Removing the Covering Material on delicate items

I’ve just finished a mandala style earring cut. The inner lines are really, really thin. Taking the tape off the back was not a problem, but the fronts are another story. I’m currently scraping gently with my fingernails. There’s got to be a better way that doesn’t involve duct tape, lol. Ideas?

couple ideas come to mind.

Before you do any cutting, remove the masking, then restick it. It’ll lose some of the adhesion, probably make it easier after you cut.

Second, place the piece down on a flat surface and gently scrape the masking off with a plastic razor.

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I use a turkey baster. It looks like a really long needle. I catch the masking tape lift then just peel it off. It works wonderful.

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Wetting the mask with alcohol should help release it too.

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Unless it’s on acrylic

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I’m guessing extruded is more susceptible to crazing than cast, but I don’t know. I have personally never experienced it on either, but I have seen images and experiences of it. I’m thinking it has to do with internal stress.

I have discovered it is about which alcohol. I left acrylic in normal hand sanitizer and never had a problem so I bought an industrial size bottle and that crazed all the acrylic, so you need to test it on a scrap. The hand cleaner being thick will do a good job dissolving the adhesive, with the one caveat that it will dissolve the glue holding MDF as well and turn it back into sawdust.

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That’s interesting, I’m using isopropyl 91%.

Now, I have soaked tokens I made in alcohol for up to 10 minutes and it had no discernable effects, other than disolving the smoke residue.

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I think the issue is with methanol, that is also a component in denatured alcohol but any string of carbon atoms with just an OH stuck somewhere is an alcohol, so there are many,

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