Stencilling Trick

NDT · Jul 14, 2015

For years I have been stencilling using an aerosol can, always battling the inevitable spray-under that makes the letters look like crap. Well today my paint crew taught this dog a new trick: use a roller! Turned out better than anything I have ever done.

Storm 51 · Jul 14, 2015

Thanks! That is very helpful to know. I've been doing a lot of stenciling lately (warm summer weather) and the under spray can cause a lot of "do-overs" which are aggravating.

I'll try rolling next time (probably this weekend).

ODFever · Jul 14, 2015

Great idea!!

Another advantage to using rollers is that you can use low/no VOC paint, and you can avoid the discomfort of wearing a respirator. (I ALWAYS wear a NIOSH certified dual filter respirator when I use aerosol paints.)

Mike929 · Jul 14, 2015

Thanks, that is a great idea

swbradley1 · Jul 14, 2015

Junkyard Wars Crusher told me about a few years back. Never tried it though.

Looks good. My under spray looks like crap......

Coffey1 · Jul 14, 2015

What I did and worked great was I bought vinyl stick on letters
Painted some black first then put letters on then sprayed over letters with earth brown then peeled letters off.

zebedee · Jul 14, 2015

NDT said:
........ a new trick: use a roller! Turned out better than anything I have ever done.

........ and probably better than they were ever done in the military (??).
I thought over/under spray was more authentic, especially in a combat theatre? Unless of course they were done freehand with a brush.

Clarification required.

sigo · Jul 14, 2015

zebedee said:
........ and probably better than they were ever done in the military (??).
I thought over/under spray was more authentic, especially in a combat theatre? Unless of course they were done freehand with a brush.

Clarification required.

We covered up all the bumper numbers on our combat vehicles to make it harder for the enemy to track any inadvertent patterns in our movements. If you want to make bumper numbers authentic for the Iraq theater just put two or three parallel strips of OD duct tape on each end of your bumpers. :-D

Also yes... over/underspray is common on motorpool painted bumper numbers.

Artisan · Jul 14, 2015

I have been employing tiny magnets trying to
hold things down.

M813rc · Jul 15, 2015

Sounds better than what I do.
I know people have looked at me and wondered what form of witchcraft I was performing, with the chopsticks duct-taped to my fingers (to hold down bulgy parts of the stencil while I spray).

Cheers

tim292stro · Jul 15, 2015

Rolling, awesome - hadn't thought of that. I was going to see if DrEvilPorkchop would cut stencils in magnetic sheeting...

WillWagner · Jul 17, 2015

This stuff works good too.

3m Repositioning Adhesive

U-Line makes some similar to the above

CARNAC · Jul 17, 2015

If it is too neat, it won't look real. Remember, it is the freshly achieved rank of E2 that was performing this task after duty hours or on a weekend. He achieved his rank the normal way, by getting an article 15 and being busted.

Let's not forget the quickest way to make E6 in Germany was to go there as an E7.

swbradley1 · Jul 17, 2015

Funny CARNAC. That same E2 is the one who painted the rest of the truck with a mop.

mkcoen · Jul 17, 2015

swbradley1 said:
Funny CARNAC. That same E2 is the one who painted the rest of the truck with a mop.

My dad said in the '50s every 6 months they were handed a bucket and brush and told to paint the motorpool...not the building just the motorpool.

frank8003 · Jul 17, 2015

use a roller
Always something wonderful on SS............................

Storm 51 · Jul 17, 2015

CARNAC, you and mkcoen are absolutely correct!

That is how I remember it from when I was in the Army (Uncle Sam's Daycare)

Warren Lovell · Jul 11, 2018

Has anyone seen a restored P51 Mustang? They NEVER looked like that in the theater of operations in WW2. I can appreciate a vehicle that has not been over restored. I am guilty of this...and it is a hard trait to break, going from collector vehicles to mil vehicles. My uncle was in the US Army in WW2 in Guadalcanal. He told me the would flip a jeep on its side to work under it. Painting was done with a mop or brush in a pinch.

snowtrac nome · Jul 11, 2018

The tcn's we had working on post in Korea, used to use sponges cut in to cubes for stenciling, it worked great with a thicker mix of paint

Stencilling Trick

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