Custom Spray Paint Stencil: 14 Gauge 304 SS

There are many options when it comes to making a custom spray paint stencil material wise, so while CNCROi.com is waterjet cutting this one out of 14 ga, 1.6 mm, 0.06″ 304 stainless steel, it isn’t the only material we can cut to make your own stencil.

CNCROi.com has produced a lot of custom spray paint stencils through the years, from very small one to brand products to large ones used to help brand sidewalks and exhibitions, if you want a custom stencil, we have the capability to make them out of literally any material, any size and any design you may have.

I’ve showcased a lot of videos of CNCROi.com producing custom stencils on this website but when it came to metal, I always removed the protective layer so I thought it would be interesting to leave it on just to show you the difference and why, ultimately, we take it off.

Every once in a while, CNCROi.com is asked to produce custom stencils out of paper, this is a great choice for one-time use applications.

CNC waterjet cutting involves high pressure, up to 90 000 PSI, shooting through a very thin nozzle with garnet in order to erode what’s under it, whether that’s wood, metal or plastic, it makes no difference, the process is exactly the same.

One common misconception about CNC waterjet cutting is that it’s the water cutting through the metal (in this case), actually, if we only had water flowing out of the nozzle, the water would shoot right up and not go through the metal.

Polycarbonate is a popular spray paint stencil choice because it’s incredibly strong, being bullet proof glass actually, and you can see through it, which allows you to use precise positioning… and it also rolls-up!

The secret, as you can see from the image below, is actually the garnet, or sand, that, with the high pressure water, enables the erosion of the steel to eventually pierce the metal and then allow the cutting to happen.

On some materials, pure water is capable of cutting without the use of garnet, think light foam, but for almost everything else, having garnet is a mandatory aspect of CNC waterjet cutting.

Plywood stencils can be produce using our CNC laser, router or the waterjet, each has a cost and benefit of course.

You can also quickly see in these photos why I generally remove the protective film on the metal before cutting it with the CNC waterjet, it doesn’t cause any issues per say with the process, it just makes it more difficult to see if any pieces are hanging where they shouldn’t and generally obstructs the view.

There are a ton of different material options when it comes to stencils, CNCROi.com can also produce the same or different in multiple production runs for you, if you wanted a dozen out of steel and a dozen more out of plywood and even more out of plastic, no problem!

Whether the plastic film is left on or off, it doesn’t slow down or stop the cutting process, though a little garnet can be stuck between the layers and produce slight scratches or over spray.

For CNCROi.com, 9.9x out of 10, the protective film is removed before waterjet cutting, and the purpose of the plywood underneath is to provide a stronger platform for this relatively small stencil to sit upon, so it doesn’t fall between the slats of the table.

If you are wondering what the difference between a spray paint stencil made out of polycarbonate VS mild steel is, here’s a video to learn more about the cost and benefits of each.

You may also be aware that CNCROi.com also has a CNC plasma, so why didn’t we use that instead of this to cut this custom spray paint stencil out?

The main reason is definition, the “hole” generated by the plasma has a higher diameter than the waterjet, as a result, when it comes to especially small custom spray paint stencils such as this one out of 304 stainless steel, things would end-up rounded within the inner corners rather than sharp.

If this custom spray paint stencil was 6ft across instead of 12 inches, then the plasma would have produced essentially the same level of awesomeness, but at smaller scale, the diameter of the “cutting hole” does play a factor in the resolution of the cut.

Another option would have been to use a laser to cut this custom spay paint stencil, but it wouldn’t be very cost-effective, the problem with laser is that it’s FAST and requires VOLUME to become cost-effective.

By far the most popular material CNCROi.com produces custom stencils with is stainless steel, it’s incredibly strong for it’s weight, lays dead flat and doesn’t rust, unlike mild steel.

While this custom spray paint stencil is being cut out, notice that the plastic is being lifted right-up, that’s because during the piercing stage, water is shooting up towards the nozzle rather than through the stainless steel. Why?

Because it hasn’t gone all the way through, it’s still piercing THROUGH the material, once through, then it flips gears and erodes as it moves, regardless, CNCROi.com will be removing this film in the future yet again.

You’ll also notice that CNCROi.com cut all the inner parts of this custom spray paint stencil FIRST before cutting the outline of the stencil as is happening now. Why?

CNCROi.com has two CNC routers so we are able to produce custom spray paint stencils that are REALLY BIG, in this case, the customer used water to spray with rather than paint, on local sidewalks.

If we cut the outside first, then the stencil has the opportunity to move while the inner parts are being cut out, from water pressure pushing down on it or the water pushing up from underneath.

As with all the other machines CNCROi.com uses to produce custom stencils, inner parts are always cut out before outer parts to maintain the highest quality result possible.

You can see above how the stencil looks a little dirty but it clears right up, as you can see from the image below.

Want a custom spray paint stencil? Contact CNCROi.com right now!