Repairing a cutting mat to new condition
10-07-2010, 07:34 AM
#163
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Westminster, Co
Posts: 2,675
Originally Posted by AlwaysQuilting
This is from
http://www.generations-quilt-pattern...tting-mat.html
OLFA Cutting Mats love moisture!
It is recommended that you soak your mat from time to time. Your self healing mat loves moisture.
To soak it, put your mat in a bathtub or large container (would have to be large so it can lay flat) and soak it for 15-20 in a solution of 1/4 cup white vinegar to every gallon of cool water. Let me repeat, cool water. Do this every so often to help extend its useful life.
Then use a squirt of mild dishwashing soap (Ivory) and clean the mat with a mushroom brush (soft is the key word here). The purpose of this gentle scouring is to remove the fibers that get trapped in the cuts marks preventing the cuts from "healing".
Keep 'em clean, keep 'em moist, keep 'em flat and NO heat. Your cutting mat is not a coffee cup coaster!
http://www.generations-quilt-pattern...tting-mat.html
OLFA Cutting Mats love moisture!
It is recommended that you soak your mat from time to time. Your self healing mat loves moisture.
To soak it, put your mat in a bathtub or large container (would have to be large so it can lay flat) and soak it for 15-20 in a solution of 1/4 cup white vinegar to every gallon of cool water. Let me repeat, cool water. Do this every so often to help extend its useful life.
Then use a squirt of mild dishwashing soap (Ivory) and clean the mat with a mushroom brush (soft is the key word here). The purpose of this gentle scouring is to remove the fibers that get trapped in the cuts marks preventing the cuts from "healing".
Keep 'em clean, keep 'em moist, keep 'em flat and NO heat. Your cutting mat is not a coffee cup coaster!
06-07-2011, 01:13 AM
#165
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: CA
Posts: 391
Originally Posted by lawsonmugs
A tip I heard many times is to take very fine sandpaper and very lightly sand the top to remove old thread caught in the fine cuts. I never tried the watering of it yet.Gonna try it tonight.
After final polyurethane coat or or wood finish I "sand" final layer with a brown paper bag...it will take off any tiny imperfections.
09-14-2015, 09:30 AM
#167
Member
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 1
For badly scarred self-healing mats, it's possible to continue using them for an extended period. This doesn't mean I know how to heal the self-healing function (haven't had my thrift store mat for long enough to tell), but the one I bought had initials carved in it, blade cuts, a few puncture and twist bumps, etc, and I was able to make it smooth again. I laid it flat and sanded one damaged square at a time using the fabric-style sanding material, sanding in vertical, horizontal, diagonal, and small circular motions. After removing the scars, I sanded using water to help smooth the surface. Yes, it lightened it, yes, it removed some of the grid lines, but the thing is totally usable which is all I ask for. :-)
05-10-2018, 08:07 AM
#169
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 1,348
And of course, *now* I see this, two weeks after throwing away my old cutting mat! My new one is *really nice*, though. Three times as thick as the Olfa and half the price! Bought it off Amazon. Don't know the name, but it's dark green with blue lines, inches on one side and centimeters on the other.
05-10-2018, 09:26 AM
#170
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Small town in Northeast Oregon close to Washington and Idaho
Posts: 2,795
My mat is 36 x 72. I would have to lay it outside with wet towels on top of it. How long should it lay like that? And anyone figure how long it takes to dry outside in 65 degree weather? I don’t want to bring it in the house wet.
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