Switched from cardboard to coroplast signs after my first protest got ruined in a drizzle

I used to just grab old Amazon boxes and draw slogans with a Sharpie but then it rained for 10 minutes at the rally in Austin and my sign turned into a soggy mess so now I always prep them with coroplast sheets from the local sign shop for $3 each and a set of paint markers that don't bleed, has anyone found a cheaper way to weatherproof their signs without buying plastic?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_tessa11d ago

Wait, Amazon boxes? You mean like the actual brown corrugated cardboard? No way. I saw someone do that at a protest in Denver and the ink just pooled into these weird puddles and then the whole sign buckled from the moisture, it was a mess. For $3 a sheet from a sign shop that's a steal though, I pay like $5 from the local hardware store and they're always scratched up.

the_thomas11d ago

Honestly though, is a sign for a protest really gotta look that perfect? People might be overthinking this.

susansingh11d ago

That "for $3 a sheet from a sign shop that's a steal" part you mentioned is the thing that got me thinking. I used to be all about the "grab whatever scrap wood or cardboard is lying around and just write on it with a marker" approach. But then I tried to make a sign for a local housing rally with a piece of old drywall and it literally fell apart in my hands halfway through the march. You're right, a sign that disintegrates or looks like garbage is a distraction from the message. For three bucks I could have had something that actually made my point instead of making everyone worry about my sign holding together.