Which material is best for a custom spray painting stencil?
The most common material for stencils is Mylar – and for good reason. It is flexible, durable, easy to clean and long lasting.
10mil Mylar is our preferred thickness for its flexibility, durability and versatility.
Other options include adhesive backed mylar, magnetic, metal, acrylic or wood stencils. Mylar, even though thinner, will be more durable than acrylic or wood.
Read on below video for more on mylar and other options.
Which material works best for what application?
Material | Description |
|---|---|
5/16″ MDF (.3125″, or 312 mil) | Spray painting equipment, floors, parking lots. Durable, but will break with pressure. Custom wood stencils available on request. |
.02″ Magnet (.5mm, or 20 mil) | Perfect stencil material for painting metal objects. Sticks on flat and slightly curved surfaces. Reusable, very long lasting and fairly durable. |
20 mil Mylar film (.5mm, or .02″) | Great for spray painting, good fit for large numbers, letters and low detail. Very durable. |
10 mil Mylar film | Spray, rolling, brushing applications. Good all-around thickness. Outdoor/indoor. |
5 mil Reusable Adhesive | Reusable for 5 to 12 or more times, depending on how clean adhesive side is kept in between uses. Great for painting on walls and short term projects. Light tack, will remove easily. Do not leave on for more than the time it takes to paint—after a few hours a more permanent bond starts to happen. Can be used to spray or brush paint on. |
Metal (16 or 18 Gauge Steel) | Ultra-durable and precision-cut for industrial and commercial use. Withstands heavy use, heat, and solvent exposure. Ideal for repeat-use spray painting on concrete, asphalt, shipping containers, and factory equipment. Won’t warp or break. Easy to clean with solvents. Best for high-detail, long-term stenciling applications. |
Flexibility | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★☆☆☆☆ |
Durability | ★★★★★ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★★★ |
Reuseability | ★★★★★ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★★★ |
Smaller, Finer Details | ✔ Ideal | ✔ Ideal | ||
Larger Details | ✔ Ideal | ✔ Good | ||
Small Sized Stencils | ✔ Ideal | ✔ Ideal | ||
Large Sized Stencils | ✔ Ideal | ✔ Ideal | ||
Overall | ★★★★★ ✓ Most Versatile | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★★☆ |
Summary: 10mil mylar stencil offers excellent versatility and is recommended for most applications. It’s ideal for capturing small details and works especially well for large, parking lot style stencils. Metal stencils, adhesive stencils and magnetic stencils are better suited for specific or specialized applications.
| How thick is our custom stencil material? Use this conversion guide to help | ||
MATERIAL | MILLIMETERS | INCHES |
| 5 mil | 0.13 mm | 0.005 in |
7 mil | 0.18 mm | 0.007 in |
10 mil | 0.26 mm | 0.01 in |
| 20 mil | 0.50 mm | 0.02 in |
| 312 mil | 7.94 mm | 0.3125 in (5/16″) |
What is Mylar?
You probably have heard the brand name “Mylar”, often used to generically describe plastic film. However, Mylar is really a brand name for polyester film.
In reality, Mylar is a registered trademark for a brand of biaxially oriented polyester film (BOPET) that belongs to Dupont/Teijin Film Enterprises. There are many different grades and finishes offered, and we offer one of them in our 10mil Mylar film.
So if you have a need for honest-to-goodness Mylar polyester film, we can help, whether you’re referring to Mylar in the generic sense, or you actually need Mylar branded polyester film from Dupont/Teijin Film Enterprises.
How durable are Mylar plastic film stencils?
Extremely durable – they have high strength, very flexible. They will bend almost in half (not quite), roll up just fine without loss to original shape and can be cleaned with chemicals. Perfect for precise, laser cut stencils.
Just watch us jump on and drive over this stencil 3 times.
How do you make a homemade stencil?
Creating your own custom stencil is a great craft project for the home and is done in 5 simple steps!
- Grab your Mylar sheet square – These can be found in online stores like Amazon.com
- Choose your pattern! You can find stencil-ready patterns with a quick web search, or create your own!
- Print out your pattern and place it below the mylar for easy tracing
- Once your pattern has been traced onto the mylar, it’s time to cut your new stencil out, using box cutters, scissors or shears.
- And Done! Your new stencil is ready for use.
Or, if that sounds like too much work and if you need crisper details than are possible with crafting with scissors, have us make your custom stencil for you!
Looking for more? Check out our other custom stencil articles!
- Spray Paint Stencil Customer Gallery
- Can you turn a tattoo into a spray painting stencil? Yes!
- How to turn a photo into a stencil with examples
- How to Turn a Complicated Logo or Artwork into a Great Stencil – with Examples
🎯 Stencil Material Selection Guide
Find the perfect material for your custom stencil project
• Hands-free positioning
• Reusable 50+ times
• No spray drift
• 5-12 reuses
• 100+ reuses
• Perfect for precision work
• 500+ reuses
• Industrial applications
• Parking lot stencils
• Cost-effective for size
📊 Quick Comparison Chart
| Material | Flexibility | Durability | Fine Details | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10mil Mylar | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | Most applications |
| 5mil Adhesive | ★★★★☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★★★ | Walls & vertical surfaces |
| 25mil Magnetic | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | Metal surfaces |
| Metal Steel | ★☆☆☆☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | Industrial/heavy-duty |
| MDF Wood | ★★☆☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★☆☆☆ | Large format marking |
I need a stencil to identify loaner life jackets for kids. Mylar or brass just fine. Text is 3/4″ and 1/2″. Line 1 is 3/4″, LOANER, line 2 is 1/2″, RETURN TO, Line 3 is 1/2″, OH MARINA. Can you help me?
I need a stencil of my company’s logo. The logo will be painted on a 1″ piece of metal so I believe the optimal size will be 3/4″ tall–length is not an issue. Can you help?
Hi Mark! Sounds like something we can do, I’ll have one of our stencil creators reach out directly to get you what you need.
Hello, need a stencil copied for my husband’s motocyle tank . We have pictures of it and the measurements.