Most cutting machines are dependent upon a sticky cutting mat to hold your material in place while it gets cut. Eventually you will find your cutting mat isn't sticky enough. We have several tips:
1. Clean your cutting mat:
- Submerge mat in warm soapy water until all the paper dissolves away. Let air dry.
- Use baby wipes and wipe away all the gunk.
- Products such as Goof Off and nail polish remover can help clean a mat. Use with caution. Always try it in a small corner first to make sure you aren't ruining your mat.
2. Use tape right on your mat to hold your paper in place:
- Electrical tape works great. It's not too sticky and pulls right off.
- Painters tape pulls off easily and doesn't stick to most paper.
3. Make the mat sticky again:
- Always clean your mat before you make sticky again.
- Remember when making mat sticky again, you don't want to make the whole mat sticky. You will need to avoid getting the mat borders sticky.
- Repositionable Spray Adhesive works great to re-sticky a mat. There are several brands and some that are made for quilt basting as well. 3M, Krylon, Scotch, and Martha Stewart all have their own versions of spray.
- Removable, repositionable, or restickable glue works to make mat sticky. There are many brands on the market like Scotch, Elmers, and Zig 2-way. These glue sticks make it easy to stick just a small amount of paper down to rather that making the whole mat resticky and you don't have to go outside or in the garage to use like you would if you used spray adhesive.