Laser Cut Mylar Stencils

[@DavZell]

Regarding overspray, you can minimize it by spraying the back of the stencil with with removable (also called repositionable) adhesive.

[@SteveMakesEverything]

Sure that could work. You could always just put a bit of weight of the stencil too in order to make sue it is flat of the surface before spraying

[@ruftime]

Thanks Steve! I cut airbrush stencils of all sorts out of .5mm acrylic and quick one-time use stencils for painting rc planes/boats out of scrap paper and spray adhesive😎

[@SteveMakesEverything]

As I noted in another comment, anything that you can cut a hole in will work fine. Acrylic would be great if you want to make many copies but it's probably cost-prohibitive if you are making just one of something. Card stock is as cheap as dirt and cardboard is free.

[@ChrisEllerby]

To prevent paint leaking/spraying under the edges of your sencil you can first hit each one with a coat of matte clear coat, this will seal the edges, and if it leaks, it'll be clear.

[@SteveMakesEverything]

Excelent tip!

[@64ssmalibu]

Awesome as always, hope your doing well and bunnies is good.

[@SteveMakesEverything]

All good

[@dirty_harry7822]

Thanks for this video Steve. I have some 7.5mil (190 micron) mylar sheets I was wanting to make some stencils with. Would you have any idea what laser power I would need to cut through his material quickly and effectively?

[@SteveMakesEverything]

Power settings depend very much on the laser, but Mylar cuts pretty clean and easy so I would say start with about 50% power and reasonably fast speed

[@TheWeekendMedic]

Sweet video - any tips on making a stencil that is larger than the bed of the laser? I suspect I'll need to cut it in pieces, then connect the pieces, looking for ideas on getting the registration right so the parts line up (48x48" stencil on a 17x17" laser) Thanks!

[@SteveMakesEverything]

If you have a diode laser, you could just move the material around under the laser. Add a few non-engraved targets to help with alignment if it's critical.

[@millemajart]

Thank you for this video. I am considering buying a Longer Ray 5 20w. But i have doubts about of it is a diode laser you use or a CO2? Hope you can clear that up for me thanks

[@SteveMakesEverything]

For making stencils you can use either a diode or CO2 laser. Mylar or laser-safe plastics are very easy to cut. The Ray 5 is a great entry level laser. It’s a bit old-school, but they are sturdy and usually problem-free

[@sabrinabradley5010]

Mr. Steve, this was a wonderful video! Thank you so much for sharing your time and knowledge. The Jig awesome idea!

[@SteveMakesEverything]

Happy to help

[@fitguy6288]

Great inspiration thanks Steve!

[@SteveMakesEverything]

Thanks. Hopefully it’s a new useful tool for you as well

[@richardroebuck1915]

Any issues with toxic fumes when cutting mylar? I know there are certain materials to avoid such as PVC but not sure about mylar

[@SteveMakesEverything]

No, there's no chlorine or fluorine in Mylar so you can cut it safely (vent is still recommended/required though)

[@yolandaruiz9435]

I would like to cut stencils using mylar for stencils for cookies, is a diode laser good for this? and what is the best thickness for this? and if I curt mylar with a laser is it bad or dangerous ?

[@SteveMakesEverything]

Mylar should be safe to cut. It has no chlorine or other bad chemicals. Of course make sure you are vent fumes properly. The thickness shouldn’t matter since you will be able to cut any thickness

[@yolandaruiz9435]

@@SteveMakesEverything awesome thanks for your reply, is the acrylic the bad one?

[@PhilippeLhoste]

@@yolandaruiz9435 No, acrylic is safe as well. That's PVC (and vinyl) which is harmful (both for your lungs and for the laser) to cut with laser: it has chlorine (the C of PVC) fumes which mix with air moisture, creating chloridic acid…

[@ajfmodernart]

Hi Steve, Thank you for your well informed video. Can you tell me what laser machine you are using to cut the stencils? The link you have goes to the Cricut but I am looking at purchasing a basic laser cutter. Thanks again. Anna :)

[@SteveMakesEverything]

You can use virtually any laser for this. If you are buying a new laser I'd recommend a 20-30W diode laser. This will work if your stencils are made from card stock, cardboard or Mylar. Don't try to cut PVC with any laser though, since it will outgas Chlorine.

[@ajfmodernart]

@@SteveMakesEverything thanks so much for your response. You have been extremely helpful 😊

[@SteveMakesEverything]

@@ajfmodernart I try 😏

[@jarrettvasco7710]

So you can basically cut out anything you'd like correct? So if I wanted to cut out load of the Ring type of stencils or comic book stencils I can? I'm thinking about buying one for my spray paint art Workshop. I'm just curious if I could make a stencil of what I want or is it certain things you can?

[@SteveMakesEverything]

You can make stencils out of any material your laser can safely cut. If you want to use PVC type materials for stencils then a blade cutter is the right choice. Look at the review I did recently for the xTool M1. If might be the best of both worlds as long as your stencils aren't larger than the workspace

[@jarrettvasco7710]

@@SteveMakesEverything thank you for responding. I meant more like any type of picture you'd like?

[@SteveMakesEverything]

@@jarrettvasco7710 Ah. Well obviously you will be limited to images that are monochrome (a.k.a Black and White). Grayscale images would be out of the question unless you are very good with an airbush

[@jarrettvasco7710]

@@SteveMakesEverything I'm looking to buy a laser cut out so I can make stencils! Maybe two three layered stencils. I'm a newbie spray paint artist so I'm looking to make my own stencils. And I heard these machines can do that and make layered stencils as well?

[@SteveMakesEverything]

@@jarrettvasco7710 I would suggest starting with a 10 or 20W diode laser. This will let you make stencils out of thin plywood, mylar or even cardboard. If you don't want to start with something like an xTool M1 now, you can always buy a Cricut or similar later if you want to create stencils out of plastic.

[@simonbor77]

I have a question: is it possible to laser-cut stencils (masks) from washi tape (japanese masking tape)? How small elements can be? I build plastik models and I use cutting ploter (not a laser one) to cut masks, but from time to time designs require more precision. Some elements can be smaller than 1mm. Is possible to cut them on laser cutter?

[@SteveMakesEverything]

It should be possible to do this. Lasers tend to be very precise. for most lasers the kerf (i.e. the gap created buy a cut) is on the order of .2mm or less. You should be able to resolve elements down to less than a millimeter with relative ease. Note that you can also calibrate lasers such that when you cut something like a square, it can be accurate with typically +/-0.1mm or better

[@jack5337]

Hello! What materials would you recommend for reusable stencils? Would the cheap laser cutters off amazon make good stencils from Mylar?

[@SteveMakesEverything]

I've used Mylar and also PVC film (cut with a blade cutter). Pretty much any blade cutter will work on these. I have a Cricut 3, but now I'm mostly going to use the xTool M1 that I reviewed recently

[@jack5337]

@@SteveMakesEverything Thanks for your reply! So you would no recommend using a laser cutter for these? I have heard good things about cricut so might have to go for one of those. I'll look up your xTool M1 review now cheers

[@SteveMakesEverything]

@@jack5337 Definitely use a laser cutter when you can - especially if you already have one. My point here is that cutting PVC (a.k.a Vinyl) with a laser cutter is inherently dangerous because this will release chlorine into your environment and cause you harm

[@ChrisGozzardThatPhysicsGuy]

Super easy thanks.

[@SteveMakesEverything]

You are welcome 😊

[@BBoyBFit]

Can you do this with 10w diode lasers?

[@SteveMakesEverything]

Yes

[@AlexVargasPipa]

You cut the holes after cutting the outside. Wouldn't it be more accurate to cut the outside as last? Thanks for sharing

[@SteveMakesEverything]

You don’t always get a choice if you use the same setting for multiple objects. If I had chosen a separate layer for the holes in lightburn I could have cut them first. As long as you aren’t shuffling the material around on the bed there’s not much that will go wrong though

[@lac8356]

great video. Would these stencils work with relief plastering?

[@SteveMakesEverything]

You could certainly lay use a stencil like this to paint plaster if that’s what you’re asking

[@lynnehutchinson17]

For a cheap quick template you can use cardboard. If you want a reusable template you can use acetate sheets. If you have a blade cutter you can use self stick vinyl.

[@SteveMakesEverything]

Yup, anything you can cut holes into will work. I've used acetate, Mylar or PETG films and they all work well.

[@jvjdrn]

Thanks!

[@ScottRedstone]

Just what I wanted to learn.

[@SteveMakesEverything]

That's why I created this channel.

[@lyndonp6296]

Would this system work for finer graphics and fonts do you think ?

[@SteveMakesEverything]

It should work, but with small lettering you would need to be careful when spraying paint to avoid overspray and running