Guide To Mounting Stud Mounted Letters
Gather Your Materials
- Adhesive
- Glues like Gorilla Glue Gel work well indoors
- Polyurethane glue or caulking work well outdoors
- Center Punch or Nail
- Letters Prepared to Receive Studs
- Level
- Painter's Tape
- Magic marker or grease pencil
- Power drill with bit slightly larger than studs
- Studs
- Spacer
- This can be a piece of wood, cardboard or other relative firm material
- It should be the exact distance you wish for your letters to stand out from the mounting surface
-
Not needed for flush mount letters
Set the Studs into the Letter
For convenience your studs are set with adhesive (no screwing!).The holes in the letters are slightly larger than the studs to allow for both glue and pressure to hold your studs in place. Place letters face down, apply adhesive and insert studs. Make sure studs are fully inserted and at a 90 degree angle to letter face. Crooked studs are very tricky to mount.
Allow adhesive to set for the period of time suggested by the manufacturer.
Set Mounting Line
Use a level to apply painters tape in a straight, level line. This line will set the bottom for each letter you want as a single line of text.
Marking
Apply marker to the glued studs of the letter you wish to mount. Carefully position the bottom of the given letter such that it is level with the line of painters tape. Press firmly onto surface.
When you lift the letter you should see marks left by the marker. These will be where you drill your holes.
Drilling
Select drill bit size that matches your studs. Using a marker, place a mark on the drill bit corresponding to the depth of hole you wish to drill. (ex. If wanting 0.75in holes, measure 0.75in from the tip of the dripp bit and mark a line on the bit at 0.75in).
Drill holes into the marks left by your studs from the last step. Stop drilling once your bit has reached the line you drew in the last step above.
Ensure your drill bit is the correct size for your particular studs. If in doubt about the size of drill bit to use, drill a test hole and pick a bit you think might be just smaller than the studs. If too smaller expand the hole using the next size up bit.
Holes can always be made larger but can’t be made smaller.
Prepping the Holes
Clean the inside of the drilled holes by blowing gently into them to remove any debris.
Ensure the rest of the surface behind the letter is clean and free of debris if doing a flush mount or using additional adhesive (ex. Gorilla tape) directly on the letter back.
Adhesive
Coat both the holes you drilled and the studs on your letters with adhesive. Coat the studs only to the length of hole you drilled to avoid a messy look when finished.
Slide the studs into the holes.
Set the Lettering
Insert the spacer behind the letter you are mounting. Ignore using a spacer if mounting letters flush to the surface.
Push the letters firmly back into the holes.
Your letters should be touching the spacer or the mounting surface if doing a flush mount.
Do not remove the spacer yet.
Tape the letters
Tape the letter you mounted with painters tape vertically such that it is secured to the mounting surface.
This will prevent the letter slipping or shifting as the adhesive dries.
Carefully remove the spacer - you will use this on the next letters.