1st Time Trying to Stencil . Whats the best stuff to use on leather, nylon and cloth in general ?

[B-Man2]

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks guys .

 

[Dany McDonald]

Oh boy, practice a lot with your technique, airbrush or brush on cardboard or a piece of fabric before the plunge.
I can't remember the exact name but metal stencils plates are the best as you can trip/test/fail and just wipe the paint off and retry.

Make sure not to dilute the paint too much as it will run under the stencil. You will have more control with what is called dry brush technique (look it up).
Airbrush is better but takes lots of practice if you're a newbie.

What have you got in mind (leather or fabric) and what type of paint will you use, and how big?

Interesting!!!

 

[Dany McDonald]

Oh forgot to ask, are you using tape for your stencil?

 

[B-Man2]

Oh forgot to ask, are you using tape for your stencil?

Thanks Dany
No I purchased military style 2 inch and 1 inch plastic stencil sets. I’ve tried using them with paint markers which are made for cloth and leather. They seem to work really well as they are just magic markers filled with paint and you can easily control them so that you stay within the stencil .

 

[Micawber]

Alternatively a stencil brush or sponge, cloth pad [cotton wool wrapped in a bit of lint free cloth] dabbed works well too ensuring not to load too much paint on the brush etc and to dab it off on a bit of scrap first. Ensure the item to are stencilling is kept taught and stencils kept in position.

 

[B-Man2]

Army Font Stencils - Reusable Military Stencils - Paint Your Own Wood Signs | eBay

Army Stencils. The wood sign shown is for EXAMPLE ONLY. I'd like to partner with YOU! Reuseable.

www.ebay.com

 

[B-Man2]

Alternatively a stencil brush or sponge, cloth pad [cotton wool wrapped in a bit of lint free cloth] dabbed works well too ensuring not to load too much paint on the brush etc and to dab it off on a bit of scrap first. Ensure the item to are stencilling is kept taught and stencils kept in position.

Thanks Steve … good to know .

 

[Micawber]

Stencil brushes. Image 'borrowed' off the net.

 

[B-Man2]

Thanks Steve … good to know .

Used one of these for black stencil work on fabric . Seems to work well but I haven’t washed the item yet .

https://a.co/d/0S3o7WW

 

[Dany McDonald]

Try the dry brush technique, you will almost get the same control as with pen but you get to choose the type of paint.
Personally I prefer oil as it will not dry too fast so you have more time to work, etc. And has a vtg look and feel once dry.

All good ideas in this thread, I love the Steve stencil brushes.

HTH,

D

 

[Cocker]

For cotton t-shirts, here's how I usually proceed:

- Do a stencil design in photoshop and print it out on heavy paper (200g)
- Cut off all of the stencil by hand, using an X-Acto knife
- Tape the stencil to the t-shirt
- Put a heavy cardboard inside the t-shirt, beneath the stencil, to avoid the paint going through the fabric and printing on the reverse side
- Go at it with stencil brush, either with a cloth paint that can be purchased in about any craft shop
- Once done and dry, I usually put the shirt in the oven, on a low setting, to heat cure it

Nothing too complicated, you just have to make sure not to put too much paint on your brush, and as the other guys said above, use more of a dry brushing technique.

It's been a while since the last I've done, I have a couple projects ready to go, might dive back into it soon. Here's a couple t-shirts I did, all of them held pretty neatly to washing:

Far from perfect, but hey, at least it was fun to do!

 

[Ritchy]

Not bad at all, congrats Cocker

 

[Thomas Koehle]

Burt,

if you want to have some "in depth" first-hand hints @ties70 is a pro in doing stencilling

Me myself i tried it as well using stencils from heavy cardboard (i bought them) and a standard paintbrush on which i shortened the fibers so i basically get a stencil brush. I dabbed the tip into undiluted acryl paint which works fine - you can also used special textile-colors - dab the tip of the brush into and remove as much paint with a cloth (similar to drybrushing in modelling) then get to work with the stencil. I dab the paint on the fabric in several runs. Thus you can control whether you want a more "faded" appearance or factory fresh markings.

One of my own attempts - the paint is too heavy imho so since i got that hint from Ties to go in several layers even my markings look a bit more realistic.

After the stencilling i iron my stuff in order to make the color more durable and to avoid further fading.

 

[warguy]

I havent done much on lighter clothing, but have had some success with heavy canvas or non porous materials like a scrapbook cover or photo album. What I have found very helpful in those situations is using a stencil adhesive spray. Amazon carries some. Basically places a tacky surface on the back side of your stencil helping to adhere the edges to keep the paint from spreading past the edges and helping with straight lines. I have not had any issues with it leaving a residue behind, but the stencil will stay permanently tacky on the back side. Just thought I would share, but a lot of the guys who have responded seem much more experiences with stenciling than I am. Good luck.

 

[B-Man2]

For cotton t-shirts, here's how I usually proceed:

- Do a stencil design in photoshop and print it out on heavy paper (200g)
- Cut off all of the stencil by hand, using an X-Acto knife
- Tape the stencil to the t-shirt
- Put a heavy cardboard inside the t-shirt, beneath the stencil, to avoid the paint going through the fabric and printing on the reverse side
- Go at it with stencil brush, either with a cloth paint that can be purchased in about any craft shop
- Once done and dry, I usually put the shirt in the oven, on a low setting, to heat cure it

Nothing too complicated, you just have to make sure not to put too much paint on your brush, and as the other guys said above, use more of a dry brushing technique.

It's been a while since the last I've done, I have a couple projects ready to go, might dive back into it soon. Here's a couple t-shirts I did, all of them held pretty neatly to washing:

View attachment 162321

View attachment 162323

Far from perfect, but hey, at least it was fun to do!

Thanks for the help ! Good info to know.

 

[B-Man2]

Burt,

if you want to have some "in depth" first-hand hints @ties70 is a pro in doing stencilling

Me myself i tried it as well using stencils from heavy cardboard (i bought them) and a standard paintbrush on which i shortened the fibers so i basically get a stencil brush. I dabbed the tip into undiluted acryl paint which works fine - you can also used special textile-colors - dab the tip of the brush into and remove as much paint with a cloth (similar to drybrushing in modelling) then get to work with the stencil. I dab the paint on the fabric in several runs. Thus you can control whether you want a more "faded" appearance or factory fresh markings.

One of my own attempts - the paint is too heavy imho so since i got that hint from Ties to go in several layers even my markings look a bit more realistic.

After the stencilling i iron my stuff in order to make the color more durable and to avoid further fading.

Thomas
Ties is a genius with his art work .
I got some ideas from him during our time together. Thanks for the info .

 

[B-Man2]

I havent done much on lighter clothing, but have had some success with heavy canvas or non porous materials like a scrapbook cover or photo album. What I have found very helpful in those situations is using a stencil adhesive spray. Amazon carries some. Basically places a tacky surface on the back side of your stencil helping to adhere the edges to keep the paint from spreading past the edges and helping with straight lines. I have not had any issues with it leaving a residue behind, but the stencil will stay permanently tacky on the back side. Just thought I would share, but a lot of the guys who have responded seem much more experiences with stenciling than I am. Good luck.

Great to know … thanks

 

[Micawber]

As an aside, I've got various size interlocking metal alphabet and numerical sets as used to stencil up military vehicles and such. The obvious drawback with those is that they don't like curved panels or anything other than straight lines although it is possible to get a up and down stairs effect by not fully interlocking the letters.
Airbrushing or spraying has its place but with a little practice on scraps good results are more easily achieved by beginners using the dabbing method by beginners dabbing as described above.

 

[Jeronimo Watchmaker]

Boys. Is there a template available somewhere to make the USN lettering for the G-1 jacket collar?

This is a very inspiring and informative thread.

 

[Spitfireace]

If it didnt' come with one then just leave it. If it's faded. Leave it.