Hello All,

I am curious how many of you with sandcarving capabilities use Dupont's RapidMask Photo-Resist that is marketed through PhotoBrasive.

If you have tried it, I would like to get your pro and/or con response to it.

I like the idea of not having to wash out the resist, but I'm not too keen about the "large" price. I know that it would definitely be the quickest process to produce an end product, but what is it like to work with?

What is the adhesion of the resist like? Can you get as aggressive with it as you can with wash-out or laser resists?

David,
On glass it is great. Adhesion is excellent. Fine detail. Easy to remove. It is the best and easiest resist for glass that we have ever used. Highly recommended

On acrylic the adhesion is poor. We finally quit using it on acrylic because of blowout problems.

David,

I liked the RapidMask product, but I had difficulty with other the PhotoBrasive products in my shop. I eventually took a class from Norm Dobbins (sp) and everything worked great, in class! Finally it came down to proper postive/negative preperation. The RapidMask was the only thing that worked well.

greg

David,

We use RapidMask extensively and love it. No wash out, no uneven glue application, no drying, it goes on and on.

Dave

All,

That is the response I was hoping for. I will now have to evaluate the material cost vs. time savings.

I may use it for on-the-spot etching during the holidays for an upcharge to cover the additional cost.

By the way, I have used Photobrasive's self-adhesive photo resist exclusively and have never had a problem with it. I can only assume that the Rapid Mask is of the same quality.

Sorry, but I have to mention some of the negative experiences I have had with Rapid Mask. First yes, I love the no wash out, no gluing and had super high hopes for this product. (I've had some major problems with other PhotoBrasive products in the past but keep giving them a try.) On flat glass items that have room for a 'border' around your work it works excellent. But (don't you just hate that there is always a 'but' in there some place ;) what I have found on items that I need to 'trim' the resist to fit inside the object it just won't work without being able to have the 'border'. I have had some sheets where the adhesive is excellent in sections yet on the same sheet there are spots that the adhesive is poor. Hopefully they are improving in this area. So I have to carry Raysist's for some of my products but also keep some Rapid Mask for flat pieces (when I want a quick turnaround time).

Zona,

I'm surprised to hear about your problems with other Photobrasive products. I wouldn't use anything else because of the consistant quality of their films.

I think many film problems stem from exposure times. Knock on wood, but I have used their 3 mil Ultra-Pro self adhesive resist for three and a half years without a single hitch. I do use a NuArc exposure unit that gives me very consistant exposure times.

I think I will have to give RapidMask a test drive of my own. I'll have to see if I can get my hands on some film for demo.

Contact Peter, I'm sure he will send you a sample. My biggest complaints have been shelf life of their products, specially with the self-adhesive ones.

Zona

Zona,

I want to qualify my comments by saying I am not a shill for Photobrasive. In fact, I have had a few customer service issues that were finally rectified when they were the master distributor for Sperrin Crystal.

I have a roll of UltraPro 5-mil I used a portion of on a deep-etch marble project a couple of weeks ago. I don't use this thickness very often because the 3-mil is pretty durable. I purchased this 5-mil when I bought my etching equipment three and a half years ago. That is some pretty good shelf life.

Where did you find the NuArc exposure unit? Did you buy it new or used?

The screenprinting industry also uses it I believe.

Dave

We used it at Cook Labs for exposing pad printing plates. It is basically a great vacuum unit, lay down the piece to be exposed, the layout, close the glass and turn the vacuum on. The light was one of the early blue street lights. Great exposure from a small source area for really sharp lines.

Philadelphia, PA (Really Bensalem)

Harvey's Sub Page When you finally understand it completely... it changes.

Which Rapid Mask material are you using? There are 2 different versions. I purchased the sample kit. We are working on a wedding vase. Called for tech support and they were helpful at Photobrasive.

The issue I was having was that it says to lightly mist the surface of the glass. We did that and then it kept moving around on us. We corrected it by wetting the glass surface with wet paper towel.

Wetting the surface allowed us to move the image around.

Back when this discussion started, I was testing RapidMask 3, which I later found out was more of a beta test. They (PhotoBrasive) decided that it would get to confussing having 2 and 3 so changed 3 (after some improvements) to HD (High Detail) and HT (High Tack) both are dry processing film. My 3 would have been the HD now. I have to use a spray on adhesive with some applications. (Yes, PB is doing some testing with a graphic I've sent them.) The main problem seems to be when I have a very fine detail inside a large area that is blasted, the detailed area is not staying stuck, which is why I'm adding adhesive. Moving mask around is not something I do very often so I can't give advise about that. Usually I have the piece marked so well (center, edge, etc) that I usually get it right the first time. (thank goodness)

Zona
Zona's Engraved Creations

David,

About Rapid Mask, I cannot compare it to any other masking material because I have never used anything else, but in my VERY LIMITED experience, the adhesion is excellent ( it is rubbed off, and takes a small amount of effort ), and it seems to hold up well to agressive carving, but I was working on a small section and did blow out some of the letters.
It seems that "distance" from the blast nozzle to the substrate seem to be key.
Anyway, listen to ME try and tell YOU about sandcarving....

They're coming to take me away ha ha ho ho he he, they're coming to take me away

( insert laugh here)

Chuck,

You really have to check for bubbles around the small exposed areas and pop them when they appear in the exposed areas(area that is to be blasted off). The bubbles show up better when you view the piece at an angle.

Dave

Dave,

Thanks for the tip. I think I am making progress.

What I have done at this point is cut the rapid mask into approximately 3" squares. I then remove both of the carrier sheets leaving only the mask. This allows me to lay the mask flatter with few air bubble.
Next I laser etch the logo, I then blasted it. The longest part of the process was removing the carrier sheets.
The attached photo is the result. It still needs some refining, but I'm getting there I think.
The question I have now is, is the laser resist, basically the rapid mask with out the carrier sheets?

Thanks

Hi, Chuck...

Laser Tape is not the same thing as RapidMask without the slip sheet.

Laser Tape (and Rayzist's LaserMask) is a non-PVC film (a form of non-PVC vinyl?) which is not UV-sensitive. RapidMask is a different product chemically (I think polymer based, but am not sure) and of course is UV-sensitive.

With a 6:1 price ratio, it's safe to say that they are two completely different products...

Mark