ALPHABET SIGNS Blog

Artists in Portland have taken to the streets to update old, boring stenciled road markers. Super heroes and football stars are just some of the fun paintings you'll see on the streets.

GoLocalPDX described the stencils as "happy road markers." Residents of Portland can now have an extra smile in their day thanks to bike markings with bunny ears and woman super heroes.

Does your school parking lot, business location or town need some cheer? We can help! Alphabet Signs can make a stencil from just about any picture or file you have, and we make them in all sizes!

Send us your file, and we'll get it quoted for you in a business day. Production time is usually only 1 business day, as well.

We have stencils for almost any application. You can customize your own stencil with lettering, or buy one of our popular pre-designed stencils, like No Parking or Stop. These stencils are available in many sizes. If the specifications of our stencils don't meet your needs, let us know. We can change the strokes, letter width, etc. to meet your specs.

Remember that every 3 inches of letter can be seen from 50 feet away. For example, if you buy a 4 inch stencil, you can see those letters from about 70 feet away under normal conditions. If drivers are moving particularly fast, you may want to consider a larger size. Most of our stencils come in Highway Gothic, which the standard font for roads and parking lots. If you choose another font or make a custom stencil, also keep in mind that fancy fonts, cursive lettering and very narrow words can be hard to read from a distance.

The stencils we offer are a 1/10th inch thick and made for reuse over and over. They can be washed or wiped clean. You can also let the paint dry, then crack it off. We recommend using a water-based paint, as this will wash off the best. If you use an oil-based paint, be sure to put down a layer of WD-40 first, as this will ease in removing the paint from the stencil.

If you need a stencil that's for more of a craft use, we also offer 7mm thick Mylar stencils. These stencils need to be used with care and not wiped harshly. You also can't let these stencils dry, then crack the paint off, as they'll just start to peel and become unusable.

Maybe you're in the market for a handicap stencil? We have them for every state, even the newest one for New York state. The handicap stencils come in a 1/16th inch thickness or a 1/10th inch thickness. Either stencil is made to be used many times and is considered industrial strength. The 1/10th inch thick stencils will typically lay flat shortly after unrolling from the shipping box. The 1/16th inch thick stencils may need to be put in a warm room or in the sun for a few hours to lay flat. Since the 1/16th inch thick material may not lay totally flat, you will need to be careful about under spray when applying paint.