How to Make Cameo Mat Sticky Again

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In that location was a question in my Cricut Freebies Facebook group the other solar day on how to make clean Cricut mats and make them sticky again.

I tend to go more questions about Cricut mats in particular, but this guide will apply to whatever sort of similar cutting mat with an adhesive, including Silhouette mats.

Having a sticky Cricut mat is important considering you don't desire the cloth you are using to slide around while the machine is cut. This can atomic number 82 to wasted materials and a jammed cut machine.

Mats merely tend to stay sticky for a little over a dozen cuts, more than or less depending on the materials yous use. If you use your Cricut a lot, this can actually add up considering cutting mats aren't inexpensive!

This guide will help you acquire how to clean droppings off of your mats, and restick them so that they work good equally new.

How do yous know when it's fourth dimension to make clean your mat?

When you lot outset open up your Cricut mat, you'll notice that they are SUPER gummy. Often times I find that I take to ho-hum the adhesive using a shirt or towel and then that it doesn't damage my materials.

However, in doing and then, this accelerates the wearable on the agglutinative. After a dozen or then cuts, mats will lose their sticking power.

You lot can tell information technology's time to clean your mat when your materials no longer firmly stick to the mat.

Sometimes it will appear that materials are stuck to the mat, but when the car starts cutting, they brainstorm sliding around or creating bubbles.

This will decrease the accuracy of your cuts, leading to the waste of materials, a maybe jammed or damaged motorcar, and an unsuccessful arts and crafts project.

How to Clean your Cricut Mat

Information technology'southward very likely that you lot volition not need to follow every step on this list. If your mat isn't very muddied, yous may be able to go away by just doing the offset couple steps and not have to restick the mat at all.

Nevertheless, don't worry if the adhesive is removed in the process of removing clay and droppings. It'due south very elementary to restick the mat once it is make clean, and after you lot have the materials, you'll find that it's much cheaper to restick the mat than constantly purchase new ones.

Utilize a Scraper

The first thing you'll desire to practice is grab your scraper if yous accept one. If non, catch an old credit card or something similar. Run your scraper forth the surface of the mat, removing any debris or buildup. If your mat has a lot of paper fibers or debris, this may take a few passes.

Use a Lint Roller and Infant Wipes

For stubborn buildup, many crafters recommend using a lint roller. Whatever kind of lint roller will do, equally long as information technology is sticky. Later on giving it a few passes on the mat, you might be shocked how much debris a Cricut mat can collect!

Once most of the debris is removed, I recommend using baby wipes. You'll want to use infant wipes that are both alcohol and bleach free, or you'll risk ruining the adhesive of the mat.

If your mat doesn't have a ton of buildup, these steps may return it to its erstwhile glory. However if your mat still isn't sticky, keep with the rest of the guide!

Use Lather and Water

If your Cricut mat has truly seen meliorate days, it might be time for a bath in some dish soap and water.

Let your mat soak in warm soapy water for ten minutes, then remove. If your mat all the same needs some TLC, then you can use a sponge, castor, magic eraser, or dishrag to remove the debris.

In some cases, if a lot of scrubbing is required, you may have to restick your mat when yous are finished. Allow the mat to air dry when yous are finished.

For Very Stubborn Droppings, attempt Goo Gone

Using a newspaper towel, spread around a flake of Goo Gone or agglutinative remover. Let it sit for about x-15 minutes, and then scrape it off with your scraper. This will remove the buildup besides every bit the agglutinative on your mat, so you will demand to restick your mat later on this step.

Let the Mat Air Dry

After removing the buildup, allow your mat to air dry. Yous might exist pleased to detect that after these steps, your mat is quite sticky once again, and you can go back to using it with your Cricut.

If you had some stubborn debris and y'all had to do a deeper make clean, then you might have to restick your mat. Don't worry, this step isn't too hard, and once you're finished, your mat should be as skillful as new!

Resticking your Cricut Mat

Cricut mat not pasty anymore? Follow these steps to help information technology become back to its quondam glory.

Make Sure Your Mat is Clean

Earlier resticking your mat, make sure the surface is make clean and doesn't have any droppings. Follow the steps above to brand sure you have a surface that'south ready for some fresh adhesive. I recommend using lather and water or Goo Gone to remove the old adhesive layer.

Record the Edges

Grab some tape and tape the edges of the mat where you don't want agglutinative. On a Cricut mat, these are the margins where the Cricut rollers movement the mat back and forth.

Yous'll desire to brand sure that these edges don't go viscid with the new agglutinative, or else you will risk damaging the rollers on your machine.

Any kind of tape should work fine for this. When I do it, I tend to use blue painters or masking tape, however it is entirely up to you lot.

Cover Mat with Adhesive

At this stage you'll want to cover the mat with some adhesive. Yous can use a spray adhesive or a glue stick.

Here's some adhesives I would recommend:

Aleene'southward Tack-Information technology Over & Over Liquid Glue

Mix the liquid glue i:one with h2o and coat the cricut mat. Depending on how gluey yous want the mat, you may want to coat information technology multiple times.

Kuretake ZIG ii Way GLUE

With this gum, you don't even have to tape off your mat! Afterwards cleaning, only use the mucilage stick on the grid function of the mat, and wait for it to dry clear before using.

Stencil Ease Repositionable Stencil Spray Adhesive

Lightly spray onto mat from a distance after taping the edges. If it is besides mucilaginous, yous may accept to identify and remove something (like a t-shirt or towel) on the mat a few times to loosen the grip.

Let the Agglutinative Air Dry

After spraying or using a glue stick, allow the mat to air dry out. Once the mat is dry, y'all can then remove the tape, and your mat should be as good equally new!

You can examination a small corner of your mat to make sure it is as sticky as you would like. If the mat is too sticky, you tin can utilize a t-shirt to slightly dull the adhesive.

These steps should increase the life expectancy of your mats past quite a fleck. You'll be able to save some money and frustration past cleaning your mats instead of constantly buying new ones.

I promise this guide was helpful! Do you have any Cricut mat cleaning tips and tricks that weren't shared here? Let united states know in the comments!

Looking for other means to save money on your Cricut? Check out eight Money Saving Tips for Cricut and Silhouette

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Source: https://www.digitalistdesigns.com/how-to-clean-and-restick-cricut-cutting-mats/

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