Making your own Parking Lot Stencils

In this article I will to discuss creating your own parking lot logo & handicap stencils out of LDP or Low Density Polyethylene. This is not a complicated process and the most difficult part is finding the materials. Making your own parking lot stencils is very simple and very economical. You will need to locate sheets of LDP or Low Density Polyethylene. It flexible translucent material. Look in the phone book or search google for “plastics” or “commercial plastics”. You should find companies that carry plastic in sheets, rolls, etc.. GE Polymer Shapes is one of the most popular sources. A 4 x 8 sheet runs around $20. The material looks and feels like the plastic lid on a Folgers Coffee Can. Clear but also a little milky. You can see through it a little which is important as we discuss the next step.

Once you have bought some LDP sheeting you will simply take it to an existing marking like a handicap logo and lay the LDP over the logo. Then trace it out with an indelible marker. Take the sheet home and score around the outline with an exacto knife, pierce a corner and then peel the piece out. If you have cut deep enough the scored section will peel right out. Using this method you can create almost any stencil. The stencils your create will be almost indestructible because of the strength of LDP. You may want to consider purchasing stencils with small letters or lots of letters just to save the labor. As far as finding sample logos to trace, you should have more luck and get more accurate markings if you use parking lot markings that have just been put down and inspected. There is a better chance of these markings being compliant with current code.

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