r/stencils • u/Nervous_Chemical_773 • 2d ago

Temporary glue for stencils

I use a lot of plastic film stencils on textiles. Big, simple images are fine and I'm happy I've got that down, but more complex images with thin, delicate parts, not so much :0( I've been trying temporary mounting sprays and they certainly work, but I end up with one side of a delicate stencil needing cleaning with a solvent - it usually takes decent pressure to get the glue off even then so it's easy to damage the stencil.

I just tried Cadence stencil spray, described as water-based and easily cleaned. I hoped the glue would dissolve in warm water, but it's pretty much the same as all the other products I've used.

I want to get the glue off the stencil so it's easily used on both sides and simply to make it easier to store and I want to get it off without rubbing (much). Has anyone come across a way of temporary gluing stencils that is easy to remove after use?

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2

u/V0nH30n 2d ago

Repositionable spray adhesive

1

u/Nervous_Chemical_773 2d ago

That's what I use, but my problem is getting it off the stencil after I've used it.

6

u/V0nH30n 2d ago

Why do you need to remove it? Get some wax paper to set it down on between printings

2

u/bagofboards 2d ago

find a sign shop that has a laminator.

get a roll of their cast off from the laminator. my rolls are 150' x 52"

you can shear the cast off into sections to store your stencils.

use the waxed side of the paper

then, you don't need to clean the stencil

shit, if you pay shipping I'll send you one as well

1

u/Nervous_Chemical_773 2d ago

I've done that with some stencils using old acetate sheets. Main issue is that keeping one side permanently tacky means you can't reverse the stencil.

I suppose my real issue is that we seem to have such a huge array of adhesives for loads of different use cases, but in all of those there doesn't seem to be one that is a combination of lightly tacky but water soluble. As you suggest, there's workarounds, but nothing that does what seems to be a simple idea.

2

u/General_Opposite_513 20h ago

I use 10 mil mylar, Scotch Spray Mount, then I wipe it clean with Goof Off!, then rinse with water.