Overall, the decision to use a sandblasting stencil is the easiest part of the sandblasting process. A high-quality sandblasting stencil allows you to bring your design to life no matter what surface you choose to etch on, and you’ll always be amazed at how accurate sandblasting can be given how messy the process can seem. Your stencil is the key to the whole enterprise, so it’s important to make sure that you’ve got the right sandblasting stencil for your application.
When you’re faced with a solid surface such as metal, glass or stone and you want to etch or engrave your design directly on there by sandblasting, you’re going to need to reach for your sandblasting stencil. This is a piece of specialized film that you can cut either by hand or with a plotter (or even with a laser using modern digital technology) with whatever design you and your team can come up with. Sandblasting stencils come in standard size rolls which allows you to maintain a standard height for your designs, while making it easy to plot and cut repeated designs with the same stencil roll.
Once your stencil is ready, you then adhere it to the surface, prep the room and any part of the target surface that you don’t etch, and switch on the sandblasting machine as normal. The sandblasting material will quickly scrape away the surface where there are gaps in your stencil, reducing any guesswork and allowing you to work quickly and efficiently. Then when you’re done, all you must do is peel away your sandblasting stencil and admire your new design.
As with all design decisions, you have a key choice to make when you’re looking at your sandblasting stencil: single or double liner. To understand the choice that you’re making, it’s important to know what you’re getting each type of sandblasting stencil. A single liner stencil is the type of stencil you use during a single processing project.
In the world of sandblasting, single processing is where you will create your unique stencil, and then pick out the pieces that you need all in one go. You can then choose a flat or v-shaped groove finish for each part of the exposed design before removing the rest of the single liner stencil and finishing your project. This is the most common form of sandblasting stencil as you only need to complete one round of sandblasting, and it’s ideal when you have more simplistic designs to work with.
The other option when you’re looking for the best sandblasting mask for your application is a double liner stencil. Like the name suggests, a double liner stencil has an extra liner compared to the single liner stencil, and what this liner is best for is double processing
As the name suggests, double processing is where you complete two different steps of sandblasting. Double processing is typically performed when you need a deeper cut and/or a more refined finish. An initial round of sandblasting can be used to create a background effect, often wider than your specific target area, and the second round of sandblasting can be performed to add fine details. Double processing requires a double liner stencil which means you’ll be able to remove it after the first round of sandblasting, complete your finishing touches, and then reapply it with glue for the second round of sandblasting. You’ll usually find double processing and a double liner stencil to be the tool of choice when you have a larger and more complex design such as intricate lettering or floral patterns. The process takes longer due to the detailed nature of your design, but you can also get a tighter finish than with a single liner stencil.
It can be hard to know which sandblasting stencil to use on your project but fortunately help is at hand here at U-Blast. Our team of sandblasting experts value the customer relationship over anything else, so we’ll spend time with you talking about your business and your sandblasting projects to help you find the right products from our range. No matter whether you’re working with our single or double liners, you’ll find that all our products work with machines utilizing IBM tractor-feed holes, Gerber sprocket-fed holes, or flat-bed and friction feed plotters, so you’ll be able to get to work as soon as your liner arrives.