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View Full Version : making stencils... what kind of material....



Carol VanArnam
05-16-2007, 10:38 PM
Hey guys I have a big job if I can figure out how to do it.... I have a lady she wants me to paint 400 appartment numbers on the curbs in the area. I need to make a stencil so the numbers can be spray painted. Each appartment number is 3 digit and will be about 6 inches high.

any ideas what kind of material i should use to cut the stencils out of?
should i make 400 different stencils or should i make numbers and tape them together?

any ideas on prices i should charge for the stencil and the paint jobs (all 400 of them)....

thanks guys for the help

Mike Null
05-16-2007, 11:08 PM
I would get some mylar--about 12 to 15 mil. Laser cut 3 sets of numbers 0-9 and make a holder so you can position them but still change each number.

Nancy Laird
05-16-2007, 11:13 PM
Carol, the person we bought our M-360 from was using some polypropylene which he bought at McMaster-Carr. He was cutting stencils for a company in Arkansas and apparently was having great success with it. It's somewhat flexible and about 1/16" thick, comes in 12x24" sheets and it is a translucent "off-white" color.

Mind you, I am not recommending this, as I have not done anything with it and don't know how it would work for your application, but it's a place to start.

Also, most stencils for painting that I've seen are cut from a card stock-weight material (remember the stencils we used to use in school??). They had little indexing dots across the top of each line of letters. You could cut individual numbers with the indexing dots so whoever was doing the painting could just pick out the three numbers needed, index and clip them together, lay them on the curb or door, and spray away.

Of course you would need at least three sets of numbers, so the number "333" could be done at one time.

Just some initial thoughts.

Edit: I also agree with Mike's suggestion of the mylar.

Nancy

Mike Hood
05-16-2007, 11:51 PM
If you make them with enough overlap, you can rearrange them as necessary, and use steel spring paper clamps to hold them together. Smartly placed alignment holes will help get them evenly spaced. Mylar is cheap and easy to work with.

Carol VanArnam
05-17-2007, 12:23 AM
I'll have to look up mylar and see what it looks like and where I can buy it. I love your ideas about clamping and index holes. You all are the BEST! It's like you are my laser family....

If anyone has any other ideas they would be appreciated....

Rodne Gold
05-17-2007, 3:03 AM
We use 1mm thick styrene to make stencils.
One thing you have to consider is kerning (spacing between letters).
I do NOT recommend spraying thru stencils for a few reasons , namely the fact that spray is thin and drips down the back of the stencil and you have to make the overlaps big to stop overspray.
The best way to apply the paints is with a round stippling brush (a brush with the bristles cut off ) as this solves a lot of paint run problems and the borders around the letter/nos can be made much smaller , if they are too big , you might not be able to position the numbers were you want em cos of interference from the overspray borders.

Mike Null
05-17-2007, 6:26 AM
http://www.customcutstencilco.com/machine.htm

Joe Pelonio
05-17-2007, 8:11 AM
These are going to be one-time use stencils, so why spend a lot of money? I make them all the time using polytag, the coated card stock often used for screenprinted political signs. Cuts fast and actually holds up over several paint applications, and is cheap. I pay .49 ea for 14"x22" sheets at my local sign supply.