I've been giving some thought about the process of stenciling. First and foremost, I shouldn't have chosen that medium if I wanted to remain sane. I'll probably make a more comprehensive section about stenciling and the process I use and techniques I've come up with but for now it'll be just this. Skill sharing ya heard.

Plan Plan Plan. Really look at your design to make sure it will work. Once that is established, decide on an approach. On the front I layed down the highlights on top of the black but for the back to work, I had to lay down the positive ground, the white, and layed down the black over that.

I took a class in graphic design once. The first things the teacher told us were the graphic design didn't imply the use of computers which was a relief to me and that we should just up and buy a 100 pack of exacto blades. You'll thank yourself if you use a sharp blade all the time.

I've cut stencils out of a number of materials in the past. The best material I've found so far is a mylar used for making quilt patterns. The thicker stuff is a bit harder to cut small stuff out of but it's rigidity is nice. Both work really well and cut really nice though. Just remember to use a cutting mat.

Flat? Flat! Flat is the paint you want to use if you can. That or primer. Especially on a project like this. The covers will just soak up paint but primers and flat paints work better.

Stock caps suck. You get blow under if you hold the can too close to the stencil or if you have too much pressure coming out. Blurry lines are no one's friend. A trip to your local graffiti shop will present you with numerous caps, each with a different purpose and spray. Personally, I love german thin caps. They have a hooded shield which doesn't hurt to press down on and the pressure of the paint is greatly reduced. Be warned though, Rustoleum may be the thicker paint, but Krylon cans accept more caps.

Some measure of consistency is what I was after and some parts of the stencil didn't like to lay flat on the cover. A dusting of spray adhesive on the back held em down right, just don't set it down on a dirty surface.

Being lazy, I didn't want to cut the stencils 20 times each. In my younger days working on BMX bikes, my friends and I learned that spray paint doesn't like brake cleaner. A spray down on the mylar followed by a rinsing on water a few minutes later, as the cleaner will fuck the mylar eventually, softened that paint up enough to where I could peel it off. You can't do this forever but you can extend the life of a stencil that way.