SANDBLASTED REDWOOD SIGNS

Redwood is the best choice for sandblasted wooden signs

Just about any wood can be used for sandblasted signs, but the best is redwood. As the blasting sand eats away the sapwood the hard annual growth rings are left to create the beautiful deep even wood grain effect. That is the first of several reasons why all heart vertical grain redwood should be your choice. Also as important as the aesthetic appeal of sandblasted redwood is the longevity of the first three grades of redwood. Redwood (giant sequoia) is one of the fastest growing trees in the USA.
If it takes a long time to grow it usually lasts a long time. So its the old growth redwood you want for your sandblasted wooden signs. There are seven grades of redwood which you can research, by Googling "grades of redwood". What it amounts to is that you should only use the first three grades of redwood for sandblasting signs, because after that you don't get the vertical grain and the quick growth redwoods will not last much longer than regular cheap pine.

BEWARE of construction grade Redwood

Many companies will use this claiming it to be "Redwood" and it is! They wont tell you it's construction grade redwood which should never be used for sandblasted wooden signs; they may not even know themselves. Also BEWARE of a few companies that glue up redwood or cedar signblanks they don't always dowel them and sometimes end joint the redwood or cedar  planks (this will give a harsh vertical line right in the middle of the horizontal redwood or cedar grain. the effect is disastrous.

More info on Choices of wood for sandblasting signs

Other woods can be used for making sandblasted wooden signs. but the way the wood is cut makes a huge difference. To show the beautiful wood grain desired in sandblasted wooden sign making the wood must be "Quarter Cut". This is a less productive way of cutting the wood and is more costly. If the redwood or other wood is cut in the normal way little or no wood grain will show. this produces a very unattractive sandblasted wooden sign.

When they stopped harvesting most of the "old growth redwood trees" some years ago, the quality of the available redwood dropped and continues to drop. It's hard to find and rather expensive. We still have a very good supplier of "all heart vertical grain redwood"  and we have some customers who will use nothing, except our quality redwood for their sandblasted signs. The alternatives are plentiful but low grade.

If you can get vertical grain cedar( instead of redwood) of the highest grade its wonderful, but it's hard to acquire. Many use western red cedar or worse, often using the cheap white part of the cedar which is softwood.

A good alternative (hyp)

If it's quality and authenticity you want in a sandblasted red wood sign and you don't mind spending a bit more for your sign there is nothing to compare to the beauty of real strong>all heart vertical grain redwood.

1. vertical wood grain "quarter cut" all heart redwood   The best for sandblasted wooden signs
2. vertical wood grain "quarter cut" all heart cedar.   Very good for sandblasted wooden signs
3. vertical wood grain  "quarter cut" oak   Unusual wood grain effect, expensive, (it takes longer to produce a sandblasted oak sign)   and costs more to install than other wooden signs.
4. plain sawn Pine wood is not recommended for sandblasted wooden signs. The resin makes the wood springy and so the sand or cutting agent bounces off, making it time consuming to produce a sandblasted sign. Also the extra time spent sandblasting the wood tends to create a rough uneven edge to the sandblasted sign. This doesn't make for a rustic sandblasted sign simply a rather ragged and amateurish one.
5. Just about any hardwood can be used for producing sandblasted wooden signs, if the wood is quarter cut it will probably look interesting  enough, but if you want beauty , class and an attractive wooden sandblasted sign that say a lot about your business, organization or home you cant fault sandblasted redwood.