Flexible stencils?

[Glen Monaghan]

Anybody have any advice for cutting flexible stencils that could be used for something like this? I've never done anything like that and have no idea what sort of stencil material might work or where to get it. Preference is for reusable stencils but single use possible if reusable is just not reasonable. Thanks for any pointers/tips!

-Glen

[Mike Null]

My guess is that your example has been printed prior to assembly.

You could use mylar and tape it into position before spraying. Does this represent enough volume to consider?

[Glen Monaghan]

Currently in "discovery" phase regarding what can reasonably be done in the way of template making. The example was hand painted, sort of a "proof of concept" but apparently the designs are going to be applied to finished boots and have to be flexible to fit around the curves. Mylar might be good for fairly simple curves such as on top of the ankle and toe areas and maybe even on the side of the toe area but I don't think it would work (or whether any stencil material would work well) on a compound curve such as across the pointy front.

My first reaction question regarding something like mylar for making such fine details in a stencil is, how well will all the edges hold down so as to avoid bleeding color under raised/lifted stencil edges? Is there a mylar (or other suitable stencil material) with (reusable?) sticky backing?

-Glen

[Rangarajan Saravana kumar]

X ray sheet......... We make 40 per month for an export company locally....

[Joe Pelonio]

To conform to the curves I would recommend 2 mil (calendered) vinyl, plotter cut. It has a permanent adhesive but wouldn't stick well to a shoe, so would be easily removed. Anything that's too stiff will leave gaps for the paint to run down. It would probably not be reusable but you could make a loty of them for a small cost.

[Steven Cox]

To conform to the curves I would recommend 2 mil (calendered) vinyl, plotter cut. It has a permanent adhesive but wouldn't stick well to a shoe, so would be easily removed. Anything that's too stiff will leave gaps for the paint to run down. It would probably not be reusable but you could make a loty of them for a small cost.

There's actually a vinyl available from most sign suppliers called "Spray & Mask" and can it be used for both spray & sandblast applications. It doesn't have a permanent adhesive so it removes very cleanly. Though only good for one application.

For a reuseable material, if you look in a Craft supply shop there is a translucent flexible plastic sheet that's used for stencil making, this stuff comes in either a light blue with a smoothe finish or clear (ish) sheet with a slight ripple finish, can't rember what they are called but they both laser cut very well and are reuseable.

[Chuck Stone]

you could probably dust an adhesive mask with talc so it isn't sticky anymore..
that way you still get the benefit of the material's characteristics, just not the stick

[Doug Griffith]

I'd go as far as to say this is not going to work and be cost effective. Applying a sticker (frisket) with holes in it to the crazy compound curves of a boot is going to require a thin very flexible material. You will also need a thin flexible carrier sheet during application. Applying it is going to be a royal pain to register. Then you need to burnish it down to prevent creeping of the paint between the shoe and the frisket. If it can be done, it is going to be very laborious. Also, this is a job for a vinyl cutter, not a laser.

Just my 2 cents.

[Glen Monaghan]

I agree, Doug, and I'm backing away from this. The customer wants a reusable stencil and had an example that probably was mylar, but it was too stiff for the compound curves, plus she wanted adhesive backing like a paper mask (not really reusable) or vinyl. I've told her that she probably needs something like one of the Oracal products that I found but really needs a vinyl cutter for that. I've thought about getting a vinyl cutter but never really had the business to support it and I don't really think this customer alone would make it worthwhile.

-Glen

[Doug Griffith]

I airbrushed hundreds of vacuum formed skins that form fit to the sides of Macintosh G4 computers. The compound curve was nowhere near that of a boot is but it was still a royal pain to apply the friskets. I had to put relief cuts in the carrier sheet just to get it to position correctly. I used a vinyl cutter. You'll be glad you passed on this job. She'd probably use you for her R&D.

[Greg Facer]

Funny,

As I read the discussion, thin vac formed pieces are the thing that came to mind. Of course, then it might need to be cut on a 5 axis laser (waterjet?), with different sizes on top of that! Although, you could probably make the forms from thin fiberglass in that case, molding right off the shoe.....needless to say, not a trivial problem to solve and would need money up front to solve it!