I would like to try out making a sign. The lettering will be vcarved into a flat piece of wood.
Amazon has the original Oramask (12"*10ft for $22.80) but they also carry VViViD masking film that seems to be pretty much the same at a much lower cost (12"*25 ft for $19.99).
Has anyone compared the two products? Should I pay more than twice the price for the brand name material or will I get just as good a result at a much lower cost?
Just to run through the procedure - I will seal the wood, apply the film, vcarve the letters, seal the letters with clear sealer of some kind to prevent bleeding and then paint the actual letters. I will likely add a coat of Varathane over the entire sign to seal the finished sign.
I would use a 90 deg v cut bit unless that is likely to produce a fuzzy edge on the mask in which case I would opt for a flat downcut endmill.
If you are sticking to a single sign or maybe a few. The cheapest oramask is adding a mm to the carve depth, seal letters (i mostly use cheap dollar store clear varnish spraycan for this), paint letters, let it dry… no.. let it dry some more.. patience Jens!
Throw the board through your trusted planer and sand it nice and smooth.
I know, I know. That was not the question, but oramask is not a must have to get good results, and if all you want to do is try to make a sign, why go through all the trouble and all them costs, while you prolly wont get out of sanding the projec anyway.
If all you want to do is try the oramask method. Why not do both?
On the vcarve vs endmill lettering… vcarve every time. Not only does vcarve look like you’re a master cnc’er, but is also scales easy.
Hmmmm … after reading your advise several times, I think you are telling me that Oramask isn’t necessary assuming you want the background to be plain wood rather than a painted background? That makes sense but still leaves me with the original question of ‘is the brand name Oramask worth double the price of the clone’?
I would prefer to not ‘do both’ because I would spend twice the money. More importantly, since I have not done mask work before, I might not catch any small but important difference between the two masks.
@Jens Hey Jens, I have both the Oramask (I forget which number) and the vvivid. They both work equally well. On my next purchase, it will be vvivid only.
And your procedure is good too. But I don’t necessarily seal the carved letters if I will paint them with a thick acrylic. I have not had bleeding issues with acrylic. I have filled letters with epoxy and those were sealed beforehand.
Until Sienci has the height mapping feature, my process is to surface the wood on the CNC, stain and seal. Oramask. VCarve. Seal (optional). Paint letters.
@Jens I’ve used both pricey Oramask and inexpensive Mactac (shelf paper)from Home Depot. They worked equally well. My experiments showed that firmly rolling down the mask, then letting it sit over night produced the best results. Also, use a down cut V-bit, not a scraper.
That vvivid won’t pull up paint when removed, correct? i.e. if the background of the entire sign is painted (not stained) a different color then what the lettering would be.
edit: also I see for some reason it is listed for only $13.48 for me on amazon.
After trying the two and more of the expensive masks I have ended up using vinyl drawer liners from Walmart and similar places. It is thinner and masks just as well as the others. It also smooths on easer than the thicker more expensive materials when slightly heated. To ease in the removal during the hot days of summer I just cool the surface down and it pulls right off with no residue. Last rolls I picked up were 4 to 6 times cheaper. Yes you still need to seal the end grain with some form of clear coat on the cuts as others mentioned. Negative rake angles help cut it and if you are getting fuzzies you need to adjust the speeds and feeds. One more benefit that I like about this thinner material is that if you get a trapped air bubble it is a lot easer to put a pin hole into the top of the bubble to rub it out verses the thicker materials it is harder to tell. Give it a try and as always mileage may vary but sure worth the money saving if you get into a lot of builds.
Transfer paper is available at Hobby Lobby. Comes in 2 strengths. Normal adhesive and heavy duty adhesive. A 12" x 48" roll is $6.00. Try it on plain pine as a practice. Prep to 220 grit, wipe it down. Use a water base poly or a spray on poly for a seal coat. Apply the film using a plastic scraper slowly to keep all the air out. Pine is soft and does not cut like walnut or oak so you will get some edge chip. See how it works for you. Low expense. Cheap wood.
Hmm, I have sharp results using the straight V bits in hard woods like teak and padouk. No tear out, just none. Even when used on softer woods like douglash and construction lumber, I never had the feeling I needed anything better than the normal v-bits sienci provided me with 4 years ago.
No idea how they would fare on fake wood like mdf or multiplex though. I never had a request that forced me down that path.
I do sharpen my V’s on a wetting stone from time to time, to keep them fresh and dangerous to the touch. I bet that helps a wee.
