Rafco Brickform Decorative Sandblast Stencils
Adding sandblast stenciling to your repertoire lets you move up into high-profile commercial and residential projects. Rafco has introduced Brickform sandblast stencils to make this technique more accessible to contractors.
Robert Freis, the president and owner of Rafco Products Brickform, realized the need for precut sandblast stencils several years ago after seeing the elaborate stenciled concrete work in some Las Vegas casinos. Back then, stencil material was laid out and tediously cut by hand. Freis realized that with the aid of design software and computer-controlled machinery, stencils could be made in a fraction of the time. Freis brought in Glen Roman to develop the company’s stenciling department and help customers design and use the stencils. Rafco unveiled Brickform Decorative Sandblast Stenciling at World of Concrete ’98, and the decorative concrete industry received the product eagerly.
“Stenciling has become very popular with both landscape architects and decorative concrete contractors,” Roman says. “Architects see the design potential right away. They can create artistic concepts and incorporate them using regular concrete as their canvas. Stenciling can create decorative borders, logos, custom designs, or theme artwork-whatever they can dream up! Lately we’ve seen a dramatic increase of sandblast stenciling being specified on major commercial hardscape projects.”
“And,” Roman adds, “decorative concrete contractors can see that by adding stenciling to their existing services, they can bid on specialty or high-profile projects that they would have passed up before.”
Getting into sandblast stenciling requires a sandblaster, of course. Small sandblasters that run off bottle-type compressors don’t have the capacity for large stenciling jobs. Most contractors rent a 185-cfm compressor and a 100-200-lb kettle sandblaster or shot blaster the day of the application.
Most commercial stencil projects are done in the construction phase of the project, and in deference to other operations going on around you, you may need to use a Blast-Track machine or water-vapor sandblaster to control dust emissions.
As for the stencils themselves, you may be able to find the right one in Rafco’s selection of stock borders or medallions. If not, you can fax or mail the company an 81⁄2" x 11" black-and-white copy of your artwork, along with a rough drawing of the layout and dimensions of the project. The company will give you technical assistance if you need it. Rafco then sends you a proof of your stencil along with detailed dimensions of the design and layout. Once you approve the proof, Rafco calculates the price, cuts the stencil, and ships it out within a couple of days.
Stencils can be made as large or as small as you need. The panels are 26 inches wide and four or five feet long, and a larger medallion or design can be made by joining multiple panels like puzzle pieces.
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