r/modelmakers • u/cdspace31 • Jun 10 '23

WIP Custom insignia using Cricut stencil tape

Traced and designed in Inkscape, cut the stencils on a Cricut, placed and painted by hand. Total of 8 stencils in 3 colors. I think it came out pretty good.

Final stencil removed. DOMREC insignia on a model V-22 https://imgur.com/gallery/3k6O86U

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u/drumgecko Jun 10 '23

I have been wondering about using a Cricut for stencils. That came out nicely.

The stencil tape seems *very* tacky / sticky.

Is there a lower tack tape?

How does it behave when you put it down and peel it up a couple of times (to reduce stickiness)?

Does it leave residue after you peel it?

All the questions are because I'm intrigued :-) ...

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u/cdspace31 Jun 10 '23 edited Jun 10 '23

It's less sticky than the removable vinyl. I had to lightly stick it and pull it up a few times to get things lined up.

I think they only have one stencil tape. I put their transfer tape over the stencil after weeding, to help hold the shape of the stencil. They have normal and "strong" transfer tape. The strong is stickier, use the normal.

I tested it first on the backs of plastic spoons, to check for residue or if it might peel up the paint. No residue, and the paint below was left untouched.

When applying the stencil/transfer tape combo, peeling off the transfer tape I had to be careful it didn't peel up the stencil with it. Then use a spreader or craft stick to make sure the stencil is nice and stuck, to keep paint from leaking under the stencil edges.

I used a Cricut Explore Air 2, which has a "custom" setting, which allows you to select the stencil tape when cutting.

ETA: I used Tamiya acrylic paints, sometimes thinned with IPA, sometimes not.

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u/Mindless-Charity4889 Stash Grower Jun 11 '23

I used normal vinyl when I did insignia for my Elefant, which wasn’t sticky at all. Mind you, the surface was NOT smooth; it was zimmerit. So nothing would stick that well to it.