Frequently Asked Questions

How long will my stencils take to arrive?

What are your postage and packaging costs?

What is your Returns Policy?

What is a stencil?

How do I use a stencil?

Can I re-use a stencil?

Can you cut my own stencil designs / company logo?

Can you re-size one of your stencil designs?

Can you turn complicated images / logos into a stencil?

Can you create lettering / wording stencils?

What is the biggest size stencil you can cut?

What type of surfaces can I stencil?

Which type of paint can I use with my stencil?

What colour surface or base coat should I have?

How much paint will I need?

How should I fix a stencil in place?

What is spray mount and where can I get it from?

Why does paint sometimes bleed beneath the stencil?

Do I need a special brush for stencilling?

Where can I buy stencil brushes?

How do I clean my stencil brushes?

What are the stencils made from?

How thick is the stencil material?

How should I clean a stencil?

How should I store a stencil?

Can I stencil onto fabric?

How do I stencil a t-shirt?

What fabric paint would you recommend?

Can I use stencils for body art?B

How long will my stencils take to arrive?

We aim to dispatch orders to anywhere in the world within 1-5 days.
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We post all our orders using Royal Mail Postal Services.

UK delivery is usually within 1-5 days after dispatch.
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Overseas delivery is usually within 1-3 weeks after dispatch.
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If you select the "Tracked and Signed For" (UK Only) delivery option then your order will arrive the next day after it is shipped. 

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What are your Postage and Packaging Costs?

We ship Worldwide:-
UK First Class - £3.50

UK First Class Recorded - £4.50

UK Only - *Tracked & Signed For - £8.00

Untracked Airmail - £5.95

Tracked Airmail** - £9.00

*Tracked & Signed For - UK Only - This is a priority trackable delivery service. Orders will arrive the next day after shipping. Please note that our usual shipping times are between 1-5 working days after payment / order received.  
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**Tracked Airmail - We use Royal Mail "Airsure" and "International Signed For" Services:-
Airsure is a trackable priority aimail service (no signature required) - available to 30 destinations in the following geographic postal zones:-

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Europe: Andorra, Austria, Azores, Balearic Islands, Belgium, Canary Island, Corsica, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Mareira, Monaco, Netherlands, Potugal, Republic of Ireland, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

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World Zones: Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand and USA.

Please note that if your country isn't listed above then we will use "International Signed For" service - This service is not trackable but it does require a signature upon delivery. 

Custom Made Stencils - Dispatch times may vary however we will always keep you informed.

P&P is charged per order (not per item).

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What is your Returns Policy?

If you are not entirely delighted with your order return it to us unused within 7 working days of receipt for a full refund including P&P paid. The buyer is responsible for paying return P&P unless goods are faulty or damaged. Please let us know in writing before you return goods. 

Custom made stencils   - All stencils which are designed and cut to order cannot be returned for refund once dispatched.

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A Stencil is a cut out design from a thin material such as card, paper or Mylar which you can use to re-produce the design.

If you were to cut a circle from the middle of a peice of card it would drop out. This circle is a template. The card now has a circle cut from it, this is the stencil. It can be used loads of times to reproduce the circle design onto your chosen surface. Click here to see our stencil designs.

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How do I use a stencil?

Stencilling is as easy as 123. For more detailed instructions see our "How to" page.b

1. Position the stencil  - place the stencil over the surface you wish to decorate.

2. Paint Stencil -  apply paint to the cut out areas of the stencil.

3. Remove Stencil - when the whole area is covered with paint then carefully remove the stencil.

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Can I re-use a stencil?

Yes. A stencil can be used literally hundreds of times. Just keep it clean and store it flat or rolled up in a tube.

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Can you cut my own stencil designs / company logo?

Yes. We offer a custom stencil cutting service.  See our Custom Stencils page for more infornation. We can cut your own stencil designs and logos. Just email us your design and we will give you a quote.

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Can you re-size one of your stencil designs?

Yes. Most of our stencils are available to buy in sizes A5, A4, A3, A2 and A1 size. If you require a different size then please contact us.

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Yes. We can turn complicated images and logos into a stencil by creating a multi layered stencil. This means that instead of one stencil you have a number of stencils, each containing a part of the overal design. You still stencil the design in the normal way but build up the image one stencil layer at a time. Click here for information about multi layer stencils. Just email us your images / logo for a quote.

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Can you create lettering / wording stencils?

Yes. We can cut any letters or wording you require. Just choose a font style and the size of letter you would like. Prices are calculated by the height and number of letters required. Just email us your requirements.

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What is the biggest size stencil you can cut?

We can cut up to A1 size. (59cm x 84cm / 23.5" x 33")  We may be able to cut larger stencils depending on the design but we are limited by the size of the Mylar we stock. Our Mylar is on a roll which has a width of 60cm (23.5").

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What type of surfaces can I stencil?

Stencils can be used to create images or text on a wide variety of surfaces, such as walls, furniture, fabric, people's faces, t-shirts, wood, glass, canvas, metal and more.  As long as you use the appropriate paint you can stencil almost anything.  See our Top 20 ways to use our stencils for more ideas. 

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Our stencils can be used with any type of paint including spray paint. You just need to select the right type of paint for the surface you are painting.

If painting on to an internal wall emulsion paint is best. The little tester pots are ideal for smaller projects. 

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You can use any colour as a base. Light stencilling on a dark background can look very effective. Just remember that this may have an effect on the overall colour, so it is a good idea to do a test sample on a piece of scrap card first.

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The amount of paint required will depend on the size of your stencilling project. You just need to remember not to overload your paint brush with too much paint when stencilling as this can cause the paint to bleed underneath the stencil. It is much better to do two thin coats of paint rather than one thick coat.

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How should I fix a stencil in place?

You can use Stencil Tape, low tack masking tape or spray mount adhesive to hold your stencil in place.

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Spray mount is an aerosol adhesive. It is a type of glue that doesn't stick things together permanently. It is similar to the type of glue that you find on the back of a "post it" note, allowing you to reposition your stencil again and again. Spray mount adhesive can be bought from most craft shops, stationers and DIY stores.

Sorry but we can not sell spray mount adhesive on our site because we are not allowed to send aerosol cans throught the post.

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Why does paint sometimes bleed beneath the stencil?

We have listed a few causes of why paint bleeds beneath a stencil:

• Overloading your brush with too much paint.
• Using paint that is too watery.
• The stencil is not firmly in place. b

If stencilling a wall do not leave the stencil in place whilst the paint dries because the stencil may stick to the wall and pull some of the plaster off when the stencil is finally removed.

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Do I need a special brush for stencilling?

You will get a more professional finish if you use a proper stencil brush. A stencil brush has flat ended bristles which allows full contact with the surface you are stencilling. It also reduces the risk of the paint bleeding beneath the stencil. If painting a large stencil then you could use a roller.

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Where can I buy Stencil Brushes?

The Stencil Studio stock 3 sizes of wooden handled stencil brushes.  Our stencil brushes are traditionally hand made in the UK using top quality bristles. 

Use our small stencil brush for smaller size stencils and detail. The medium stencil brush is ideal for general use and suitable for most stencil sizes. The large stencil brush is perfect for our larger stencils.

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How do I clean my stencil brushes?

This depends on what type of paint you have used:-

• Water based paints - clean with water
• Oil based paints - clean with white spirit 

What are the stencils made from?b

All our stencils are cut from Mylar. Mylar is a thin polyester material similar to acetate but is much stronger. It is semi transparent which makes it ideal for stencilling because you can see through the mylar to accuratly re-position your stencil. Mylar is very hard wearing, will not rip and is easy to clean.

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How thick is the stencil material?

The Mylar we use is 125 microns thick (roughly the same thickness as a piece of paper).  Mylar is very flexible and can be used for stencilling on slightly curved as well as flat surfaces. The fact that mylar is so thin allows for excellent close contact with the surface you are stencilling. 

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This will depend on what type of paint you have used:-

• Water based paints - clean the stencil with warm water and soap
• Oil based paints - clean the stencil with turps or white spirit

Stencils should be stored clean, dry and flat or rolled, never folded.

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Can I stencil onto fabric?

Yes. Use fabric paint and following the manufactures instructions. 

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How do I stencil a t-shirt?

Use fabric paint and a stencil brush to stencil T-shirts. Just follow the manufactures instructions.

For further top tips and guidance see our "How to" page for a step by step video.

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What fabric paint would you recommend?

We would recommend the fabric paint called "Permaset Aqua Fabric Magic" it is also sometimes called "Permaset Aqua Screen Printing Ink" (although it is actually a paint). This water based paint needs to be heat fixed after application. This involves ironing the design once the paint has dried. Remember to use a dry iron (no steam) and protect the design with a t-towel or piece of paper as you iron. See our "How To" page for more information.

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Yes. Make sure that you use body art specialist paint available from fancy dress shops or online.

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