How to Keep Your Custom Plastic Signs Clean

Keeping your signs clean is essential for a number of reasons. For one, it helps prolong the life of your sign. For another, it gives people a good impression about your company. These signs are, after all, what people first see and what can give them an idea who occupies what office or building.

Different kinds of materials need different kinds of treatments when it comes to cleaning. For instance, if you are using wood for your signs, you will have to make sure that your cleaning agents are not harsh, and that these signs are wiped dry of any moisture to prevent deterioration. The same goes for signs made out of metal, you need to ensure that you use cleaning agents strong enough to remove dirt and grime, but are not too strong that it strips the metal of its natural luster.

When you choose to use plastic for your signs, you might think that these don’t need that much care and maintenance. While plastic signs are indeed rather resilient, and are not that easy to damage or scratch, these still need proper care for these to last as long as these should. This means that you need to clean these regularly, and to do so properly, here are some tips that may be useful:

Use a dishwashing soap that can remove grease – dishwashing detergents are actually useful outside of the kitchen. These can be used to effectively clean anything that has some grease or grime on them, since these are formulated to remove greasy substances from your plates, pans, and pots. What you need to do is to dilute a cap of your favorite dishwashing liquid in half a pail of warm water, and use this mixture to wipe off the dirt and the greasy residue found on your plastic signs. (This also works well on signs made out of metal).

Use rags that are not coarse or rough – just like metal signage, plastic signs can also get scratched. Using a rather rough textured rag can actually create scratches on the surface of your signs, whether these are made out of plastic, metal, or any other material. Try to use a rag that is soft and does not have rather coarse grains. Some of the better options for this include old cotton shirts, and microfiber cloth. You can also choose to use chamois cloth used in cleaning cars for this purpose.

Use a gentle but firm hand when cleaning – rubbing your signs to remove dirt and grime on it is not the right way to clean it. You need to use a gentle yet firm hand when removing unsightly residue on your signage. When we say firm but gentle, this means you need to apply just a little force to remove whatever dirt is on the sign, but not too much that it will scratch your signage.

Rinse after soaping – using a dishwashing liquid diluted in water can indeed remove the greasy dirt found on your signs, but leaving this substance on your signage will also create a dull film that will make your signs look lackluster. After wiping your plastic signs off with this particular mixture, you need to remove the soapy residue from the surface with the use of a rag that you soak in warm, clean water. Repeat this step a couple of times to ensure that no soapy residue is left on the signs.

Wipe dry to return the sign to its former glory – after all these steps, the final step is to wipe your signs dry with another soft piece of cloth. Make sure that you get all of the nooks and crannies to prevent the possibility of water spots and stains on your signs.

Some people ask why it is imperative that plastic signage be cleaned regularly. They often reason that plastic signs are cheap to make and don’t really need to be cleaned that often since these can be easily replaced. Others think that careful cleaning is not necessary as well, since these can withstand rough handling and such.

Taking care of your plastic signs makes them last longer, makes them stay the way they are for longer, and gives people a good impression of your company since these look like new. All you need to do is to follow the advice given above, have a maintenance plan in place for these signs, and to clean regularly. This will help save you money in the long run as well, since you won’t have to replace your signs constantly.