Masking material for bead blasting

P

pso

Joined
Oct 29, 1998
Messages
494
Has anyone successfully masked off an item before glass bead blasting? If so, what worked for you? I want to put a polish on a blade then apply a bead blast finish to parts of it for decorative purposes. Thanks.

Phil
 
Two layers of masking tape will do it. It was "popular" in the 80's to create fake hamon during the tanto craze by wrapping the blade in two layers of masking tape, then carve with an exacto blade, remove some of the tape, and bead-blast the polished knife to simulate a hardening line. Somewhat tacky in retrospect, but I have one in my collection. :)
 
Will the sheets of self-adhesive label material meant for use in printers work? I want a fairly sharply defined edge. Would the masking tape allow this? Thanks again.

Phil
 
According to everything I've read, vinyl masking material from a signwriter's shop works well for detailed masking during glass abrasive blasting.

I haven't come across any over here, so I use masking tape when I'm playing with glass. It stands up to quite a lot, as it absorbs a lot of the energy of the particles. Soon gets raggedy, however. Book covering film works adequately, too.

HTH

Peter
 
I found the best thing that I have used has been a 3M product called "Platers tape" it's a thick vinyl based tape, with a very sticky adhesive. I have used the signmakers vinyl but found that with any thin detail the adhesive was not strong enough to keep it from lifting and "fogging". The platers tape sticks very well and gives a nice crisp line... BTW it;s bright yellow and easy to lay out..

Good Luck!
Alan Folts
 
I wonder how well a bumper sticker would work?
Fairly thick...it's vinyl isn't it. They stick like a s.o.b.(ever try to get one off a bumper?)
Also wouldn't contact paper work? Cheap and readily available.
If anyone tries the contact paper or the bumper sticker route let us know your results!

I picked up a few stickers at a local tourist info booth. (2003 Humboldt County Fair August 7-17)
I also got a few 4x6 inch refer magnets that had some advertisements on them too.
 
You can also cut paper stencils and just lay it over the piece which is placed on a piece of scrap wood. Then use push pins to hold the stencil in place. Works for me although they don't last too long. Try cutting back on the pressure if the thing is getting blasted to smithereens.

Pretty much any sticker or tape will work but it's hard to get organic looking designs with them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top