Need Help! Masking peeling up while V-carving

Good morning Carbide 3D community! I have been having an issue and I am not sure what I am doing wrong. Hopefully it is something simple that I overlooked. I have been making wooden flags and signs and such with a masking to spray the cut out. What keeps happening is the masking is peeling up and is still attached to the rest of the mask. SVG is has smooth vectors, do I do not believe it is the image I am using. I have used two different masks as well, Cricut temporary vinyl as well ask Oramask 813. Below is some pictures and my settings. Please let me know what I am doing wrong! Thanks ahead of time!

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The cross grain is typical. I ise a rubber J roller to adhere the masking down. I use adhesive shelf paper and Oramask 813. Dull tools tend to raise masking.

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If you’re not sealing your wood under the mask, that can happen.

Seal with 2 - 4 thin coats of dewaxed shellac before applying the mask. Like Guy says, roll the mask down tight and use sharp tools.

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I just completed a sign using Drawer Liner as a mask. One thing I do as applying the mask material is use a plastic putty knife and rub the mask into the surface ensuring good contact.
I did post the job if you want to look at my results.

Other than that, as mentioned before a sharp tool makes all the difference.

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Could you give us a rundown on what your procedure is prior to cutting? Is the wood clear coated in some way before the masking is applied? I typically take a hair dryer or heat gun to the masking as I am applying it to encourage the adhesive to stick. Or I let it sit out in the sun for a few minutes after applying it and then come back and press/roll it again.

I have had a lot of luck ditching the masking all together for certain projects (especially ones with a lot of fine detail or sharp points). So say I wanted to cut your same design and it to be natural wood color with blackened cut areas, I would try cutting the design with no “prefinishing” at all (and no masking) and seal it all with a clear coat after the cut was done and let it dry. Then I would come in with a small brush, black paint, and a wet rag. Dab the paint into the cut and wipe back the surface with the wet rag to remove the excess, which should come right off thanks to the clear coat/sealing. This method works well with wood species where the darker color will “bleed” into the surrounding wood fibers, as well.

Along with the other guys that reccomend a fresh vbit…I have found that certain types of Vbits cut soft masking better than others. So when I have a project that calls for masking + vcarving I always default to one of my Amana bits that uses carbide inserts instead of a traditional vbit and run them at around 20-21k rpm. Typically leaves no fuzzies at all.

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Thanks for all the help guys!

I was not doing all of that, I was not sealing the wood prior to masking, I was not heating up the mask and then rolling, and I was using dull tools. Just cut it out and it worked amazing! Thanks for all your help!

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Another option would be no mask, cut the design, spray the image, then sand the surface til the spray is gone… if you ended up sanding the surface anyway this might be an option.

With this method you really need to seal the wood first. Especially if using a soft wood like pine otherwise you risk bleeding of the paint.
Or take the time to put multiple very light coats of paint.

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