When buying parking lot stencils, there are (3) things to look
for:
1) The material that the stencil is
made from.
2) The thickness of the stencil
material.
3) The "overall dimensions" that the stencil
offers. This is letter height, width and brush stroke. But it also
includes "overall height". ( This is
important. )
So...first...referring to #1...
Parking Lot Stencil Material.
I've seen parking lot stencils being advertised as "made from
quality"...and then there's this fancy word for cardboard.
I've also seen them made from "counter top" material.
The best material is Low Density Polyethylene Plastic, LDPE ... (
not High Density Polyethylene, HDPE ). It's the favorite material
among parking lot striping companies. Here's why...
A) It's strong, unlike cardboard. It's more flexible, unlike
counter top material.
B) It’s also too easy to clean. Spray the stencil. You'll have a
bit of "over spray" on the stencil itself. Let it dry. THEN...bend
the flexible, LDPE and the dried over spray pops off. OR...you can
peel it off and it looks like a giant potato chip. Now your
stencil is "like new again".
If you spray a cardboard stencil, the over spray soaks in. You
cannot clean it easily and then hope to re-use it for years to
come.
If you spray a stencil made from some type of counter top
material...two things may occur.
1) It's too rigid to bend. If you do try to bend it...be ready for
it to break.
2) If the counter top material is rough, instead of smooth, the
over spray will grip it tightly and won't let go = you cannot
clean it...back to "like new again". After a while the over spray
will build up and effect the quality of your work.
Bottom line…buy LDPE. It's more flexible than HDPE. It'll lay to
the contour of your parking lot. It'll last. It's too easy to
clean...etc...etc.
NEXT...Parking
Lot Stencil Thickness.
I've seen 10 Mil thicknesses and 30 Mil thicknesses. I manufacture
from 60
Mil and 125 Mil.
10 Mil is about (3) pieces of paper, thick...or "thin". So...30
Mil is about (10) pieces of paper, thick. There are a few things
to consider, here.
1) If it's too thin, like 10 Mil...it may not stay where you need
it to. ( I hope the wind doesn't blow! )
2) When the actual paint hits the stencil, be prepared for the
stencil to "flutter" and / or simply move. It's not heavy enough
to do the work. Also, these aren't heavy enough to lay completely
flat. If they're "wavy" at all...again...they do not possess the
weight needed to simply lay flat. Paint will spray under the areas
that are above the pavement and affect the quality of your work.
3) If you have to slide a "thin" material stencil out from under
another stencil...the small "bridges" that hold the letters or
symbols to the surrounding plastic...will eventually snag onto
something and tear. This makes for more trouble. Be careful.
The best (2) thicknesses are 60 Mil and 125 Mil.
60 Mil parking lot stencils are for occasional use. Schools that
stripe or paint their own stencils can use these. A part time
parking lot striping company or the maintenance department of a
shopping center or hospital...will find that these are fine. Just
take care of them.
125 Mil is for the professional parking lot striping company. Let
the over spray dry. Peel it off. The bridges are tough. This
thickness will last...seemingly forever. Mine have, for 17 years.
NEXT...Parking
Lot Stencil "Overall Dimensions".
