Sandcarving Safety: Masks
Sandcarving expert Ruth Dobbins takes a look at two dangerous scenarios.
If you are using a laser to cut your masks, you have to be careful about the contents of polyvinyl chloride in any masking material, which can fog up your laser’s mirrors and is not a good thing, not to mention it is not healthy to breathe such fumes.
But even if you do not use a laser, the reason not to use sign vinyl is a big one: those materials are made with strong adhesives which are meant to keep the material glued to a substrate and not release easily. When trying to remove such vinyls after blasting, they often leave much of their adhesive on the glass, which then must be removed with a solvent of some kind. It is not only not desirable to be exposed to solvents, but also costs extra time and labor, affecting your bottom line.
-Ruth Dobbins, Professional Glass Consultants
