[zimba43]

Hi All,
When making V carve signs I stain the timber first then mask the area to be routed then v carve through the masking which makes painting the letters relatively easy. The hitch is finding the right type of masking tape, the problem is that most seem to tear rather than cut a neat line which leads to bleed of the paint. If I use a stronger adhesive tape they either leave a residue or peel off the stain or both. Can anyone recomend a suitable masking material please?:

[Stewey]

Signmask of assorted types, from signwriting suppliers ?

[zimba43]

Stewey,
Thanks for that, I'm on to a supplier to get various samples and see which works for me. Cheers,
Zimba.

[Pplug]

Try sign vinyl from US Cutter or such. it comes in many sized roles and is easy to apply and remove. I use it at my middle school with the kids and as long as you do not apply paint heavy you might not have to seal it! You can also spray paint the surface before you carve and you will get the surface one color and the grooves another.

[Joe Crumley]

There's a step by step on the topic of masking rough cedar on 3D Sign Forum | A School for Dimensional Sign Artists. The standard masking vinyls can't be used on rough or textured surfaces.

[kingston123]

I was search your question in Google and found this url.
google.com/patents/US5292402
I hope this will be useful for you and here you can find the suitable masking material.

[vwhotrod]

thinned down plastidip, it will peel off easily and leave no residue

[mlk1950]

I use OraMask 813. I buy it from OraMASK 813 Stencil Film - 24 inch x 50 yds - Sign Supplies and Equipment. Been using it for years and works great.

http://mikeswoodsigns.com/