Recommended Sandblast Mask

[Peter Meacham]

Can anyone recommend sandblast material that they are satisfied with? I will be using it for wood signs, garden rocks and maybe marble or granite memorials.

Hartco has several thicknesses. Are there other brands available? What thickness do you recommend?

Thanks,
Pete

[Gary Hair]

I have never used Hartco, I have always used Anchor. The main reason is that Anchor is polyester based and safe to laser cut - not sure if Hartco is or not but I wasn't able to find out when I first started so I stuck with Anchor. The two that I use primarily are 116 and 117 - 116 is high tack and is suitable for deep carving on almost any substrate but you don't want to use it on bare wood or polished surfaces as it sticks VERY well to both, 117 is medium tack and works for anything polished or extremely smooth. I believe both are 33 mil, they will hold up to blasting as deep as you could ever want on almost any substrate. For glass I use Ikonics laser tape, it conforms to curves, lasers well and comes off with water.

Gary

[Peter Meacham]

Thanks Gary - what is your source for the Anchor products. The Ikonics site does not seem to list laser tape - they have rapid mask, is that the same?

[Joe Pelonio]

I agree completely with the Anchor and the thicknesses, same as Gary. I too have done many Redwood and Cedar signs and rocks. I buy at my local sign supply by the roll, but you can order it from them online and have it shipped. It's pretty heavy, though.

[Scott Shepherd]

The Ikonics site does not seem to list laser tape - they have rapid mask, is that the same?

No,Rapid Mask is not the same as laser tape. Rapid Mask is a completely different animal. The laser tape is different. It's listed here :

https://ikonicsimaging.com/wp/product/laser-tape/

[Gary Hair]

Thanks Gary - what is your source for the Anchor products. The Ikonics site does not seem to list laser tape - they have rapid mask, is that the same?

Sorry for the late reply. Someone else posted the link for the tape. I get my stencil from Pacific Coast Sign Supply in Portland, OR - but - you should source something closer, as already mentioned, it's heavy!

[Peter Meacham]

Thanks everyone for your inputs

[Chuck Stone]

If you're using a laser to cut the mask, I've had good luck with the medium
tack transfer tape, covered by Duck HP260. I blast marble, slate and granite
with it and it works well and is available locally. A bit more work than putting
on one wide piece of transfer tape, but much less costly than buying material
dedicated to that task. (I don't do enough to justify it) and I can still use
both materials for other things.