I had this 6×6 stencil from Red Lead Paperworks that had been used repeatedly a couple of weeks ago. It was covered in red pigment ink — and still kinda wet. I didn’t want to leave it like this, as the next time I used it the pigment ink would come through on my project in addition to whatever other ink or paint I was using.
I grabbed my bottle of the Best Cleaner Ever and gave it a couple of spritzes.
With just swiping across the surface with a paper towel, you can see how much ink is coming off. To keep cleaning, just continue wiping gently. With stencils, you need to be careful not to bend or tear any of the openings. You can see how the ink is also rubbing off on the white paper underneath.
After I was done wiping off the front, I flipped the stencil over and wiped the back as well.
To clean around the word cut-outs, I sprayed my paper towel with a bit more of the Best Cleaner Ever and rubbed very carefully one letter at a time. You can see the difference in the upper right-hand part of the stencil versus the bottom where there’s still a red outline.
When I was finished, I lightly rinsed my stencil in water and set it aside to dry. Now it’s all ready for the next time.
