Definitely need to get one…I keep getting busy and I just forget.
I’m usually doing PG stuff anyway…that’s got good adhesive.
1 Like
I’ve used plenty of blue tape to hold stuff in place. Worked well and as mentioned is super cheap
1 Like
A print brayer works well too. Either hobby/craft stores or Amazon for under $10.
2 Likes
I am sure I will use a good amount of Proofgrade, but I am also intent on a good bit of other materials, including some recovered/recycled, and possibly working with one or more folk I know that have their own wood shops at home, to accent and personalize their pieces. (The one is selling these amazing trays for Mothers’ Day, but let’s face it, what flat wood project can’t be improved with 
time?)
5 Likes
I’ve had great success with the squeegee that came with the glass etching kit for my Silhouette, but I’m going to get a brayer, too (new word of the day!).
2 Likes
I have a couple of plastic squeegees as well but the brayer is a nice wide (you can get some really big ones) smooth rolling way to put even pressure down.
1 Like
Been using blue tape, and not exactly tickled pink over how much it allows paint to creep under it
2 Likes
Are you squeegeeing it or using a brayer to roll it tight?
1 Like
No, I just thought about that today, actually, after 2 times of it seeping. Thought I had pushed it down hard enough with my fingers, but apparently not…
1 Like
Try the squeegee or even a credit card (or hotel room key). Also, go over it once more if you can after you engrave/cut but before you paint in the event that the edges crept up from the burn.
5 Likes
Hey @Jules did you find this to be more tacky than preferred, or were you saying that the perfect-tear was easier to work with than traditional transfer tape? Thanks!
No actually, i wasn’t that impressed with it, and unfortunately, I’ve got a whole roll of the stuff. This one has the problem of not being tacky enough - I’d try to get the version that has a stronger tack. (I think this one was medium tack.)
This would be great for papers, but it has trouble sticking to wood.
So I am looking for better masking material. I use TransferRite Ultra right now, and it’s ok, but I don’t have much to compare it to.
I was looking for material safety data sheets to compare, and found the one for TransferRite Ultra…
And then I wanted to find the perfectear MSDS, and found it under the old name, “main tape”
From what I can tell, they both burn pretty clean, anyone with more experience on this want to give it a look?
Also, has anyone done a side by side of these two types? As I said, TransferRite is pretty good, but I wonder if I’m missing out…
I’ve used the Medium Tack Main tape and it’s not very good for staying stuck to wood. Excellent for leather and paper.
I’ve also used the Enduramask MH-130, and it’s only slightly better at the woods.
Neither is as sticky as the Proofgrade masking. Whatever they’re using for adhesive…it holds until you’re ready to peel it off.
(Which is not a good thing for leather, paper or light engraving on acrylic. Sometimes it’s a little too strong for those and melts into a mess.)
So it just depends what you want to use it on. Some are better than others for certain things.
1 Like
TransferRite is pretty good tackiness for birch ply – if anything it’s a bit too much, and can pull some wood fibers off if you’re not careful.
I may just order more of that. I don’t love the smell, but I don’t know if that’s the birch or the masking.
1 Like
Hmm, anyone tried Glassguard?
https://www.johnsonplastics.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=Glassguard
EDIT: Looks like on that site if you look closely, the picture is of transferrite ultra. It’s just rebranded. That’s a bit discouraging.
I just looked in another thread, looks like @Drea may have some insight.
Drea, can you give us your quick review of Glassguard/Transferrite? How well does it stick to various materials, etc?
OK I am going deep on masking here. I have also learned about Greenstar, which one of our peeps is apparently using as well.
@markwal, can you chime in with how well it is working on whatever materials you’ve tried?
Anyone else using this?
I reached out to uscutter.com for an MSDS. They sent me this on the adhesive:
img-171206131119.pdf (243.8 KB)
Short version: The adhesive is a carcinogen class 2B, which apparently means “maybe causes cancer in humans”. If anyone has a finer grasp on how to read an MSDS, please chime in.
US cutter sells Greenstar through Amazon:
or directly:
http://www.uscutter.com/GreenStar-Layflat-Classic-Transfer-Tape-Medium-Tack-Assorted-Widths
I’ve used the Greenstar on Baltic Birch ply and veg tanned leather. It takes some work (pressure and smoothing with my hands and a putty knife) to get it to stick nicely on the birch and the flesh side of leather. Weeds easily from the birch and a holds a bit tighter to the leather. Tighter still if I leave it on in the material stack for a while before using. But even then, it’s easier to weed than the Proofgrade.
I have more trouble with flash back on the birch. If I give enough power to reliably get through the birch then the flash back also makes it through the mask sometimes.
So far I’ve had better luck with the leather. Probably because I’m less worried about making it all the way through all the time. A few missed spots are easy for me to cut through with a knife. So I can dial it back to where it is just barely making it through the masking.
1 Like
Sure, I use that stuff on everything - fabric, wood, acrylic, and (predominantly) leather. I like it quite well, and find it to be far more economical than some of the other options that I initially tried. It holds nicely, but still peels off easily.
When using it on leather, be careful to smooth it out completely. Any folds or crinkles will transfer to the surface of the leather (true for any masking, FWIW).
1 Like
Chemist here. MSDS sheets are mostly for lawyers and firefighters in industrial settings.
As Paracelsus said in the 16th century, the dose makes the poison. The amount of vinyl acetate in the adhesive is small and you are not wrapping yourself in it.
The information in a MSDS is of use when working with industrial scales, for small amounts they are not very useful and they make every chemical sound extremely dangerous.
If you read the MSDS for salt and sand you would hesitate setting foot on an ocean beach again.
11 Likes