Hey folks! I am trying to work with an artist who does paintings by laying down vinyl lettering, painting over top, and then peeling away the vinyl. She asked if I would be able to cut some vinyl for her, to which I said no, but I am seeking an alternative. It doesn’t have to be the same consistency–it really just needs to be waterproof, it needs to stick in place when she’s working, and it needs to peel away easily.
Suggestions?
There are non-vinyl alternative materials suitable for laser. It’s been posted here if you search.
That said, the masking commonly used might work as well, and is dirt cheap.
And truth be told… Probably be miles ahead by just getting a vinyl cutter. Right tool for the job and all that. 
I agree with @kanati but if you must use the 
I would think that cutting regular masking would do what you want.
I believe Siser has laser safe vinyl.
I’m looking for a product name. Not sure what regular masking would be.
What kind of paint? Watercolor is going to be different from acrylic…for watercolor you need Friskit film. For acrylic you can probably use something like:
You’ll find the search feature here is quite handy.
Mylar sheet might work but the ones I have seen have very strong adhesive, which would make removing them hard. Or, you have to do the work of putting your own adhesive on. AND, you have the problem of maintaining registration.
Something like sign vinyl, can can be cut while on a carrier, would be a lot easier to work with.
I have seen references to laser-safe polyester sign material but can’t actually find a product for sale.
This might work for some applications:
https://www.onlinelabels.com/products/ol177lp
I have been using that to make a reasonable facsimile of die-cut stickers on the Glowforge.
I realize that. Repeating a thing doesn’t make it more helpful.
This is a one off. I’m not going to invest in new tools. Just trying to figure out if there is a way to do this with what I already have.
This is still vinyl, though, so I worry about off-gassing. She’s either doing acrylic or oil.
Ah. If it’s a one-off then that’s a different story. Other suggestions on masking solutions would likely work. I think the siser laser safe vinyl though is heat transfer and likely not what you want.
I have also used this for applications where I peel the sticker back off of a paper surface. You can see it in the video for this:
Of note is that, the longer the sticker remains on the paper, the more firmly it adheres and, the more likely it will damage to surface on removal.
Hmm… Probably not. It’s got to be able to peel back up. I ordered some masking material, or maybe I’ll just try making a panel of tape. 
Depending on size needs and resistance to moisture, PostIt Tape might also be worth investigating. I have used it for some masking applications with ink.
Thank you! This is helpful, and a very cool project! What a unique thing for a business card. I dig it.
The label paper might actually be perfect, and so easy.
No, this is paper and many of us use it.