How I Stencil a Parking Lot

I have an unwritten rule when I re stencil a parking lot…

You can always go bigger but be careful going smaller.

In other words…

If I have a job that has a 12″ STOP Stencil = a single, (1) piece stencil that spells; STOP using letters that are 12″ in height. ( A 12″ STOP Stencil. )

I don’t re stripe using a 12″ STOP because I don’t own a 12″ STOP ! ( I don’t even own an 18″ STOP Stencil. )
I place my 24″ STOP right where it belongs…over that old 12″ STOP Stencil. I then trace the perimeter of that particular piece of plastic using Railroad Chalk.

( In my case, this (1) piece of plastic sheet measures; 63″ Wide x 30″ Tall. )

I then get my (5) gallon bucket of White paint that I have already added a little Black to…stirred and now it’s Grey. ( My Grey Bucket ) That bucket has maybe 6″ of Grey paint in it. It also has a 9″ Roller dipped down in it. Yes, just like the Roller you would use to hand roll your living room wall. It’s always in there. I then hand roll that drawn rectangle Grey, covering the old 12″ STOP.

Next…put the 9″ roller, that I buy from a “Dollar Type Store”…back down into the 6” of remaining Grey paint. I don’t clean the roller. It may last me all year.

( Don’t ever spray from this bucket. You probably picked up debris while rolling. )

I snap the lid back on and it goes back to the trailer. By now, the “Grey Block” is dry. I lay my 24″ STOP Stencil on the new, pretty Grey rectangle. The Grey Block is the same size as my 24″ STOP Stencil, ( 63″ x 30″ ), so, if I lay it down perfectly on that rectangular Grey Block, the word; STOP is, by default…centered. I spray it. Done.

Again…you can always go a little bigger, but be careful going smaller. ( Be careful re-striping / replacing a 24″ stencil with an 18″ or 12″. That’s when the client may, may say something…when you replace with something smaller. )

Using this rule will save you from buying every stencil in the world. Yes, I MFG stencils. Friend, use this rule.

Thanks again.

( I replaced several 6″ VISITOR stencils, on (1) job, with my 12″ VISITOR stencil. It looked better. And, now, those stencils were easy to read, from a distance, while driving. All is well. )

Read more in my book; How I Stripe a Parking Lot.

Read a bit more on Twitter.