ACP sign boards and shopfront cladding in Dubai: ACP boards with LED letters, fascias and facades

What an ACP board is, and why shops use it

An ACP board is a panel of two thin aluminium sheets bonded to a solid core, usually 4 mm thick in total, with a factory-painted finish. Sign makers cut, groove and fold it into a fascia that covers the shopfront, then fix the shop's name to it in lit or non-lit letters.

A typical panel has two aluminium skins of about 0.5 mm each around a core of about 3 mm. That sandwich makes it stiff and flat for its weight: a 4 mm panel weighs roughly 5.5 to 8 kilograms per square metre, depending on the core. Sheets come up to about 1.6 metres wide and 6 metres long, so a shop fascia can be made with few joints.

Why shops choose it:

• It's flat and clean. A good ACP fascia gives lettering a plain, even background, which is half of what makes a sign look professional.
• It covers problems. Old tiles, patched render, cables, shutters and the last tenant's fixings disappear behind it.
• It comes in almost any colour, plus metallic, brushed, mirror, timber and stone effects.
• It lasts outdoors. The aluminium doesn't rust, and a good coating holds its colour for years.
• It's light, so it puts little load on the building.
• It takes letters and lighting well. Cables and LED drivers hide in the space behind.
• It costs less than stone, glass or solid aluminium cladding.

You'll also see it called aluminium composite material (ACM), "aluco" or by brand names. In signage, "ACP board", "ACP sign board" and "ACP fascia" all mean the same thing.

ACP sign boards and cladding we make

We make ACP shop boards with every kind of lettering, complete shopfront cladding, and ACP work on low-rise buildings. Each job includes a design mockup, the sub-frame, fabrication, installation, the electrical work for lit signs and the permit application.

ACP boards with LED letters: four ways to light one

An "ACP LED board" or "ACP glow sign board" is an ACP fascia whose lettering is lit. There are four ways to do it: front-lit letters fixed to the panel, halo-lit letters standing off it, acrylic letters pushed through it, and lettering routed out of it with a lit box behind. Each gives a different look and price.

Front-lit letters on ACP

Individual 3D letters with acrylic faces and LEDs inside, fixed to the fascia. This is what most people mean by "ACP board with LED letters". The panel is the background and the letters do the work. On a dark or neutral panel it's the most readable shop sign at night. See channel letters.

Halo-lit letters on ACP

Solid metal or painted letters mounted a few centimetres off the panel, with LEDs shining backwards so each letter has a glow around it. The panel behind needs a matte finish. Gloss and mirror ACP reflect each LED as a bright dot and spoil the effect. See halo-lit letters.

Push-through letters

The letter shapes are cut out of the ACP, and thick clear or opal acrylic letters are set through the holes from behind, standing a little proud of the face. A lit box behind makes only the letters glow, on their faces and edges. It handles thin strokes and small text better than individual letters can, and it has no visible fixings.

Routed and backed panels

The lettering is cut through the panel and backed with a flat sheet of translucent acrylic, lit from behind. The face stays completely flat. It's the neatest way to light a long name or a line of small text, and it's sometimes what people mean by a "glow sign board".

Glow sign boards and light boxes

In everyday use, "glow sign board" also means a lit box with a printed translucent face. An ACP fascia can include one, or be built as one, but under Dubai's current shopfront rules a bright white lit face isn't acceptable for the main sign, so we design with dark or coloured faces and lit lettering. See light box signs.

Which to choose

• Need to be seen from the road: front-lit letters.
• Want a premium look at walking distance: halo-lit or push-through.
• Long name or fine logo: push-through or routed.
• Tight budget: non-lit letters with spotlights now, with the frame and cabling ready for lit letters later.

ACP shop board design

A good ACP shop board design uses the panel as a calm background and lets the name stand out: one main colour, one or two accents, the name in lit letters taking about half to two thirds of the width, and nothing else on the fascia. The panel layout, the joints and the proportions matter as much as the colour.

Start with the layout

• Fascia height. Tall enough for the letters with clear space above and below. As a guide, letters about one third to one half of the fascia height look balanced.
• Joints. Sheets are up to about 1.6 metres wide, so a long fascia has vertical joints. Plan them to fall evenly, never through the middle of the name, and line them up with the mullions or doors below.
• Returns. Fold the panel back at the ends and the bottom edge, so the fascia looks like a solid box and not a sheet.
• Depth. A fascia that projects 10 to 20 centimetres casts a shadow line and gives room for lighting and shutters.
• Bands and reveals. A recessed band, a contrasting strip or a shadow gap can break up a long fascia.
• The whole front. Carry the same panel down the side columns and across the soffit, and the shop looks finished.

Colour

• Dark panels with light or lit letters are the safest pattern: charcoal, black, navy, deep green, dark brown.
• Brand colours work as the main panel when they're strong and not too bright.
• Two-tone designs use a main colour and an accent band or frame.
• Metallic silver and champagne suit showrooms and electronics.
• Timber-effect panels warm up cafés, bakeries and salons.
• Avoid high-gloss and mirror finishes behind halo-lit letters, and across large areas that face the sun.
• Mind the rules. Dubai's 2026 shopfront framework calls for controlled brightness and no bright white lit backgrounds. An unlit white panel with lit letters is a different thing, but dark and neutral panels fit the rules most comfortably.

Lettering on the panel

• One trade name, Arabic above English, under the current rules.
• Size for the distance. For a street shop read from 20 to 30 metres, design capital letters of about 15 to 30 centimetres.
• Space around the name. Don't run letters edge to edge.
• Keep the fascia for the name. Phone numbers, service lists and brand logos go on the window or inside.
• Contrast. Check the letter colour against the panel by day and when lit.

Ideas by trade

• Mobile and electronics shops. The classic mobile shop ACP board is silver or white with a strip of brand logos. A cleaner design stands out more: a dark panel, the shop's own name in bright front-lit letters, and one accent colour. Keep phone brand logos to the window, because the fascia is for your single trade name and brand owners have their own rules on logo use. See our mobile and electronics sign designs.
• Restaurants and cafeterias. Warm panel colours or timber effect, front-lit letters, and a deep fascia that hides the extract duct.
• Pharmacies and clinics. White or light grey panel with green or blue lit letters and a lit cross.
• Salons and boutiques. Black or neutral matte panel with halo-lit or gold letters.
• Supermarkets and groceries. Strong brand colour, large front-lit letters, long fascia with well-planned joints.
• Showrooms. Metallic or dark panels across the full frontage, with columns clad to match.
• Workshops and hardware. Bold two-tone panels in durable finishes, with large plain letters.

Our sign board designs guide covers lettering, colour and Arabic and English layout in more depth.

Panel types: PE, FR and A2 cores

ACP panels look the same from the front and differ in the core between the aluminium skins. A PE core is plastic and burns. An FR core is mostly mineral and resists fire. An A2 core is almost all mineral and is the highest fire class a composite panel reaches. The core decides where a panel may be used.

The mineral contents and weights are from a technical guide to ACP (ShapeShift).

What this means when you buy:

• You can't tell the core by looking at the face. Ask for the product name, the core type and its test certificates in writing, and check the print on the back of the sheet or its protective film.
• Cheap quotes often assume PE. A price well below the others usually means a plastic core. That may be acceptable for an interior feature wall and unacceptable on a shopfront.
• We supply PE, FR and A2 panels and tell you which your building allows. For exterior shopfronts and facades, we recommend a fire-rated core as the starting point.
• Mineral cores are heavier and a little harder to fold, which affects fabrication, not the look.
• Thickness. 4 mm is standard for fascias and cladding. 3 mm is used for signs and interiors. 6 mm suits large flat panels and higher wind loads.

Fire rules for ACP in Dubai

The UAE Fire and Life Safety Code controls which cladding materials may be used on buildings. In summary, high-rise buildings, malls, schools, hospitals and assembly buildings need panels in the A1 or A2 class, low- and mid-rise buildings may use class B, and the complete wall build-up must also pass a large-scale fire test.

Those requirements are set out in an October 2026 article in Fire Middle East magazine (Fire Middle East). Its main points:

• Two tests. The material is classified for reaction to fire under the European standard EN 13501-1. The whole facade assembly, with its frame, insulation and joints, is then tested at large scale under standards such as NFPA 285 or BS 8414.
• By building type. Super high-rise (above 90 metres), high-rise (23 to 90 metres), malls, schools, hospitals and assembly spaces require A1 or A2-s1, d0 panels. Low-rise (below 15 metres), mid-rise (15 to 23 metres), warehouses and industrial buildings may use B-s1, d0.
• The system matters. A panel with a good classification can still fail if the assembly it's part of doesn't contain the spread of flame.
• Edition. The current framework is the 2018 edition of the code.

What it means for a shop:

• The building's class applies to your shopfront. A ground-floor shop in a tower, or a unit in a mall, follows the rules for that building, which usually means A2.
• A stand-alone low-rise shop or showroom may be allowed an FR panel in class B, subject to approval.
• Civil Defence approval covers materials and installers for facade work. Ask your landlord or consultant what the building's approval requires before choosing a panel.
• Replacing an old fascia is a chance to remove an old PE panel and fit a compliant one.
• Signs are treated differently from cladding in some respects, but a full-width ACP fascia is a facade element as far as the building owner and Civil Defence are concerned. When in doubt, use the higher class.

We work on shopfronts and low-rise buildings, and we don't take on tower facades. For any job, we state the panel's core and classification on the quote and supply the certificates.

Colours, finishes and coatings

The colour on an ACP panel is a factory-applied coating on the aluminium skin, and the type of coating decides how long it keeps its colour and gloss outdoors. For exterior work in Dubai, choose a PVDF or FEVE coating. Polyester coatings are for interiors and short-life signs.

• PVDF and FEVE coatings. Fluoropolymer paints, typically 25 to 35 microns thick, with the best resistance to sun and weather. Manufacturers give long warranties against fading and chalking on these.
• Polyester (PE) coatings. Cheaper, with a wide colour range, but they fade and chalk faster in strong sun. Fine indoors.
• Don't confuse the two "PE"s. A PE coating is polyester paint. A PE core is polyethylene plastic. A quote should state both the coating and the core.

Finishes:

• Solid colours, matched to RAL or to the manufacturer's range.
• Metallics: silver, champagne, bronze, gold.
• Brushed and mirror effects that imitate stainless steel.
• Timber and stone effects, printed and coated.
• Gloss, satin and matte. Matte hides small unevenness and suits halo lighting. Gloss shows every ripple and reflection.
• Custom colours are possible in quantity. For a single shop, choose from stock ranges.

Practical points:

• Direction matters. Metallic and brushed panels have a grain. All panels on a fascia must run the same way, or they'll look like different colours.
• Order from one batch. Shades vary slightly between production batches. Keep an offcut for future repairs.
• Dark colours get hot and expand more. They need properly designed joints.
• Leave the protective film on until installation is finished, then remove it promptly. Film left in the sun bakes on.

How an ACP fascia is built and fixed

An ACP fascia is a set of folded panel trays fixed to a metal sub-frame, which is fixed to the building. The frame carries the loads and keeps the panels flat, and the joints between panels allow for movement. Most problems with ACP, such as ripples, loose panels and leaks, come from the frame and joints, not the panel.

1. Survey

We measure the frontage, check what the wall is made of and what it can carry, and note shutters, air-conditioning units, cables, lights and the neighbour's fascia line.

2. Sub-frame

A grid of aluminium or galvanised steel sections is fixed to the structure with brackets and anchors suited to the wall. It's set out level and plumb, packed off uneven walls, and spaced so that no panel spans too far unsupported. On coastal sites and wherever the frame meets weather, aluminium or galvanised steel with stainless fixings avoids rust stains.

3. Fabrication

Panels are cut on a CNC router. For folded edges, the back skin and core are grooved with a V-shaped cutter, leaving the front skin intact, and the panel is folded along the groove into a tray, sometimes called a cassette. Corners are notched and closed. Openings for lights, cameras and letter fixings are cut at this stage. Stiffeners are bonded to the back of large panels to keep them flat.

4. Fixing

• Cassette (tray) system. Folded trays hook or screw onto the frame through their returned edges, with no fixings on the face. This is the method for a clean fascia.
• Face-fixed with rivets or screws. Faster and cheaper, with visible, colour-matched heads. Used for simple sign boards and less visible areas.
• Bonded. Structural tape or adhesive on a prepared frame, for small flat panels and interiors.

5. Joints

• Open joints or shadow gaps of about 10 to 15 mm between trays, often with a strip in a contrasting or matching colour behind.
• Sealed joints with a backer rod and weather sealant, in a colour matched to the panel. Good sealant work is neat and even; bad sealant work is the first thing the eye catches.
• Movement. Aluminium expands by about 2.4 mm per metre for a 100 °C change in temperature. A dark panel in Dubai's sun goes through a large part of that range between a winter night and a summer afternoon, so a 3-metre panel can move several millimetres. Joints and slotted fixings must allow for it, or the panel bows.

6. Water, services and access

• Top flashing so water doesn't run behind the fascia.
• Drainage and ventilation at the bottom.
• Cables and LED drivers behind the panel, with an access panel so drivers can be changed without dismantling the fascia.
• Shutter boxes, lights, cameras and speakers planned in, not cut in afterwards.

7. Letters and lighting

Letters are fixed through the panel to the frame or to fixing plates behind, not to the thin panel alone. Cable holes are sealed. Lit signs are wired to a timer or photocell and tested at night.

What to ask a supplier

• Which panel brand, thickness, core and coating?
• Can I see the fire test certificates?
• What is the sub-frame made of, and at what spacing?
• Cassette or face-fixed?
• Open or sealed joints, and how is movement allowed for?
• Where are the LED drivers, and how are they reached?
• Who handles the landlord's and the authority's approvals?

Beyond the fascia: columns, canopies, building facades and interiors

The same panels and methods cover much more than the sign band. Cladding the columns, soffit and sides in the same finish is often what turns a shop with a new sign into a new-looking shop.

• Columns. Square covers are folded from flat panel. Round columns are formed from curved or segmented panels.
• Soffits and canopies. The underside of a canopy or overhang, with recessed lights. Petrol station canopies and entrance canopies are common jobs.
• Side returns and parapets, so the fascia doesn't stop at a raw edge.
• Full shopfronts. Cladding from ground to parapet around the glazing, with the sign as part of the design.
• Low-rise facades. Showrooms, warehouses, retail strips and villas below 15 metres, re-clad over existing walls. Tired buildings can be modernised without rebuilding.
• Entrance portals and feature frames that mark the door.
• Interiors. Reception backdrops, feature walls, counters and ceilings, where ACP gives a hard, wipe-clean, coloured surface.
• Freestanding signs. ACP is the usual skin for pylon and totem signs.

For buildings, cladding changes the facade and needs the building owner's consent and the authority's approval, with the fire class to match the building. We'll tell you at survey what approvals a job is likely to need.

Replacing an old sign board with ACP

Most ACP jobs replace something: a faded flex-face light box, a printed board, cracked tiles or the previous tenant's fascia. The work can usually be done without closing the shop, and what's behind the old sign decides how much of it is new.

• Flex or printed board to ACP. The old frame is rarely flat or strong enough for cassette panels, so we normally replace it. The power supply and any sound brackets are reused.
• Old light box to ACP with letters. The box comes off, the wall is checked and made good, and the new frame is set out to the same or a better line. Old fluorescent tubes and control gear are removed.
• Existing ACP, new tenant. If the frame is sound and the panel is a compliant type, new letters and a patch or new panels over the old fixing holes may be all that's needed. If the old panel has a PE core, this is the time to change it.
• Tiles, stone or render. ACP goes over them on a frame, with fixings into the structure behind, not into the tiles.
• Shutters and air-conditioning units. A deeper fascia can box them in, with access panels and ventilation.

What to expect on site:

1. A survey and a mockup on a photo of your shopfront.
2. Approvals from the landlord and the authority while the panels are fabricated.
3. Removal of the old sign, usually in a few hours.
4. Frame, panels, letters and wiring over one to three days for a typical shop, often in the evening or early morning.
5. A night-time check of the lighting, and removal of the protective film.

Tell us your trading hours and any mall or landlord restrictions on working times, and we'll plan around them. If the old sign has to come down before the new permit is issued, a temporary printed banner can cover the gap, where the landlord allows it.

Dubai's shopfront rules and approvals

An ACP sign board needs a sign permit like any other shop sign, and the cladding itself needs the landlord's consent. Since 2026, shopfront signs in Dubai follow a framework set by the Department of Economy and Tourism: one trade name, Arabic above English, horizontal layout, static content, controlled brightness and no bright white lit backgrounds.

For an ACP board, that means:

• One trade name on the fascia. No repeated names, product brand strips or service lists.
• Arabic above English, matching the trade licence.
• Lit lettering on a dark or neutral panel fits the rules most easily.
• Proportion. The sign sits within the fascia band and doesn't cover windows above or neighbouring frontages.
• Projection. Keep the fascia depth modest and in line with the neighbours.
• Landlord and mall rules. Many buildings fix the fascia height, colour and material for all tenants. Ask for the tenant design guide first.
• Fire class. The panel must suit the building, as above.
• Permit drawings. We prepare them and apply. See our shop signs guide for the process.

How much does an ACP sign board cost in Dubai?

An ACP sign board is priced by the area of panel, the core and coating, the sub-frame, and the lettering and lighting on it. The letters usually cost as much as the panel or more. The ranges below are typical Dubai prices before VAT and are a guide only.

What changes the price:

• Core. A2 costs more than FR, which costs more than PE.
• Coating. PVDF costs more than polyester and lasts longer outdoors.
• Brand of panel. Established manufacturers with full test certificates cost more than unbranded sheet.
• Fixing method. Cassette systems take more fabrication than face-fixed sheets.
• Shape. Curves, deep returns, columns and cut-outs add labour.
• Sub-frame and wall condition. Uneven or weak walls need more framing.
• Letters and lighting. Height, number of letters, and the type of illumination.
• Access. Scaffolding, working at night, and mall rules.

Comparing quotes: make sure each states the panel brand, thickness, core, coating, frame material, fixing method and what's included for letters, electrics, permit and removal. A quote that says only "ACP board with LED letters" could describe very different things.

Care, repairs and lifespan

A well-made ACP fascia needs little more than washing, and with a PVDF coating it should hold its colour for many years. What shortens its life is dirt left to bake on, failed sealant, and damage that's ignored.

• Wash every few months with water and a mild detergent, using a soft cloth or sponge, and rinse. More often near the sea, roads and kitchens.
• No abrasives or strong solvents, which dull the coating.
• Check the sealant yearly. Sealant that has cracked or pulled away lets water in and should be redone.
• Look for movement: a bowed or rattling panel means a fixing has failed or a joint is too tight.
• Dents and scratches. A dented panel can't be flattened invisibly. It's replaced, which is why keeping a spare sheet or the batch details matters. Small scratches can be touched in.
• Lit letters. Check them at night, and replace failed LEDs and drivers promptly.
• Grease. Near kitchen extracts, wash more often, or the film of grease holds dust and stains the panel.
• Re-skinning. When a shop changes hands, a sound frame can often take new panels and letters, which costs less than starting again.

Mistakes to avoid

Most ACP problems are decided before installation, by the choice of panel and the design of the frame and joints.

1. Choosing on price without asking about the core.
2. A panel that doesn't suit the building's fire class, discovered at inspection.
3. Polyester-coated panels outdoors, faded within a few years.
4. Too few frame members, so panels ripple in the sun.
5. Joints with no room to move, so panels bow.
6. A joint through the middle of the name.
7. Gloss or mirror panels behind halo-lit letters.
8. Mixed batches or panels turned the wrong way, giving patchy colour.
9. Letters fixed to the panel skin alone, which pull loose.
10. No access to the LED drivers.
11. Messy sealant.
12. Too much on the fascia, against both good design and the 2026 rules.
13. Stopping at the sign band, leaving old tiles and bare columns either side.