Why Rubber Sandblast Stencils are the Key to Clean, Accurate Designs

When you’re looking to etch or engrave your design onto a hard-wearing surface, such as metal, glass or stone, you’re always going to be looking for clean and accurate designs. This is because using the sandblasting process, you can’t afford to make any mistakes – once you’ve made a mark on these surfaces, it’s almost impossible to fill it back in to start again. It’s important therefore to make sure that you have something you trust to protect the areas that you don’t want to be affected by sandblasting that will be durable, flexible and produce high quality results. In the industry, this is known as a rubber sandblast stencil.

How does Sandblasting Work?

To understand the importance of a sandblasting stencil, you need to know how sandblasting works when it comes to engraving your design onto glass, metal and stone. For an untrained eye, sandblasting can look like an imprecise art form, as it involves spraying a hard surface with a steady stream of small media material to achieve a particular goal. The media used will depend on the surface that you’re sandblasting with “sand” referring to the small size of the material rather than sand itself. The projectiles are fired at high speed through a tube which can be handheld, or machine operated and quickly erodes the surface layers of the target material until the sandblaster is turned off.

What is a Sandblasting Stencil?

With that image of high-speed tiny projectiles being thrown at a hard surface, it’s easy to see why you need a way of targeting this spray when you’re doing more than just creating smooth surfaces and edges. This is where a rubber sandblasting stencil comes into play. Just like a stencil for spray painting or drawing, a sandblasting stencil sits on top of your target surface and protects it from being blasted. The gaps in your stencil are the only parts of the surface that will be worn away during the sandblasting process, while everything under the stencil will look as it did at the start of the process. Once you’ve achieved your target depth for your design, you simply peel the rubber sandblasting stencil away for a clean and accurate finish on your project.

How Rubber Sandblasting Stencils Make Clean and Accurate Designs

When it comes to sandblasting stencils, there are only so many materials that will give you the right protection to create clean and accurate designs every time. Here is why you should pick rubber for your high-quality sandblasting stencil:

• Sturdy – the primary reason why rubber is one of the most popular choices for sandblasting stencil is that it is hardly enough to stand up to the high-speed projectiles being hurled at it. Even a thin layer of rubber as one of the layers of your stencil roll will protect your target surface and make sure you get a clean and accurate look every time.
  Flexible – rubber also has the benefit of being a flexible material, and this means that it will withstand numerous cuts and incisions as you create your perfect design. Even the most intricate patterns, which usually involve a combination of letters and numbers, can be cut as the strength of rubber means that it will keep its shape no matter how close the spaces in your stencil design.
  Easy application – finally, the combination of sturdiness and flexibility means that rubber sandblasting stencils are easy to apply to just about any surface. This is a great feature particularly when you’re working with stone which is notorious for having unsmooth sections in what initially looks to be a perfect surface. You’ll also find that rubber sandblasting stencils are lightweight which makes them easy to adhere to your surface meaning they won’t slip around during the sandblasting process.

Working with Professionals

When you’re looking to get your hands on the right rubber sandblasting stencils for your upcoming project, it makes sense to connect with our team of sandblasting experts here at U-Blast. We have four central pillars of our approach to our customers: quality, consistency, authenticity and transparency. When combined, these four traits mean that you’ll always get the best quality product for your budget, and we will always be upfront with you about costs, timings and product quality so there are no hidden surprises, and everyone knows what they’re getting. This commitment to providing you with exactly what you need for your sandblasting project is what brings customers back again and again to U-Blast.