Hello. Can anyone suggest what kind of wood I can use to create a circular sign that will hang on the front door.on the outside. The top layer will have leaves vine cut out and the bottom layer will have a welcome message scored. I will need recommendations on outdoor paint/stain and sealer. Thank you!
A quick search will solve your problem.
https://community.glowforge.com/search?q=Outdoor%20wood
No need to have a repeat conversation, it’s already all here! 
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Did you use it outdoors? I heard MDF is not good for outdoors. Your sign looks great!
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I did do the search but I’m not really finding answers to my exact project. There was a conversation about cedar planks but I don’t think that would work for me.
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For my door sign, I used baltic birch. It’s just a monogram with the family name. It’s been hanging outside on our door for 3 years now. I used rustoleum metallic paint and then several coats of a satin clear acrylic, same brand I believe. Bought both at home depot.
Here it is as of 5 minutes ago. It’s survived extreme heat, winds, and even heavy rains. I do not know how it would do in snow, since I don’t get any. Also being sprayed with a hose to get the spiderwebs off. I don’t have a picture of it when I first made it, but it looks about the same.
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I made a few for people using my CNC from 1/4 MDF, and a light coat of spray paint. I also made a cover for an outdoor weather station sensor, from medium draftboard, no paint or other finish. It lived outside for a while and never weathered. MDF holds up pretty well.
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MDF is not good if it gets wet - it can be outdoors as long as it’ll stay dry.
It seems you might want to click into more than the first thing that comes up. This, for example:
or
You really do need to click into the posts and read - not just skim the titles - to get the best use out of this forum!
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Thank you! Its beautiful!
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Thanks
I would love to know how you made this!
Sure, actually I was going to make a video tonight for someone else with almost the same steps. I’ll send you a link when I finish it.
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The video I made is still uploading, but before I forget, this is the link:
Let me know if you have questions. So far I’m making videos in response to questions I receive. Trying to get them moved to this channel.
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Yah i hung it on my door! Very high winds here and lots of snow in canada. Still looks good and i have an open porch no issues
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I made an outdoor sign from melamine-faced MDF in spring of 2020, and by fall of 2020 it was puffing up and coming apart in places from being rained on. The melamine layer also started to separate from the MDF backer. I made another outdoor sign from marine-grade baltic birch (not all BB is marine grade) which looks fine after a year except that it developed a bit of a warp.
Neither seems like a good material for something long-lasting. Redwood and cedar hardwood are supposedly pretty durable, and you can use an outdoor sealer like spar urethane. It’ll still eventually need re-sealing or re-painting, just like a wooden fence or deck does every few years.
Now, I made a “property under video surveillance” sign out of 2-color white and red acrylic, and that’s been outdoors for several years and still looks brand new. Even the colors haven’t faded in the sun. You can buy acrylic with a wood grain pattern on it even…
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Thanks for the feedback.
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