Masking

[joe]

Will there ever be a good answer? It's so painful thinking about the time, effort and failures associated with masks.

All masks are time and temp sensitive.
The smoother the surface the better a mask will stick.
Masks come in different tack.
Some masks are so aggressive they will remove surface paint.
Masks left on for days may become impossible to remove.
What works today is no guarantee.

Joe

[Designer]

You have peaked my interest. I have just started making plaques that I am painting the carved areas. I sand, carve, coat with polyurethane, paint, sand high surfaces, and polyurethane to finish. I am interested in the mask you spoke of. I'm not sure what the mask is. Would you add a few details to help me out.

Thanks

Phil

[zeykr]

A quick search for 'masking' will turn up lots of information

[joe]

Excellent work Ken. Wish you were closer so we could visit.

Phill,

I'd like to assist with your masking but a photo or two would be helpful. Masking is such a dicey business it's best to take a look.

Like Ken suggests there's lots of information on the forum. One of these is my use of Rubber Cement as an underlayment, prior to applying the mask. The advantage is it will go over just about any surface and won't pick up, or remove paint. A few years ago I posted this under "Dr. Crumley's Rootin Tootin Snake Oil Mask". That was during a period when I needed to V Carve and gild rough cedar. While it wasn't perfect there wasn't a better method I could find.

Lets see what you've got.

Joe

[Designer]

I have a new design that I am making for a local high school. The picture if from Aspire. It is simple but most likely a good place to start.

Thanks for the help.

Phil27682

[knight_toolworks]

I don't really do much painting so have not needed to use mask. but I have wondered about using a drag knife around the letters to cut it instead of relying on a bit to cut it. anyone try this?

[joe]

For the life of me this doesn't look like a router job...........

Of course without knowing if these figures are 8' tall or 8" high it's impossible to suggest finishing techniques or masking methods. Lets say the panel is 4' wide and 2' tall. If that's the case the small detail in the players faces would be difficult to maintain. If this was mine to do, I'd mask the panel and have it lazer rendered. You could then peal away parts of the mask and paint the orange area's. Sandblasting would also do a nice job but that's a different process all together.

In the future, when seeking advice on projects, I'd suggest you include a sized drawing. Also let us know the substrate options.

I'm in this business to make MONEY. Most of the work is priced by the square foot. That starts at $125. per square with a base price of $300.

Joe

[Designer]

Sorry for the late response, but I've been under the weather for a while.

Thanks for the advice. The size will be 12 x 30 inches for the total sign.

I agree about this being a job for a laser. If I was not doing this one for a local high school at no cost I would send it to a laser shop.

I usually use my CNC to either do carvings of various types for my products or machine wood pieces for a customer. I have painted some of the carvings that have letters, but don't have a picture that I can share at this time (I regret not taking any).

I hope to get to your pricing structure in the future; however, I am currently struggling to start my business (i.e. get known in the area) at this time. I still have not found a good market niche, but I'll keep searching.

[RossMosh]

I'm not a skilled painter. I count on my masking to stick and stick well. As a result, when I find a paint that works, I try my best to stick with it. When I find a paint that doesn't work well, I curse at it and swear it off.

Based on Joe's recommendations I can 100% get behind the use of Nova Color paints and PPG DTM paints. When applied with my HVLP gun "properly" I find the mask sticks very well. I recommend not going under 1.5" letters. You'll get a failure at some point. There's a reason why most sign shops do letters that small in cast vinyl on their plotter.

[David Iannone]

I'm working on two of these today. They are sprayed with an automotive grade catalyzed paint. We use Gerber white paint mask, use an Onsrud 63-710 1/8" Solid Carbide One Flute Upcut O Flute to climb cut the outline and get in the tight spaces at 1.5ips then use a larger bit to hog out the flat bottom. This is 2" thick HDU we are cutting today. As Joe said with masking and removal if you let it sit for too many days it can be a problem. Once the sign is masked we cut it and paint it within 1 day and peel the mask. It takes a lot of trial and error. But once you find the paint you like, defiantly stick with that.

Dave