High Density Urethane
High Density Urethane: The Foam of the Future
High Density Urethane, often abbreviated to HDU, is a remarkable closed-cell urethane material most often used as a natural-looking replacement for all kinds of wooden signs - everything from business signs to store signs and even home signs. HDU was created for NASA as a lightweight insulator for use on space missions, and is now sold in sheets, tubes, and blocks, used for sculpture, film prop, marine, and design projects, and is the most cost-effective (for its durability) sign material on the market.
Its chemical structure and physical integrity make it the perfect material for long-term exterior display. It is slightly flexible, so stores needing a large sign can expect to have to install reinforcements. However, all businesses and homes desiring business or house signs made of HDU will find it to be light, long-lasting, and remarkably unaffected by outdoor elements.
An Improvement on Nature
High Density Urethane can be shaped in the same ways as wood without compromising its strength, durability, or rigidity. Business and home signs formed from HDU can be routed, sanded, sawed, sandblasted, drilled, and carved with ordinary carpentry tools. It's suitable for hobby carvings (such as hand-crafted home signs), and due to its impermeability and high resistance to damaging chemicals, it can be used with almost any finish.
Though it can easily be made to look exactly like traditional wooden home signs, HDU is completely unaffected by changes in temperature or moisture level, will not warp, split, or crack, and will never decompose or rot, as it isn't an organic compound. Owners of HDU business and home signs claim they survive well beyond ten years with no problems, except for the occasional woodpecker who seems to enjoy using it to make noise. Manufacturers have suggested the owners of these business and home signs purchase a plastic hawk or owl decoy, but they can't explain why the woodpeckers are attracted to a material that can't contain insects!
Most Popular Material for Outdoor Signs
High Density Urethane is an amazing material, and very flexible in its applications. Home signs made from this material will stand up to anything the outdoors can throw at them. One manufacturer, Sign Foam 3, mentions the very first sign they ever created stands not 100 feet from the ocean, untouched by 15 years of salt water and stormy weather. Homeowners with home signs damaged by insects, weather, or time might consider purchasing a cheap and long-lived alternate by buying HDU home signs. Manufacturers can even directly replicate the design on original home signs, due to HDU's amazing ability to be unaffected by various tools and finishes.
All of these factors have made it one of the most popular materials for creating modern business and custom home signs with an old-fashioned, "traditional" appeal. Whether you want the look of stone, woodgrain, or even sleek metal (without the possibility of heat retention), High Density Urethane can do the job well. Despite the appearance of an all-natural, even timeworn, material, HDU is perfect for economical, attractive business and home signs with longevity.