# Best Stencil Technique



## braille (Apr 16, 2007)

A friend of a friend came up with this:
Cardboard, while cheap, plentiful and classic, has its drawbacks.
It's hard to do detail, it gets soggy, gets creases, etc. etc.
cardstock is better, but still fibrous and subject to the elements.

Solution:
go acquire some of those acetate "for sale" (or better yet, "no trespassing") signs. design your stencil on the back w/ sharpie/ whatever.
go acquire a soldering iron with a fine tip, ideally one suited for small electronics.
plug it in, get it good and hot. go over the lines on the acetate with the soldering iron, being careful to remove the goop that will accumulate on the leading edge.

now you have a durable, thin, extremely detailed, infinitely reusable and tube-able stencil. go have fun.


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## 5ifth (Apr 16, 2007)

i like to design mine with illustrator, for those nice crisp vector lines
but no matter how good the design - doesn't matter if it is cut it up sloppily
i print mine out on a regular 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper
tape that paper down to some kind of cardstock - but not too thick

i like manilla folders best, the kind of board on a cereal box is ok, alittle thick though
stuff from the post office will work well (free blank stickers there too, once you cut off the red and blue us mail stuff from the to/from stickers)

a sharp x-acto knife is key to cutting out the design. some patience and BO! you got a nice stencil
a good trick too for a real nice clean look - and also especially helpfull if its a more intricate design - is to spray the back of the stencil with an adhesive spray. then stick it to the surface that you are stenciling, and peel off when done. it will stay sticky for a little while too
i like to keep mine in a folder so they stay flat and pieces dont get ripped off
spray paint with a long sleeve shirt as you can easily hide the can in your sleeve

also cool: moss graffitti
http://www.storiesfromspace.co.uk/data/ ... ffiti.html

Post edited by: 5ifth, at: 2007/04/16 20:10


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## braille (Apr 16, 2007)

wow, that moss stuff is crazy!
hmm.. I wonder if I could print something out on one of those signs...


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## bananathrash (Apr 16, 2007)

i tape vinyl, cut the tape into what i want, and smack it on a window screen.


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## Kendall (Apr 17, 2007)

just draw your design, laminate it, then cut it out. It lasts a lot longer.


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## xmattx (Apr 17, 2007)

i used to use old xray sheets. i never had a problem, and if you can present yourself right, the technicians have no problem handing over as many as you need.


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## danvan (Apr 19, 2007)

i was blessed with massive meter long rolls of acetate from a dumpster

that works fantasticly 

other than that x rays work just as well like matt said and if you say something like you are useing them for an art project (your not even really lieing) then your sure to be able to score heaps of em


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## Bendixontherails (Apr 19, 2007)

*Widerstand wrote:*


> put your stencil in the bottom of the bag along with the spray paint then you can just set your bag down and reach into it (as if your getting something) but your painting and then you pick it up and go!



that's awesome! i gotta try that.

and hey, if you want a small spray can to be more covert, take one of the small pump bottles they make for spraying olive oil over a salad. they pump up, and then spray without propellant. it rocks. you just use any paint from a non spray can and water the paint down a little bit. easy peasy. and it's quieter.


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## CaseyCatastrophe (Apr 19, 2007)

This thread is bomb. B)


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## Crazycoon (May 6, 2007)

Wow wheat paste and ordinary paint in a spray bottle... Im in heaven!!!


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## Crazycoon (May 6, 2007)

Wow wheat paste and ordinary paint in a spray bottle... Im in heaven!!!


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## Crazycoon (May 6, 2007)

Wow wheat paste and ordinary paint in a spray bottle... Im in heaven!!!


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## FrumpyWatkins (May 6, 2007)

*Crazycoon wrote:*


> Wow wheat paste and ordinary paint in a spray bottle... Im in heaven!!!



He was so excited he triple posted!


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## Crazycoon (May 6, 2007)

oops I dunno how that happens


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## iago (May 6, 2007)

there are these sodering iron like things that are made for making plastic stencils. i use transparency film or paper what ever but it cuts extremely thin lines but if you use them to much the lines get clogged and shit.

Post edited by: iago, at: 2007/05/06 14:22


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## Bendixontherails (May 6, 2007)

I tried the shopping bag trick today. awesome. I am making a mod though, so it's super-stealth. 

since my stencil is made outta thick 'no trespass' sign, imma use a roller. 

im workin on a paint pan for the roller out of a halved pvc pipe, setting in the bottom of the bag.

silent, but deadly.:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:


OH... or maybe just a big paintbrush in a cup of paint...

Post edited by: Bendixontherails, at: 2007/05/06 14:32


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## Clit Comander (May 7, 2007)

i ussually, just dumpster dive for cardboard, but thats a great idea, would a wood burnner work?


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## Kendall (May 7, 2007)

For big sidewalk/road pieces I read somewhere about getting 3+ people, one in front, one at the end, and however many doing the painting (with roller brushes or spray cans.) 

You roll the stencil out, and the painters start painting as soon as they can. The person who rolled it out rolls it back up from their end as soon as the painters get done with each letter/part of the picture.

A lot of work could get done really quickly. 

Hypothetically of course.


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## Clit Comander (May 7, 2007)

oh yea hypithetical


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## Clit Comander (May 7, 2007)

oh yeah and my buddies got ticketed once for stealing signs like those so be careful


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## Bendixontherails (May 7, 2007)

ok. scratch my roller idea. spilled shit everywhere and drew TONS of attention. i'll stick with the basics. it's hard to fuck up a rattlecan


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## Bathtub666 (May 8, 2007)

does anyone have any tips on good site for stencils?


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## Kendall (May 8, 2007)

*Bathtub666 wrote:*


> does anyone have any tips on good site for stencils?



http://www.stencilrevolution.com/


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## Dylan Seagull (Feb 14, 2010)

This thread is really old but nobody has mentioned the way that i make patches so ill explain. Its very easy and you can get into great detail.

1. First a great website for getting patches is http://stencilpunks.mattrunningnaked.com/

2. Get your self some Duck cloth, you can get it at most wal-marts and all craft stores. 

3. Some blue painters tape the more expensive kind, dont worry you can steal all this shit really easy. 

4. You need a exacto knife.

5.And some fabric paint. 

1. All you have to do is, Print out, or draw a image you want to make into a patch.
2. Cut your fabric into the size that you want your patch.
3. Place your fabric on a hard surface.
4. Cover the fabric completely with the painters tape horizontally, over lap the tape just a little, and use enough tape that you tape it to your surface your using. 
5. Run your hand over the tape a couple times, make sure the tape is good and stuck. (that's why you use the better tape cause the cheap stuff doesn't stick good)
6. Then place your image over the tape however you want it to look when its finally complete.
7. Tape down the size of the image.
8. Now cut out all the spots you want to fill with paint. For example.
If your making a white patch on black fabric then cut out all the spots that are you want to fill with white paint. ( dont press down to hard you just want it to go through the paper and tape.)
9. Once down take off the paper and you just have your tape with the cuts into it, peel off all the cut out pieces and you will see the fabric underneath. 
10. Then just cover it with paint 1 or 2 times and then when dry peel back all the tape and BAM! you have a nice looking patch.

It does take a little while to get good at but once you get it down you can make patches in no time and there really easy. 

If you want to look at some of the patches i have made here is the link to my myspace, under pictures i have a d.i.y. album with patches. www.myspace.com/dsiegel

I hope this helps someone


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## PFAT (Feb 15, 2010)

Transparancies for overhead projectors work the best i think. it's super easy to cut too because you just have to tape your design to one side and you can see it to cut it out and they're fairly durable.. once you use it the paint makes it a bit more sturdy too.

Haha that bag idea was on Bomb the System.
Love that movie.


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## trotsky (Feb 21, 2010)

Lacquering thin cardboard works too. Cheap/easy enough but still lasts.


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