{"id":3120,"date":"2018-04-24T12:28:33","date_gmt":"2018-04-24T18:28:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lazerdesigns.com\/blog\/?p=3120"},"modified":"2025-06-09T13:26:54","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T19:26:54","slug":"custom-logo-stencils-how-to-use-clean-and-order-custom-stencils","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lazerdesigns.com\/blog\/custom-logo-stencils-how-to-use-clean-and-order-custom-stencils\/","title":{"rendered":"Custom Logo Stencils – How to use, clean and order custom stencils"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Custom logo stencils are a simple and effective way to apply branding to a wide variety of surfaces. Whether you’re marking packaging, creating signage, or customizing merchandise, a well-designed stencil helps you get consistent, professional-looking results. In this guide, we’ll walk through how to use them, how to clean them, and how to order your own custom stencil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Use a Custom Logo Stencil<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  1. Prep the Surface<\/strong>: Make sure the surface you\u2019re stenciling is clean, dry, and flat. Dust or texture can cause the paint to bleed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Position the Stencil<\/strong>: Use tape or adhesive spray to secure the stencil in place. Consider using a reusable adhesive backed stencil<\/a>, or a magnetic stencil<\/a> for vertical projects. Some stencils come with built-in alignment marks to help with positioning.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Apply Paint<\/strong>: Use spray paint, a roller, or a stencil brush. Apply thin layers and build up slowly to avoid bleeding. Hold the spray can about 6\u20138 inches from the surface if spraying.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Remove Carefully<\/strong>: Peel the stencil up slowly while the paint is still wet to avoid smudging. If doing multiple layers for multi-color designs, allow each color to dry before applying the next stencil.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    How to clean your custom stencil:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Clean Right After Use<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The sooner you clean the stencil, the easier it will be. If you clean your stencils right away and don’t use permanent paint, you may be able to use warm soapy water to clean them off (depending on what kind of paint you use). But you will probably need to use paint thinner to clean paint off a stencil. If needed, you can dip a paper towel in mineral spirits and dab as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Avoid Scrubbing Small Details<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Use a soft brush or sponge to gently clean without damaging delicate areas. Lay stencils flat, cleaning both sides. Be careful not to bend back any pointy parts or tear the delicate, small bridges. If something does tear, you can repair with scotch tape on both sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For Stubborn Paint<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For super stubborn paint, or paint that has been allowed to dry, use one of the below cleaning agents, and wrap stencil in a garbage bag for 20 minutes allowing it to soak. (or a ziplock bag if small enough)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For cleaners, you can use “Krud Kutter”, Dawn’s Power Dissolver, Lift Off Latex Paint Remover, Mineral Spirits or low-odor turpentine, carefully with denatured alcohol, acetone or a similar product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Dry Flat and Store Properly<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Lay the stencil flat on a towel to dry. Avoid bending or folding, especially if it’s made from Mylar. Once fully dry, keep your custom stencils flat in a dry place. For large or irregular shapes, you can store them between sheets of cardboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How to Order a Custom Stencil<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Ordering a custom stencil<\/a> is easier than you might think. Start by choosing your design, whether it\u2019s a logo, text, or graphic, and make sure it can be converted into a stencil with clean lines and necessary bridges. When in doubt, send your design to our team and we will work our magic to get your design stencil ready!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Once your design has been chosen it’s time to select the size and material of your stencil. Mylar is the most common choice for reusable stencils, but there are other options as well (explained below.) Once you upload your artwork and submit the order, we will send a digital proof for approval before cutting. From there, your stencil is produced and shipped, typically within a few days. It\u2019s a simple, streamlined process that can turn any idea into a ready-to-paint stencil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What is the best material for my stencils?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Most custom stencils are made from durable Mylar and are available in a range of sizes. Consider how large the surface area is where you’ll be applying your stencil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here at Lazer Designs, our custom stencils are made out of high quality, durable and easy to clean mylar – making them perfectly suited for spray paint, brush paint, detail work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    They work on wood crates, metal dumpsters, parking lots, t-shirts, buildings or any other application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We recommend 10mil thick durable, flexible stencil mylar film<\/a> for most applications for its versatility to handle complex and simple designs and is super durable<\/a>. We also carry a 5mil adhesive backed for easy application<\/a>, magnetic stencils<\/a>, and metal stencils<\/a>.

    Here is a quick comparison chart on the different materials we offer.<\/p>\n\n\n

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    <\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    Flexibility<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606\u2606<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    \u2605\u2606\u2606\u2606\u2606<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td><\/tr>

    Durability<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606\u2606<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606\u2606<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td><\/tr>

    Reuseability<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606\u2606<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606\u2606<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td><\/tr>

    Smaller, Finer Details<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    \u2714 Ideal<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    \u2714 Ideal<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    <\/div><\/div><\/td>


    <\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td><\/tr>

    Larger Details<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    \u2714 Ideal<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>


    <\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    <\/div><\/div><\/td>

    \u2714 Good<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td><\/tr>

    Small Sized Stencils<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    \u2714 Ideal<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    \u2714 Ideal<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    <\/div><\/div><\/td>
    <\/div><\/div><\/td><\/tr>

    Large Sized Stencils<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    \u2714 Ideal<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>


    <\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    <\/div><\/div><\/td>

    \u2714 Ideal<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td><\/tr>

    Overall<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/p><\/div><\/div>

    \u2713 Most Versatile<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606\u2606<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606\u2606<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td><\/tr>

    <\/td>

    Shop now<\/strong><\/p>

    <\/div>

    <\/div>
    <\/div><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    Shop now<\/strong><\/p>

    <\/div>

    <\/div>
    <\/div><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    Shop now<\/strong><\/p>

    <\/div>

    <\/div>
    <\/div><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/td>

    Shop now<\/strong><\/p>

    <\/div>

    <\/div>
    <\/div><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    Choose Your Design<\/strong>

    Upload your logo or graphic file when placing your order. Vector files (like SVG, AI, or EPS) are best, but we can also work with high-resolution PNG or JPEG files.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Approve Artwork<\/strong>

    Our team will review your design, add necessary bridges to hold stencil elements in place, and send you a proof to approve before cutting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Place Your Order<\/strong>

    Once approved, we cut and ship your stencil. Turnaround time varies depending on design complexity and quantity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How do you turn my logo into a stencil?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Turning your logo into a stencil<\/a> should be a painless, easy process!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Our skilled art team works with hundreds of logos<\/a> and photos<\/a> every month, tweaking them, adjusting small details and adding bridges<\/a> to make them work when turned into a stencil, whether for use as a spray painting stencil, brush paint or some other application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So how do you make a custom stencil logo? There are a number of factors that go into how well your logo will turn out as a stencil. Below are listed important factors to consider whilst coming up with your design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. How many small details does it contain? Lots of tiny, intricate lines don’t always cut out the best. Picture an insect wing or lots of filigree or curls. This may require some special work by our art team and will be more fragile. The small details on these wings barely came out as a stencil, and required some custom work by our art team to get just right. (see more examples<\/a>)


      \"small

      <\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. How close are the various elements in your design? Ideally, a gap of at least 0.1″ to allow for cutting out the lines in between elements, minimum 0.05″.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      What do we do to make a logo or design stencil ready?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      1. Our art team will add bridges or connectors between elements so the doughnut holes<\/a> don’t fall out when cut.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      2. We will also try to thicken up any elements that are too close, without compromising the original logo<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      3. Sometimes, this requires an art fee if the work will take our art team significant time<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
        \"Example
        Example logo being turned into a stencil by our art team. See more complicated examples<\/a>
        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

        \n\n“I had a great experience no problems whatsoever. The customer service was a really good they were attentive listened helped me answered my questions. The product I received was excellent, looked exactly how I had designer, no issues whatsoever with the product.”\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

        “They came quickly and were exactly what we wanted. They were custom made for our company logo. Would 100% buy again.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        What about extra large stencils, how do I create really big custom stencils?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        We do this all the time! Our maximum size mylar stencil<\/a> is 36″x24″, but we’ve done stencils many times that size by creating multiple panels,<\/p>\n\n\n

        \n
        \"large
        4 foot by 4 foot large stencil made up of 4 smaller panels<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

        For instance, this university wanted a giant Z for their garage floors, so we created 4 panels for them, turning their Z into a 4 foot square stencil.<\/p>\n\n\n

        \n
        \"large
        Over 7 feet wide stencil made up of 3 panels<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

        Elite Logistics needed a stencil over 7 feet wide, so we created a 3 panel stencil for them to use for spray painting.
        Stay tuned for more…<\/p>\n\n\n\n