Stencil cleaning question

[Nathan House]

Hi
I recently got some stencils,my question is after use,do you clean the stencil with neutralyte or acetone,etc ???
Thanks for any input.
Nathan

 

[southriv]

The folks at IMG, who are very particular, (good people) told me to use warm water, though I first clean the stencil with neutralite, then do the warm water. They also said to dry it between pieces of wax paper and store at room temp in a dark place.

I initially had a problem with stencils cracking & they think it was my not doing the warm water wash and then storing them at 50 degrees. At any rate, since the stencils are not that expensive . I do 3 or 4 knives at once and then move onto a new stencil for the next batch.

Bob

 

[Nathan House]

Bob
Thanks for the input,You are right Pat and Bruce at IMG are very nice people and they go out of there way to get what you need.
Thanks Nathan

 

[Rene E. Roy]

Nathan,
Here is my 2 cents. I clean my stencils with neutralite and then I put them in warm water in a ultrasonic machine for dentures that I bought at a thrift store for 2 dollars. Then come out perfectly clean. I have been able to use the same stencils for 10-15 knives with no problems.
As for what Bob said, I also had problems with my stencils cracking, and I called IMG and they asked me where I was storing my stencils and I told them in my shop, which is a Garage. They told me that the cold weather was making the stencils brittle and to soak them in warm water before I used them, and that stopped the cracking.

Originally posted by southriv
The folks at IMG, who are very particular, (good people) told me to use warm water, though I first clean the stencil with neutralite, then do the warm water. They also said to dry it between pieces of wax paper and store at room temp in a dark place.

I initially had a problem with stencils cracking & they think it was my not doing the warm water wash and then storing them at 50 degrees. At any rate, since the stencils are not that expensive . I do 3 or 4 knives at once and then move onto a new stencil for the next batch.

Bob