Anyone waterproof your signs?

Hi! I did my first full day event last month and we were rained out about 3-4 hours into it. It was a very nasty rain storm and all my signs were ruined (even though they were UNDER the tent) - water spotted pictures and wavy papers when everything dried out.
Has anyone had this happen to them?
What do you do to help prevent the "soggy" factor?
Any help with waterproofing would be appreciated!

My main board is encased in a shower curtain. (clear, obviously, so it is pretty rain resistent.)
My new Denise Cold look-alike boards are covered in clear shelf paper, and only the very tips of the corners are able to get wet.
That said, during my gig last night, a severe thunderstorm came through, complete with a wall of wind, sending my set up flying. My DC boards got wet on the very bottom, and have water damaged corners. But not bad enough for me to want to re-paint them.

sorry your signs got ruined, they take a lot of work sometimes. I love the shower curtain idea.

I've been doing my boards with smaller bits- each design is its own card attached to a banner. And each bit is laminated. Not all done yet. I bought a laminator.

White Banner. Laminated Photos. Velcro. Works for me.

Everything is laminated or in sheet protectors. Signs are wood or coroplast.

Sorry about your signage. Same thing happened to me on Friday. So glad my paints and stencils were already put away. Anxiously awaiting ideas of water proofing our set-ups.

Lamination works! It is worth the investment!

I use pvc pipe for my banner stands, vinyl banners and laminated pictures put on the banner with velcro. Everything is completely waterproof.

rthling - Sorry about your setup. I've had to go chasing after sponges too! How do you adhere the shower curtain?

Those of you who laminate and use velcro...I was waiting on buying a banner...do you remove each picture and then roll up the banner? or do you fold the banners up? Also, I checked out the lamination machines and the prices vary from $30 -$500...which brands and models did you each purchase? Do you like them?

squiggle - Do you have anything in the bottom of your pvc banner stands to help hold them down?

Thanks for the help!

We use laminator too. The best for picture

Shadow, I basically made a clear envelope out of the curtain, then velcroed the pics inside it. The whole pocket hangs on a PVC frame with zip ties run through the grommets I put in it. You can see it here... http://www.facepaintforum.com/t10503-new-water-resistent-color-coded-picture-menu

shadowdrawing wrote:squiggle - Do you have anything in the bottom of your pvc banner stands to help hold them down?

Yes, I filled the 2" pvc in the base with ready-mix concrete. It adds about 40 pounds to the weight of the base and keeps the wind from blowing them over I'm not sure if you can see them easily in this pic:

sorry to hear your pictures got ruined...I also laminate my photos before i put them in my banner

shadowdrawing wrote:
Those of you who laminate and use velcro...I was waiting on buying a banner...do you remove each picture and then roll up the banner? or do you fold the banners up? Also, I checked out the lamination machines and the prices vary from $30 -$500...which brands and models did you each purchase? Do you like them?

Mine is still in the making stage and I am really pondering the fold it all up vs remove all the picts. I'm worried about edges of pictures getting funny when rolled. I just need to bite the bullet and finish it.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MK64US/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00 is the laminator I got but WHOAH the price has like doubled, I got it and some menu sized pouches for less than 100. You just need to shop around and find what you like. This one has a release in case something ever gets stuck (has happened twice) and it also does the 'cool' lamination. Seriously, though, you can find laminators at JoAnn fabric and use the good ole 40% off coupon.

my banners are all outdoor materials from VistaPrint. Almost every event I do has at least one day of rain and mine get used every weekend from at least the beginning of June to Mid-October.

I remove the pictures and roll it up. I use this laminator.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Scotch-Thermal-Laminator-2-Roller/17208765

Thanks for all the great ideas!

I am working on yard signs right now and will post a picture of them when I am done. I will be attempting to cover them with clear contact paper since they can't go through a laminator (plastic core board).

I'm currently debating between making my price board with pictures or using word art (as I've seen in other posts). So...for those of you that have word boards...do you also display pictures at your booth as well to show your work?

you don't have to buy a laminator, only the laminator sheets... I buy the sheets, insert my photos, place underneath a piece of white paper and use my IRON on medium setting (no steam) on top of a hard flat surface. Don't hold the iron too long in one spot or it may wrinkle up the plastic. you can always look to see if it has bonded or not.

It may take longer using the iron but it's something I already had.

Just got back from the Lake Shore learning store.. 2x3 heavy duty construction paper with all my 5$ stencils.. All laminated for.... a whopping 87 cents. At this rate I would never buy a laminator.. they oncly charge by the linear foot and can go as wide as 2 feet. My stencil display is now water proof!!! woo hoo!!!

I got the Purple Cow laminator from Costco for $20, and it came with a huge pack of laminating materials. I use coroplast sheets I purchased from a sign shop and I attached sticky velcro dots to attach the laminated pics. My sign actually sits outside of the tent (it's a double sided wind sign) so it has to be 100% water/wind proof.

Well I got my board done...used contact paper and velcro. Colored on the blank head templates for the designs and can interchange them.

Unfortunately, didn't have a single customer at an event that I was expecting to be busy at so I didn't even get to use my new board. I had bad location and was PPF while another company with two face painters had good location and was free - company sponsered. At least I didn't pay for the spot, but still completely bummed. If the organizer had told me that the other face painters were gonna be there I wouldn't have bothered.
So sad...

So.... Clear contact paper on the foam core boards...

After painstakingly applying it with minimal bubbles, they bubbled up the minute they were touched by the sun. Of course, we were under a heat advisory, and the direct sunlight was especially brutal, but still...

Oh no!

diane my stencils on the display board did that after being in the humid hot sun. They all look fine now... can you use a plastic spatula and push the bubbles out??