Pallet Sign Decor Using Vinyl Stencil

Posted by DM Maassen on Aug 29, 2015

I love any kind of DIY project and lately my obsession has been making things out of pallet wood. I have made several tables so far, and now thought I would try to make some signs using a vinyl stencil and painting the design onto the wood. Here is the step-by-step process.

I forgot to take pictures of the first few steps of the project so I will just explain what I did.

1. First, you need to cut apart the pallets. I use a reciprocating saw and cut right through the nails that hold the boards together. This is a time consuming process, but I have a sweet husband who does the hard work for me! :)

2. You will want to figure out the dimensions you are going to make your sign. I used 4 pallet boards and cut them each to 19.5". My final product ended up being 13"W x 19.5" H. I also cut 2 boards that were 17", those will run horizontal across the back, one towards the top and one towards the bottom to attach the sign boards to.

3. After it was all put together I sanded it down just a little bit, I still wanted a rustic look to it though. Then I painted it with an off-white craft paint.

4. Now it's time to put the vinyl stencil sticker on. The vinyl stencil works just like any other vinyl decal, the difference is that we reversed the cut of the design so it could be used as a stencil.

5. To apply the vinyl stencil sticker I used the hinge menthod that we have explained before with other vinyl decals.

6. I used a foam brush and some grey craft paint. It took 3 coats with about an hour dry time in between to get a good cover. After the last coat, I let it dry over night before removing the vinyl stencil. If you remove the vinyl stencil when the paint is wet, there is a risk of peeling up some of the paint with the vinyl sticker.

7. After removing the vinyl stencil, I used a paint pen to add the stars and dashes.

The end result is a rustic wooden sign that can be hung and displayed in your home.