Cutting V carved letters with conform tape attached...

[nick]

Hi Guys,

Here's my story...using HDU 3/4".

Did 2 coats of primer, light sand and 2 coats of base paint sanded after each coat.

I applied conform tape...medium tack. pressed firmly to the substrate.

Used a 1.25" 90 deg V bit with letters 2.5" high.

Dust collector off.

The points around the letters with sharp corners started to peal up and off teh HDU.

What is the trick to V carving with tape on the material?

PS...RPM 15000, speed 1"/sec.

Any help / tricks would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[jhicks]

Nick, depending on the art it may continue to be difficult to get perfect adhesion on acute corner angles BUT you should do well enough to simply replace and razor off any edges of the patched up vinyl mask at worst case after V carving and before next color coat.
Joe Crumley posted some interesting techniques on using rubber cement but I have never tried it as a mask. Joe does some tricky techniques and i'm sure it works if he says it does.
The one requirement for sure is a very sharp bit. Then you get high tack mask or vinyl brayer it down very hard, paste wax the vinyl to avoid paint adhesion in the well of the V carved letter, let paste wax dry 15 minutes, cut, paint then lightly sand the top on the surface to break the edges at the vinyl/wax surface/V font edges, remove the mask and you should do well.
What kind of paint? was it dry? acrylic latex paint just doesnt make it for me any more. maybe try one shot or other catalyzed paint finishes.

[nick]

Hi Jerry, i've seen a post which he describes to use rubber cement, so I tried it and it worked pretty well...only thing is that I used latex flat interior / exterior for the lettering bought at lowes...and I see why you don't like it.

OK...I'll get the oneshot for the lettering. Should this be sprayed or brushed?

PS...can i use the latex flat paint for the base coat or does this need to be enamel also.