Mat 'glue balls'

[sandyj]

I can't be the only one having this problem. The glue on the Cricut mats 'balls up' and than it sticks to and stays on the back of my cut item. Next thing you know, the darn glue balls are interfering with cuts, since they are holding the paper slightly off the mat. And don't even get me STARTED on the glue balls stuck to the cover sheets! I am sick of picking glue balls of stuff!

I've scraped the mats with the Cricut scraper, I've used a sharp-edge putty knife - that takes off a few, but smears out others.

I've tried scrubbing my mats to remove the glue so I could tack them myself but it's a tedious process. I've scrubbed them with Glue Gone, grease-removing dish soap and Bon Ami. I still can't get ALL the sticky off, although it does remove the glue balls and MOST of the stickness. But I have to say, I LOVE the way the mats work when hit with a light coat of Easy Tack. It doesn't even feel like there's any glue on it, but holds and releases like a dream!

SOOOO, two things.

Does anyone know of a solvent that will completely take the glue off without disolving the mat?

Or does anyone know where I can get plastic sheets the same thickness of the Cricut mats so I can make my own? Thanks!

[ronaba]

I have exactly the same problem with the mats that I have re-glued. I got a huge fright when my cricut started freezing half way through a cut. It had never done that before. I discovered it was the balls of glue, causing the the blade to stop. A new mat fixed it but I don't want to have to buy new mats all the time.

[molliels]

I have this problem also.. I haven't really figured out a way to stop it. If anyone does please let me know...
Thanks
Mollie

[pastda3]

Here's a link about removing the glue from the mat. I haven't tried it, so I can't vouch for it. HTH

http://forums.surecutsalot.com/viewtopi ... gone#p2362

[Eddita]

I love my cricut mats but when you first open them up they are SUPER Sticky and I'm not sure it's so much the glue as the little bits of paper that stay attached to the mat when you remove your cutouts that build up. What I do when I first open a new mat is remove some of the sticky by using a lint free rag (like pouncing)...not too much but once around. After that, I don't have any problems. When my mat starts to loose a little sticky I use the Kyrlon Easy Tack Repositionable spray (but NOT on the outer edges, just in the middle area of a 12x12 piece of paper).

Once I have resprayed about 3-4 times I will take it to my kitchen sink and with warm water, soap, some elbow grease and my scraping tool, I will remove ALL traces of glue, dry off well and then spray with the easy tack again. It's like having a brand new mat! My oldest one is now almost 3 years and still works great! Just don't do any spraying indoors!

Eddita

[Silvertip]

Some people like to get the flexible cutting mats at Walmart or Dollar Stores. At Walmart they come 3 to a package. Their is a problem though they aren't 12 x 12, I think they are too wide, and the length is too short. I don't know how to work around that but they are super cheap. Secondly to get the balls off try spraying the mat with windex or 409 and let it sit for a while, that should loosen them so you can remove them. But it will take you other good sticky off, but then you can respray.

[HeatherM]

The Walmart mats work great for cutting 12" or longer cuts with the baby bug. Cut the width to fit and leave the length as-is, mask off the edges, apply your choice of adhesive and Ta Da!! Now you can make cuts that are a true 12" or longer. Set the mat size in SCAL to 12x24 and be sure to only use the top 6 inches and don't go beyond the actual length of the mat. The biggest drawback is that they get a little wavy on the edges after several uses, but they still seem to work.

[grammakd]

I cleaned and reglued my mats with quilter spray basting glue. It works for a while then you just have to give in and get new mats. I was SO mad at my matts for not holding the paper and ruining the cuts- then i finally tossed them got 2 12x24 mats cut them in half so now I have 4 mats again. And I'm in love with my cricut again. Its amazing what a difference a new mat and new blade will do.
Have a great day!!!!!
karen
http://kreationsbykd.blogspot.com/

[sensationallychic]

I came across this on another site (they were talking about cutting gum paste with the cricut).

"Also, for those of you trying to get the sticky stuff off your cricut mats, try this... it worked great for me and was SOOOOOO much easier:

spray even coat of WD40 on the tacky surface. Let sit 3-5 mins. On a flat surface, just scrape off with bench scraper. Everything comes off!!!!!!!! Of course you then need to wash your mat thoroughly. But then again, you would have to do that anyway!"

HTH!!!

BTW the actual post can be found here if anyone is interested http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl= ... 0%26um%3D1

[DogCarbon]

I "condition" a new mat with the palms of my hands, like in this video. http://cricutdan.blogspot.com/2008/09/m ... oning.html

But my "new" mat has lost it's sticky... so I have used a thin layer of Aleene's Tack-It Over & Over, applying with my cricut spatula to get a thin layer.

I let it dry overnight, and then recondtioned my mat with my hands.

Works like new!