Looking for some fellow Sacramento folk that recommend a paint shop for a specific task. After storing my grandpa's truck for about 15 years after he gave it to me, I have gotten back to weekend driver duty. It will wear the rough paint job and be driven as is for a few years.

I want to have some door lettering painted on the driver and passenger door as a tribute to my grandpa. I want it to look weathered just like the rest of the paint job. But I havent found a shop locally yet that would do it. Anyone in the Sacramento area with some recommendations?

A pic of my truck is below, as well as an example of the type of lettering job I'm talking about.

 

There's a few here in San Jose that should be able to do this.

 

I know they are getting more scarce since computers and vinyl cutters, but most every medium size or larger city should have an old school hand lettering sign painter. Check your local yellow page ads under signs. He/she should be able to dry brush the lettering to look weathered. If you strike out, PM me and I'll explain how you can get close by doing it yourself. I have a vinyl cutter (I do race car graphics) and can cut the stencils you'll need..

 

There have been posts on the HAMB on this subject and I have seen numerous articles in magazines with step-by-step procedures. I don't know of any one shop that may specialize in the technique but you may find that this is something you could take on yourself. Using a stencil like Ax offered would be a good start...airbrushing gives you quite a bit of control over the density of the paint. Good luck...

 

Here's a pair of 56 F100 doors I took off an old auto parts store truck years ago. Victor Welding provided the service to the auto parts store and used the doors as a billboard for their products...as you can see the Victor part is still legible but the parts store name that was painted above and below the Victor logo faded fast.

 

F100PJ.

I used vinyl on mine. You see it in my avatar.

Hey Chuck,
Is that the set of doors you are bringing me when you come to visit the in laws? Thanks

 

Sure! The wife says that we will be in Lebanon for her sister's 50th birthday on July 3rd.

 

Nice doors!

 

This 4th of July will be a good one for me then. If I thought you all were driving I would get you to bring one so I can drool over it in person. Which project are those doors for?

 

I thought about vinyl, but I havent really seen much in person in the past that I ever paid much attention to. Also, I was really hoping to get the weathered look, and I didnt think that would be achievable with vinyl. Thought about the yellow pages, but I'm hoping to get some references for people who have already done it.

 

Weathered look is possible with vinyl, but you would need someone with a vinyl printer, not just a cutter. The lettering would need to be computer generated ("photoshopped") in a weathered look. To get the best believable look the computer artist would need an accurate digital scan of the base color so he could "fade" it thru the lettering. You have certainly seen examples of digitally printed vinyl on vehicles covered with a picture or advertising, on buses, 18 wheelers, and such. Even most NASCAR "paint jobs" and decaling are actually all printed wraps over a primered car. For a one-of job it might get pretty pricy, by the time you pay the artist and the printer. I could do the art work, but I don't have the printer.