WILLIAM SMITH & Co Ltd.

Fruit & Veg.

Tel. 123 45 67 89

-----------

Fine! - We could get tracing paper and a sheet of ¨Letraset¨, 

But if we have no epidiascope! 

Nor a white wall. - 

What are we going to DO?

----------

Well, I suppose we COULD do like Fred did, and use the "Letraset." 

Stick down the letters in a line

THEN work out how long the line will have to be, 

to fit in to the length of the truck.

THEN go to a ¨copy shop and get the letters ¨Blown up¨

And THEY will be in separate peices, 

because the office copy shop machines only take A4 

Maybe A3 at the largest.

ALSO we could be talking about each letter in 4 pieces.

There are 15 large letters in the WILLIAM SMITH & C and L

15 x 4 possible prints = 60 prints

Hopefully FRUIT & VEG could be A4 size

So = 24 inc "o" and "t" and "d"

84 prints x A4 !!!

--------

And the guy will be losing patience 

because there are customers waiting.

So "Could you come back later -or tomorrow?"

He will print them in the meantime.

That is a days delay on the truck.

Will the owner mind?

And THEN some letters could come out at slightly different sizes

 . . . to be printed again . . 

And the bill could be running up . . .

No big deal. Add it on to the bill for the truck.

ALSO you have to tape all the pieces together for each big letter

Then tape all the letters together in (one) long strip.

Perfectly spaced out.

2  strips would be better, for convenience.

Then charcoal the back of the strip (VERY messy)

and tape the strips to the truck

IN EXACTLY THE RIGHT PLACE

(IN THE WIND maybe . . Ha Ha.)

and then trace each outline with a biro

Then paint the letters . . .

---------

There is a fine jigsaw puzzle awaiting you.

And you will be beginning to wish you had not started . . .

-------------------

No. 

I have changed my mind. 

Forget it.

I blew up a LOGO once  - ¨Addison Lee¨, 

and that translated into 16 x A4 pieces. (See ¨Sign Story¨)

OK as it was one big square shape.

But 84 prints  (above), all in dead straight lines,

and perfect spacing,

would be a nightmare.

Find a signwriter!

And he will charge "An arm and a leg!"

-----------------

So, we will have to take the bull by the horns

Start from scratch!

and learn how to measure up the letters and paint them!

HERE WE GO

First version is 'WILLIAM SMITH' in a straight line

'WILLIAM SMITH' in an arch is told after, to avoid confusion.

You can use these 2 methods to do a 

Truck, Fascia and a Menu board.

--------

And a window, 

which can involve working outside, as normal.

Also means working inside, 

which means painting the letters back to front. 

That's it.

You have your three main money earners.

Trucks, fascias & windows.

...........

Nice little earner this was. 

2 sides and smaller on the back,

Companies were charging 250 - 400 UP + VAT

So, I ask 200 - 1 to 2 days. 

He will think it reasonable, and so tell his friends.

The phone will be ringing every 3 or 4 days.

So you won't have to look for work!

They always try & bring the price down

if you look for work

because they think you are desperate!

So simply go in as usual

with a bit extra

and then come down.

They now think they have a bargain!

LETTERING IN A STRAIGHT LINE

First of all we have to know 

EXACTLY WHERE  EACH LETTER WILL BE 

before we paint it.

Logical yes?

Put a length of masking tape the whole height of the truck, at one end.

Half cover it with a second tape

Mark the top

ANY reference marks you make will be on the vertical and lateral tapes

When the job is over, take the tapes off. No marks to clean off.

Also you will be using these tapes for the other side.

To save time measuring again.

Then place a length of masking tape along the bottom of the work space

as in the picture above

Does not have to be level.

Mark a random point on the left side 'A' - about 30 cm from the side of the truck

AND a random point at the other end 'B' - about 30 cm from the side of the truck

Measure A > B = 354 cm

Note it. 

Now write the name downwards, on a piece of paper

WILLIAM SMITH & Co. Ltd

VERY basic spacing.

Split the alphabet up into widths.

'I' = 1 width

The rest are 2 widths, except

'W' & 'M' = 3 widths

,............................

Count the widths in each letter

W = 3

I = 1

L = 2

L = 2

I = 1

A = 2

M = 3

Space = 2

S = 2

M = 3

I = 1

T = 2

H = 2

Space = 2

& = 2

 Space = 2

C = 2

o = 1

Space = 2

L = 2

t = 1

d = 1

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Total = 41 widths

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A > B is 354 cm  (T) - The space available for the lettering)

Divide this by 41 (W) - The sum of the single widths of letters

= 8.6341 cm 

Now = "ONE UNIT"

Use the calculator on your phone. 

8.6341 is a little TOO precise for your tape measure.

So each unit, for all practical purposes, is 8.6

Make it 8.5 to give yourself a little breathing space.

It's only another 4.5 cm. extra, but play safe.

It will soak up the little irregularities 

as you go along making your marks.

Keep your thumb nail on 8.5 cm . 

This is ONE UNIT.

It seems a little 'rough & ready' using your thumb - 

AND considering 'Millimetres'

But, as you will see, there is a lot of flexibility.

OK. 

From Point 'A' work your way along the tape and mark off the units

3 units for the W - mark a stroke

1 unit for the I - mark a stroke

2 for the L, and so on . . 

                                 You will end up just before, or just after, Point B

Point B is now HISTORY.

It was the default point for the end of the line.

The last unit mark is

 'NEW Point B'

Go back and put the letters in, just to check

That's your motto ~ CHECK  CHECK  CHECK !

So now we have a length of tape, letter WIDTHS marked.

...............................................................................

Next  the  HEIGHT 

The magic formulae

U  (UNIT) divided by 5 then x by 12.

So height is 20.

That gives a nice proportion for the letter area.

Lettering,of course, can be ¨Condense (Thin) -or ¨Expanded¨-Wide.

We can adjust out default area to either, later, if necessary.

By simply adding tape.

KEEP TO THE SAME WIDTHS. 

SO WE CAN BE SURE OF GETTING ALL THE LINE TO FIT IN

But we can have a different height,

if we see that there is too much space between the lines.

If it is discovered later, that this is "too tall",

(the same as the letters being "too narrow"

You can adjust the height, later, before you paint, 

simply by ADDING  tape. 

You HAVE to keep the WIDTHS of the letters, as calculated,

or we will go off the end of the truck!

but the height is FLEXIBLE

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Put your thumb at 20 cm 

Hold against the verticle tapes at the side of the truck. 

Move up and down. Where's the best height?

Usually the base line of the main lettering will be just over half way up.

Is there too much space ABOVE the top line ?

It is the overall area of ALL the lettering, we are looking at

with a decent area of blank space all around.

Mark the top and bottom line of the 20cm,

 across the 2 vertical tapes at the side, all ready and waiting . . .

Move one of the verticle tapes  across to the other end

and match the top mark to the actual corner top of the truck. 

Smooth down

Using marks on tape, there is NO chance of a measuring error

The last thing we want is a sloping line.

Put in 2 lines of red tape.

At this stage you have the option to put the TOP red tape 

ABOVE or BELOW your side marks, 

and reduce your letter height- IF you think you are too near the top.

Pull  tight - (before it snaps!)

It can be masking tape, of course, 

but 'red tape' here, is to differentiate between 

1) Tape used for marking, spacing, letters, notes etc., and 

2) Red tape used for the top and bottom edges of your letters. 

The tape you rub down with your thumbnail to stop the paint creeping under. 

The red tape which comes apart in the rain, or morning dew.

Tell me about it.

Why use red tape anyway ? 

It is very thin & there is no gap when you pull the brush across it

See later in the lettering section >>>

Run the back of your fingers along the red tape, 

LIGHTLY, 

from the CENTER OUT, either side.

If you smooth from one end to the other, 

any slack in the tape will 'bunch up' about half way along. 

This way, any 'bunching' is at either end. 

Then, simply lift up the ends, and smooth..

Then smooth the edges where the lettering is going to touch, 

Then hard with the flat of your thumbnail.

....................................

Measure the truck from end to end.

Divide by 2, and mark the center on the red tape.

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CHECK !

........................................

OK.

Back to the tape with the units on . . .

Pick up the Point A end of the tape and bring it over to NEW Point B

When A is above B, note where the half way point is

and crease it

This is the center of your "William Smith & Son Ltd".

Make a mark where the center is

with a circle round it.

Not just a stroke. 

You may confuse it with one of the unit marks. 

Easy done

Now, with your left hand holding Point A, pull the tape right up.

With your right hand, hold the CENTRE, and pull up

until NEW POINT B is dangling.

However you do it - 

With your right hand.

Place the center dot of this tape

 on the center dot of the bottom red tape

Just below the top edge of this bottom red tape.

I normally add the unit measurement tape at the bottom,

because it gives an extra safety distance 

to hold any drips (heaven forbid!)

going on to the truck.

But feel free to put the unit tape on the top red line,

to give you greater accuracy on WHERE exactly to start the letter.

You can then add another line of masking tape at the bottom

for the same security.

Why risk any superflous paint drips on the truck?

That means extra time and messy cleaning up.

Pull the tape taut, NOT stretched, and lay Point A down

Same with NEW Point B, and smooth down.

It does not have to be dead straight and rubbed down, like the red.

 It's for information only.

Center dot on center dot

This ensures that the space before the 'W' in WILLIAM

is the same as

the space after the "d" in "Ltd."

You could measure it, of course, and simply divide by 2

But this way is foolproof.

When you paint the lettering according to the unit / width marks

'WILLIAM etc' will be centered with equal space either end.

This method is used for fascias, windows, menu boards etc etc.

So now we have an AREA for each letter.

Once you start painting from Point A

  NEW point B is NOT to be changed.

or you will be OFF center

UNFORGIVABLE.

NEW POINT B the 'finishing line' 

~ NOT before and NOT after.

...........

You are now ready to paint 'William' etc.

We'll come to painting the actual letters on the next page.

So far, up to now, as you have seen, 

we have to know first,  

EXACTLY WHERE to put the letters, 

before we can paint them.

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ONE DAY, 

you will make a guess / default-mark on a stick 

for an average letter width, 

&  go "Tick, tick, tick . . . " for the letter spaces.

Bit more for a "W" - Bit less for an "I"

Ah! You have gone "over" a few centimetres.

Wipe off the chalk ticks .

Reduce your letter width slightly on your stick, and start again.

Ah! Bingo! OK.

It will be THAT quick and easy!

No Units or Tape measure.

Just like that guy in Brighton. (Sign Story)

SO LET'S START TO-DAY . . .

BECAUSE I HAVE FORGOTTEN MY TAPE MEASURE !!!!!

How did that happen?

It happens.

Find a piece of stick,  red below, 

and make a (default) GUESS of a UNIT width

on the blank measuring tape

It won´t be right 

but we have to start SOMEWHERE.

I am past "Point B" - So I lessen the unit width a little. 

Then start again, using an "X" this time, or I shall get confused with the previous marks.

Ah!-I am BEFORE "Point B" now. 

You can see how a TINY change in the unit width 

can MULTIPLY

So I INCREASE the UNIT width slightly.  

The latest mark, below, is a heavy dot, 

is somewhere between the "X" and the original "I"

Near as dammit. Trial and error, but 2 or 3 attempts should suffice.

You can always, when we start to paint, 

increase or decrease spaces between words.

Or a little stretching or narrowing of letters, as we go along.

Hardly noticable to a non signwriter.

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OK. Just suppose you HAVE gone past NEW point B

(Yes, of course I have done it in the past. Day dreaming)

Probably the most common mistake in painting signs

They see the distance available

GUESS the width of the first letter

and go sailing away thinking it will all fit in by MAGIC !

Hope for the best!

OOPS!

Now you have to wipe it ALL off 

What a mess !!

and start again!

Not an option. 

The boss is watching . .  

Anyone can see 

that the blank spaces either end of the line 

are NOT EQUAL

You are a "Cowboy" now,

Not a "Professional Signwriter" !!

So, here is a way out . . .

Not all the time !! 

Measure the space remaining - from "d" to the right side of the truck.

Then mark the same distance from the LEFT side of the truck.

You now have "NEW point A" 

 Using a piece of tape, or any straight edge

line up the bottom right of the 'W' area - Yellow circle

through the top left of the 'W' area - Yellow circle

and continue until your imaginary line (Green) crosses the

imaginary upward extension (Dotted) of NEW Point A.

Make a dot. (Red circle in the diagram)

A strip of tape to protect the "I"

Wipe off the 'W'

and hope it is not completely dry from this morning, or it's hard work. 

Clean thoroughly with turps and new pieces of absorbent tissue.

 NOT cloth. 

Because that will just smear the paint around.

And NOT , if possible, when ANYBODY is around. 

Word gets back. Office gossip.

 It looks very unprofessional.

 It IS unprofessional. 

Once they spot ONE mistake

They will start looking for MORE mistakes, 

not just the spelling ones Ha Ha

and start nit picking . . .

OK?

It's very traditional to have a larger prime letter

Printers do it all the time.

But remember, the MORE you have gone over NEW Point B

The BIGGER the prime letter has to be ~ to keep the distances equal.

And if the W is TOO big, it looks, well, too big . . . !!!

Maybe that will teach you to be more careful in future . . . . . ?

....................................................

And another little device if you fall SHORT of NEW Point B

Add a  (~)

You will have to keep off the drink,

or stop looking at the girls.

 <<< Home                                                                                                                                                                                    Painting the letters >>>

LETTERING IN AN ARCH

Find the center of your workspace and mark a dot at the top of the truck

Then another mark where you want the top of the the lettering to go

 ~ say about 1o cm down, depending.

You must develop an eye for AREA

Determine where you want the top right corner of the

 LAST letter, to be, and mark the spot

In this case it will be the top of the 'd' in "Ltd"

Put a line of red tape from this dot horizontaly across. 

Press the right end to hold it in place. Do not smooth it.

With your left hand, place the BACK of your fingers 

against the red tape at the top centre..

With your right hand, hold the right end of the tape.

And in one smooth motion, move your right hand down to the "d" marker

AT THE SAME TIME . . .

Smooth the tape with your left hand

This way you get a smooth curve.

You can always go back and do it again, 

because you are not pressing the tape down, ( YET ), 

---------------------

Now, if you are very VERY clever, you do the same on the left hand side,

but the chances are it will not be

 identical

 'near enough' is NOT good enough.

From a distance, one will notice the difference !!

 It has to be IDENTICAL - A MIRROR CURVE.

So, we have to make a template to copy it .

On a piece of masking tape placed horizontaly above your red curve, 

mark dots, starting with the zero, of (10 cm) ~ HORIZONTALLY

Now make a note of the DROP distance from each dot to the red tape.

HOOK the tape measure over the top of the truck 

for stability & accuracy.

So the reference points, when written down on the Top tape, would be ~ 

From the centre dot -

8 

12

 15 

20

25 

32

35

Now you have the "across and down" co-ordinates (x & y)

for a few points on the red curve.

You can make as many, or as few, as you think you need, for accuracy.

OK

Now move the top tape to the left side.

In reverse of course - zero point on the centre point,

So the numbers WILL be upside down.

No matter, you can read them ok.

and with your tape measure hooked over the top of the truck

and hanging down, mark your new reference points  -

with a soft pencil, chalk, or water soluble conte pencil.

The "8" to the LEFT from the centre line  = 8 down.  Make a dot.

Then the  "12" across from the centre line = 12 down. Make a dot

Then the "15" across from the centre line = 15 down. Make a dot

And so on.

Now get the roll of red tape in your left hand

pull out enough tape to cover the length of the arch

Stick the right end on the top center point

Holding the  reel of the tape, bring your left hand down.

Your right hand smoothing the red tape with the back of your fingers.

Yes. You are doing the same as you did before on the right side of the truck

But this time you are keeping your eye on the marker dots. 

They are your guide.

You can always pull up a bit and re-try, if the curve is not so smooth.

A curve with no kinks? OK, smooth down,

then press with thumbnail.

 It's as accurate as dammit. 

So we have a red arch. The top line for the letters.

THIS time, the unit tape goes on top, 

because I need to check. 

see next.

Now a CHECK . . 

Measure from the first mark, Point A

(The TOP LEFT of the first letter 'W')

to the top of the truck (A)

and

to the side of the truck. (B)

See pic.

Then measure from the TOP RIGHT of the last letter "d"

to the top of the truck (A)

and

the side of the truck (B)

A & A have to be the SAME

B & B have to be the SAME.

The curve is balanced. ok.

Now to put the bottom line in

Hold the tape measure on the bottom edge of the red curve,

towards the imaginary centre of the radial / curve,

and put a small mark at 30 cm

(Chalk, water soluble etc . . .)

Move along. As many as you like.

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Put the red tape on, following the dots

Work from the center to the left

Reel of tape in the left hand

Smooth with the right hand

Done?

Now  from the centre to the right.

When you are satisfied

Smooth all with fingers and thumb nail.

Then you can add extra tape at the bottom as a safety margin for drips.

Why not? Saves time wiping up.

Why wipe the drips on the surfave

RIGHT NEXT to the letters, 

when it is fiddley and UN necessary?

That's all the necessary layout for the 'WILLIAM  etc'

Now do the FRUIT & VEG.and the phone number, straight lines.

as you did Williams in a straight line.

.................................................

When you paint the other side of the truck

You already have your letter spaces on tape.

The reference points for the curves, on a piece of paper

and the marks on the vertical tapes, 

and for the straight lines VEG. and TEL. No.

...............................................

No keep running round the other side of the truck 

and up the steps to copy a measurement

coming back again, muttering '35', 

then someone distracts you - 5 minutes talking

You then continue - and you mark '45'

Was that right?

Back you go again to check

Do that for every measurement ?????

We'll be here all week !

No. It's all on re usable tape.

...............

Right, now go for some breakfast,

cos it's non stop for the rest of the day.

And NO drinking!

Plenty of time tonight . . 

Have a look at the sky

Clouds? Rain? What's the forecast?

If it DOES look like rain, and starts spotting, 

try and wait until you are certain it IS going to rain

Then

Roll up all your tapes with the units on, 

around your turps bottle or something

Williams,

 Fruit & Veg, 

and Phone No. 

and the end tapes with the height marks on, for each line

 And strip all the red tape off!

......................................................................

Then head for the pub.

It's going to be a wet day in more ways than one

Bl~~dy English weather.

WINDOWS

It's drizzling to-day, 

but we have a window to do.

Inside job mainly,

and most probably cups of tea and a sandwich !

ON THE OUTSIDE

With a water soluble felt tip  -

Pencil won't show up on glass

and a spirit pen (for DVD) needs turps to clean the marks off. Messy.

Find the top centre of the window

Make a mark where you decide the top of the arch  of 'RUMPOLE' will be. 

Say 15 cm down. Like the truck

Using normal masking tape

make a right side arch as you did for the truck.

Right hand going down, as the left comes across 

Mark the co ordinates as before

10 across ~ 8 down

20 across ~ 15 down etc.

Only this time, put the dots on the glass

Copy the co ordinates to the left side of the window, as for the truck.

You will have an arch of dots.

Getting wet?

.............................................................

Go INSIDE.

With the RED tape placed top centre on the centre dot

smooth down the tape as you follow the dots !

Same with the left side.

...........................................................

With normal tape across the window

mark an 'A' one end, and a 'B' the other, and measure.

Like for the truck. Note.

Count the units for 'RUMPOLE & SON'

and divide into "A > B"

fold over to find the centre

make a mark

Center point of the tape on center point of RED tape

just like the truck

OK?

NO !!

Turn it left to right

THEN put center dot on center dot

so the 'B' end is on your LEFT

You are going to paint the letters backwards

on the inside of the glass

so that it reads normally on the OUT side 

Why inside?

No one can scratch it off.

Of course, sometimes, you have to do it outside - 

Tables, chairs, customers are inside. 

............

Go OUTSIDE

Now do the height ~ 2 x 3 proportion, like the truck

and another arch of the dots

like the truck.

.....................................

Go INSIDE

Red tape along the dots

rub down with flat of your thumbnail

Right, you are ready to paint.

Start from the left as usual.

 The  first letter you paint, "N" - will be the last - Ha Ha!

And this time it's a little different from the truck.

First of all you have to

 KEEP IN MIND

 that the letters are back to front

It is SO EASY to get distracted, day dream, being interrupted, talking, 

and, of course it's  HABIT.

Write them back to front 

on your unit tape to remind you.

(Again ~ wiping off a mistake looks unprofessional !

 and 'they' are in the same room now, watching !!

Not with menace, of course, just curious!

....

 And second

You have the girls in your face . . 

and other distractions.

The world passing by outside the window . . .

Ha Ha!

...............................................

All dots are on the outside.

Don't forget to wipe the window before you leave.  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Painting the letters >>>

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