joe
09-27-2013, 08:35 AM
One of the common subjects is Masking and it's a tough one. I'd venture a guess there are more failures with this technique than any other. Lets take a quick look at the most common masking products available.
Most of the computer masks, bumper sticker stock, and re-moveable vinyls have a rubber cement adhesive as opposed to permanent acrylic glue. By using the more pliable rubber cement allows for easy removal. Unfortunately it looses it's gripping power on any surface that isn't slick. The more textured the surface the less grip. Another quality to all vinyl masks is it's rigid unlike it brother decal materials. Their different in pliability. Some manufactures vary in flexibility and strength but all in all, there completely different.
Lets take a latex painted piece of smooth acrylic, plexiglass. It's almost for sure to fail it the paint hasn't been sprayed on. If it's rolled on, with a standard Knapp roller there will be textured. The devilish thing is sometimes it will work. And if it doesn't you've lost time and money.
OK, OK, why not just use good old sticky vinyl that will adhere to anything? The answer is, it will pull the paint right off the panel when you're finished.
So here's the bottom line, it's a puzzle for all of us. What works one time is no guarantee it will work the next. So here's your best bet. The smoother and dryer the surface the better your chances.
A few years ago I needed to mask some rough lumber. For that I came up with the formula. Pour on rubber cement and squeegee it out. Be generous. Shopbotters often skimp, don't do it with this process. Let it set for a few minutes the roll on a coat of transfer mask, that's the premask used to transfer vinyl letters. It's a soft pliable paper with a thick rubber cement adhesive. The two glue's bond together. Once burnished down, hard, with a stiff bristle scrub brush you're ready to start routing. Because the lumber is real textured, nothing is going to get down in all those little fissures and cracks. The next step is to paint the lettering with the same color you painted the background. That will seal off the edges and cover the little dimples. Now you can start with your finished letter color.
This technique is the only one I know of on rough surfaces. It will not work on smooth stock.
Joe Crumley
Normansignco.com
Most of the computer masks, bumper sticker stock, and re-moveable vinyls have a rubber cement adhesive as opposed to permanent acrylic glue. By using the more pliable rubber cement allows for easy removal. Unfortunately it looses it's gripping power on any surface that isn't slick. The more textured the surface the less grip. Another quality to all vinyl masks is it's rigid unlike it brother decal materials. Their different in pliability. Some manufactures vary in flexibility and strength but all in all, there completely different.
Lets take a latex painted piece of smooth acrylic, plexiglass. It's almost for sure to fail it the paint hasn't been sprayed on. If it's rolled on, with a standard Knapp roller there will be textured. The devilish thing is sometimes it will work. And if it doesn't you've lost time and money.
OK, OK, why not just use good old sticky vinyl that will adhere to anything? The answer is, it will pull the paint right off the panel when you're finished.
So here's the bottom line, it's a puzzle for all of us. What works one time is no guarantee it will work the next. So here's your best bet. The smoother and dryer the surface the better your chances.
A few years ago I needed to mask some rough lumber. For that I came up with the formula. Pour on rubber cement and squeegee it out. Be generous. Shopbotters often skimp, don't do it with this process. Let it set for a few minutes the roll on a coat of transfer mask, that's the premask used to transfer vinyl letters. It's a soft pliable paper with a thick rubber cement adhesive. The two glue's bond together. Once burnished down, hard, with a stiff bristle scrub brush you're ready to start routing. Because the lumber is real textured, nothing is going to get down in all those little fissures and cracks. The next step is to paint the lettering with the same color you painted the background. That will seal off the edges and cover the little dimples. Now you can start with your finished letter color.
This technique is the only one I know of on rough surfaces. It will not work on smooth stock.
Joe Crumley
Normansignco.com