Spray painting and stencil - dos and don'ts???

[Les Paul Lover]

I have wondered what kind of stencils work for sandblasting a finish.  You could get the equivalent of an etch in seconds without any kind of chemistry involved.  Scientific American used to carry ads for a very fine-grain sandblasting unit used in laboratories where you could cut a pattern into an egg shell or something similarly fragile and you could wield it like an airbrush.  It might not meet the resolution of the finest etches, but some things don't need it.

I would guess it wouldn't work / be worth the effort. You'd have to find materials of such solidity that working them to make your template would probably require a plasma cutter.......


I do like the idea though!!!!!

[amptramp]

I have wondered what kind of stencils work for sandblasting a finish.  You could get the equivalent of an etch in seconds without any kind of chemistry involved.  Scientific American used to carry ads for a very fine-grain sandblasting unit used in laboratories where you could cut a pattern into an egg shell or something similarly fragile and you could wield it like an airbrush.  It might not meet the resolution of the finest etches, but some things don't need it.

I would guess it wouldn't work / be worth the effort. You'd have to find materials of such solidity that working them to make your template would probably require a plasma cutter.......


I do like the idea though!!!!!

The stencil material I had in mind was thin rubber sheet of the kind used for tire patches in bicycles.  You don't need ultra hard materials if you have something resilient.  Construction paper or cardboard may be just as good.  If you don't need fine detail, it should work.  Also, etching is a process that works in all directions whereas sandblasting only goes in the direction the sand is moving, so you would not get any undercutting.  With fine enough sand, you would be able to do circuit boards and never undercut.  Nor would there be any chemical disposal issues.  If you like the artwork and want to build another enclosure like it, you may be able to reuse the stencil.

[Les Paul Lover]

Mmh. There goes my plan re: buying a plasma cutter..... Nevermind!

Very interesting though!!!

[Les Paul Lover]

As you might see the volume and drive symbol are not perfect towards the top. Especially the drive symbol.

On the drive side a couple of pinhead sized chips were taken away by lacquer that leaked underneath.
I'm still reasonably happy, and gonna clear coat it anyway
You can't see anything unless your nose is right on it, but I'd like to get the next couple of projects as perfect as can be, so please tell me if you think there's something else I could do better!!!

[Les Paul Lover]

Finally clear coated!  It makes  such a difference!
They're not perfect, but I'll never see it from stomping height, so not worried about it!!!!!!

You can see the mistakes a bit better in the picture above.

Another pedal below I'been working on  - hand painted - could you tell??? lol - that I clear coated at the same time.





After all the time it took to the the artwork, it's nice to finally have the enclosures done and ready to welcome the circuits!!!!!!