Sand blasting Mask?

Jewelry Discussion
1

I’m searching for a good material to use for masking while
sandblasting. I’ve found tape to be mostly unsatisfactory and
have had some sucess using fingernail polish, it seems to absorb
the media and allows a reativly smooth line. Any good ideas out
there???

Thanks

Ray

2

I use injection wax and put it on with my wax pen.

JE

3

Hi Ray,

You might try rubber cement. The tombstone industry uses a thin
rubber sheet (about 1/16") with the letters/design cut in them
to sheild the rest of the stone from the effects of the
carborundum grit shot at the stone under high air pressure. The
rubber has an adhesive on one side that holds it to the stone.

I’d think the rubber cement sold in office supply stores could
be painted on areas to be protected.

Good luck,

Dave

4

I’m searching for a good material to use for masking while
sandblasting. I’ve found tape to be mostly unsatisfactory

I have always had excellent results with black electrical tape.
I cut off a length of it, stick it on a piece of glass, and use
an xacto knife or razor blade to cut the shape I want, then apply
it to the surface of the piece I want to texture. I also cover
the back of the piece with tape so the polished surface doesn’t
get scratched, but I use a piece of tape larger than necessary so
I have something to hang onto. The whole thing is then taped
onto a piece of cardboard with any old tape. I’m careful to aim
the sandblaster away from the edge so it doesn’t tend to lift up
the tape. I get a nice sharp line separating the polished
surface from the texture.

My problem has been that the sandblasted surface oxidizes in an
unpleasant way so it looks dirty. Silver can be cleaned
chemically but what do you do with a gold sandblasted surface
that just looks grungy?

Neal Nye
@nnye