Cutting mats question

[RosemaryH]

I am sure this question has been asked before but I have searched and can't find an answer. I have an eClips and the mat seems to have lost it's sticky after only half a dozen cuts. Is this normal and if so what can I do to prolong the life of the mat.

TIA

[Busgoddess10]

We have used a damp baby wipe with success. The exception being the new style cricut mats that we just purchased. I don't use any paper with fibers - construction paper. It leaves gobs of fuzzys. I also restick mine when they are uncleanable by scrubbing the dickens out of them then spraying repositional adhesive.

[sstehman]

Sizzix sells spray adhesive for the mats. But another member posted this information from Sizzix for another product they recommended. I actually bought some of these sheets, but haven't used them yet.

They are called ReNu Sheets. come in 13 x 27" - 2 sheets and cost $9.99. Received mine very quickly. The link is
http://thatsscrapinc.com/re-nukit.aspx

One thing I noticed. I am so used to the overly sticky "other mats" that the eClips mats do seem like there is no stickiness to them. Did a bit of cutting yesterday and thought it was losing it's stickiness, BUT when I made sure I placed the paper firmly on my mat it held just fine. I would like to see what happens after a few more cuts with the mat so make sure you test this first.

[Sweetness4713]

You can use the Elmer spray adhesive as well which I spray every couple of uses with my mat.. It doesn't got too sticky which is fabulous.. Also if your mat has some fibers on it use the sticky roller brushes to remove any pieces left behind...

[RosemaryH]

Thanks for the ideas, I have tried the baby wipe to keep it clean but was just a bit surprised after so few cuts that I was having to use repo glue.

I saw the Sizzix idea but it is not available in the UK yet. I might drop them an email and ask about it.

[Jax]

I've had the same problem with my Cricut mattes and found that a baby wipe works but I've been using Electronic wipes. They don't leave lint and are safe for LCD screens also. But once you clean a few times that's it for the sticky material. I learned from another site that the adhesive called Zig works great. You scrub your matte to get all the old adhesive off. Then go put on the Zig, it goes on blue and drys white. Once it turns white it becomes repositionable and you can use your matte as you did before.

[ptpulley]

There are also a number of YouTube videos on re-sticking cutter mats. I am planning to remove the sticky stuff on mine with Goo Gone, and then resticking with Aleene's Tack It Over and Over repositionable glue. I've seen various reports that putting a thin coat of that mixed half with water makes it work well. I will repost my results.

ETA: I used the Goo Gone and an old credit card, and lots of elbow grease. Scraped the heck out of the mat, then washed it a couple of times with spray bathroom cleaner to get all the Goo Gone off. Mixed the repositionable glue and water and painted it on with a foam 'brush'. It's wonderful and tacky now, and nice and smooth.

[gj1]

Thanks PT and HeatherM for tip about tack it over and over with half water...restickied my mats today and it worked soooooooo good...better than when they were new. Yay!

[lisajenkins11]

I watched you tube video and one put goo gone and scraped. All of my white and blue came off. OOP!

Any ideas? I have a few more, but don't want to mess them up.

[newbiecat]

3m Spray mount the repositional kind works on most types of mats very well - just a light spray - if the mat becomes a little cloggy with bits etc either wipe with baby wipe or wash lightly with soap and water and let air dry - which often sorts out the sticky problem too

dont have eclips but have used all of the above on cricut, pazzles and blackcat/silver bullet mats

Pandora