Spring is in the air...hip hip hooray! After a pretty cold and icy winter, most of us are ready for longer days in the warm sunshine. The arrival of spring also creates the urge to clean our homes and businesses and freshen up our surroundings. What does this mean for our signage and vehicle wraps? 

Spring Cleaning Your Signage

Now is the perfect time to do a survey of how your business signage looks to you and to those coming to see you. More customers (and potential customers) will be out and about, and you want your business presence to be top notch. Have the birds decided to nest in your sign? Almost worse than that, have they used it as their own personal latrine? Is it coated with grime from the perils of snow and ice? Has it just lost its shine? If you've answered 'yes' to any of these questions, now is the time to use a little elbow grease and clean up your brand image. 

For most signs, cleaning the area with a mild detergent will do the trick. Acrylic and metal signs can be cleaned by mixing a capful of gentle household cleaner into a bucket of water. (For a household cleaner, think Dawn or Palmolive. You know, anything that softens your cuticles has to be great for cleaning your signage, right?!) Use a soft cloth or sponge to wipe down the sign and rinse it with a different cloth that is dampened with clean water. You can dry the sign by buffing it with a soft polishing cloth. A word of caution: Please make sure that your metal signs are rust and corrosion resistant before using the soap-and-water approach. If you are concerned or just feeling cautious, feel free to give us a call to make sure that you are using the correct method to clean your sign. Better safe than sorry, right?

Engraved signs can be cleaned using the same methods as acrylic and metal signs. If you have a lot of dirt and grime packed into the small details of the engraved signage, you can use a soft wooden cuticle cleaner to gently dig out the dirt that wiping with a cloth just won't reach. Again, do not hesitate to contact us or send us photos if you have any concerns.

If you find that your sign is attracting a lot of avian attention, you may want to consider some alternative measures to help keep your sign clean. We especially tend to see this problem with channel letters. Once you clean-up the sign, you can consider these options for kindly deterring birds from nesting in the letters in the future.  

This little guy found a great home in the letter "O"; however, his safe little perch is an unsightly addition to this business sign.

Your signage is an investment as well as a visual indication of what your customers should expect from your business. Don't let a grimy sign give the wrong impression; make sure its clean! If you need more help with your sign maintenance, give us a call at 615-595-6564. 

Spring Cleaning Your Vehicle Wraps

The winter months can wreak havoc on your car and your custom vehicle wrap. The temperature is often too cold to even want to think about washing your vehicle; however, the dirt, salt and brine can create more damage than you can imagine. Now that the temperature seems a bit more tolerable, make sure that you take the time to really wash your vehicle. You are not only extending the life of your vinyl wrap, you are extending the life of the vehicle itself. 

The best way to clean your car is the old fashioned way - with your own two hands. Here are some basic guidelines:

• Rinse your vehicle with clean water. A garden hose with a nozzle works just fine. Be careful not to use a high pressure washer that can be too abrasive.
• Mix a solution of clean water and mild detergent. Always test your solution in an inconspicuous place prior to washing the entire vehicle.
• Gently wash your vehicle from the top down, using a soft sponge or cloth. Avoid excessive scrubbing.
• Rinse thoroughly with clean water.
• Air dry if possible, or use a microfiber cloth to gently dry the wrap.
• Inspect your vehicle and let us know if you see anything that looks unusual.
• You can hand wax your vehicle (unless you have a matte, satin, carbon fiber, textured, or other unique wrap). If you do wax your vehicle, use a product that does not contain petroleum distillates or abrasive components. NOTE: If you have a unique wrap, a 2:1 ratio of isopropyl alcohol and water applied with a microfiber cloth does a wonderful job of maintaining the finish on your wrap. 

If you'd like more tips and how to care for and maintain your vehicle wrap, you can read our blog post on Keeping It Clean. We also can provide you with a printed copy of our recommendations if you stop by our shop. Do not hesitate to contact our team of experts if you see something unusual with your wrap or you just have a question. We want your wrap to look good just as much as you do!

For more information and advice about signage and vehicle wrap maintenance, contact us today! We are located in Franklin, Tennessee, but we service customers around the nation.