The first sign was coated with 3 coats of high temp engine enamel then sanded to give it a weathered effect.
The second was stained all but the lettering then giver 3 coats of poly.
yes. And i use engine paint because it dries fast and makes a thick hard coating that is harder to sand off for certain effects. So far VHT has been the best brand for me I can apply 3 coats in 10 minutes and be ready to cut in about half an hour.
Yeah oops on my part was just looking for a photo of the type of bit i used. By the way I use them for milling aluminium to easy to resharpen to. They do chatter a bit more cutting metal but the metal does not bind up in the bit either like some milling bits