GB2485594A

GB2485594A - Abrasion resistant stencil for use in vehicle refinishing

Info

Publication number: GB2485594A
Application number: GB1019690.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Alan Wilkinson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-11-22
Filing date: 2010-11-22
Publication date: 2012-05-23
Anticipated expiration: 2030-11-22
Also published as: US20130244543A1; CN103282161A; CA2818456A1; GB2485594B; EP2643122A1; WO2012069777A1; BR112013012470A2; JP2013544661A; GB201019690D0; EP2643122B1

Abstract

AÂ masking stencil 1 is made from a sheet of abrasion resistant material to protect the surface surrounding a high spot to be abraded. The high spot may result from repairing a stone ship or scratch by filling it with paint. The stencil 1 may be of minimal thickness and include etched holes 2 of a size and shape matching typical spot repairs and smaller than a typical sanding block or sanding machine pad. The stencil 1 may be reusable and may be used with a sanding block or a sanding machine. The stencil 1 may be made from stainless steel shim whose thickness may be between 0.05mm and 0.03mm and the sheet may be 12cm by 12cm.

Description

SHIM-MASK STENCIL

Description

The present invention relates to a stencil to protect the surface surrounding an area being abraded, for example in the vehicle refinishing trade.

When a technician is performing a repair for example abrading excess material after filling a stone chip or scratch with paint or needs to remove a run as a result of incorrect lacquer application, the area surrounding the area to be abraded must be protected if damage is to be avoided. This is commonly done by applying adhesive masking tape, the disadvantages of which are that the tape is easily abraded by the abrasive material employed and is too thick to be near flush with the surface so that when the abrasive is passed over the tape, the area under repair is still considerably higher than the remaining surface, meaning that the repair must be finished without masking tape if a flush repair is to be achieved, increasing the risk of damage to the surrounding area.

By using a protective stencil having the properties of being very thin whilst being resistant to abrasive materials, a high spot as previously mentioned may be abraded by selecting a stencil with a suitable size and shape of hole, placing this hole over the high spot (the stencil maybe taped into position or hand-held against the surface to be worked on), so that the high spot is exposed and then passing an abrasive over the stencil either by hand with an abrasive wrapped around a suitable sanding block, or by means of a sanding machine. The result will that be that the material within the selected hole in the stencil will stand as high as the thickness of the stencil which may then be finished with a fine abrasive once the stencil has been removed, so minimising risk of damage to the surrounding surface.

A preferred embodiment of the stencil will be given referring to figure 1 which shows a top view of the stencil (1), manufactured from 0.05mm to 0.03mm hard quality stainless steel shim in a sheet measuring 12cm by 12cm, with holes (2) designed to expose typical spot repairs, namely lacquer runs, imperfections and paint-filled chips or scratches, and created by a process to ensure that edges are flush with stencil body, for example an etching process. The etched holes are calculated to be of a dimension that will not allow the abrasive block or sanding machine pad, when held horizontal to the surface, to make contact with the surface to be protected at any point, ie the dimensions of the holes are too small to allow the sanding block or machine pad to fit completely inside. The stainless steel employed to make the stencil offers high durability to the abrasion process so that the surface to be protected is so, prevents the stencil from oxidation, which would affect its uniform positioning on the surface, and allows the stencil to be re-used.

Claims

IClaims 1. A masking stencil comprised of a sheet of abrasion resistant material which protects the surface surrounding a high spot to be abraded.
2. A masking stencil as described in claim 1 where the holes to expose the high points to be abraded are made via an etching process to ensure uniform contact with the surface being worked on and the abrasive employed.
3. A masking stencil as described in claim 1 where the stencil thickness is such that the final abrasion required to return the repair spot to flush with the surface once the stencil is removed can be performed by an abrasive fine enough to minimise risk of damage to surrounding area.
4. A masking stencil as described in claim 1 where the stencil is of sufficient resistance to abrasion to allow it to be reused.
5. A masking stencil as described in claim 1 where the holes to expose areas to be abraded relative to the dimensions of the sanding bock or sanding machine pad, do not allow the abrasive material to touch the surface surrounding the repair spot at any point.
6. A masking stencil as described in claim 1 where the material used will not allow any form of oxidation to interfere with the regularity of the stencil's surface.
7. A masking stencil as described in claim which contains holes of a size and shape to expose typical spot repairs.Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows Claims I. A masking stencil comprised of a sheet of hard, thin, flat, flexible, abrasion-resistant material such as stainless steel which protects the surface immediately sunounding a high spot to be abraded or sliced off as the abrasive or blade passes across and is in contact with the stencil body, allowing the abrasive or cutting action to reduce the high spot to the height of the stencil thickness.2. A masking stencil as described in claim 1 where the holes to expose the high points to be abraded are made via an etching process, or similar, to ensure no burring and so uniform contact with the surface being worked on and the abrasive or blade employed.3. A masking stencil as described in claim 1 where the stencil is of sufficient resistance to insistent abrasion to allow it to be reused.4. A masking stencil as described in claim 1 where the holes to expose areas to be abraded are smaller than the dimensions of the sanding block, sanding machine pad or blade employed so that when used horizontal or near horizontal to the surface, in the case of a blade, , the abrasive material or blade cannot damage the surface surrounding the repair spot at any point.5. A masking stencil as described in claim 1 where the material used will not allow any form of oxidation to interfere with the regularity of the stencil's surface.C) 6. A masking stencil as described in claim 1 which contains holes of a size and 0 shape to expose typical spot repairs.N 7. A masking stencil as described in claim 1 where the minimal stencil body thickness leaves a repair which can be finished with an abrasive fine enough to minimise surface damage.