Just saw another great tip on how to keep Cricut matt stickey

Although we've had much discussion here on the boards on methods used in making the Cricut matt stickey again, I just watched an online tutorial on this tip, and it looks pretty good. You use the ZIG 2-way glue pen (looks like they used the larger jumbo sized one with the fat tip to be able to apply it faster). Take the pen and apply left to right (as if you were using a yellow highlighter marker). Continue to do this until you've covered the entire cutting area of the matt. Wait about 20 minutes or so to dry. And that's it! If anyone has tried this using this exact ZIG 2-way glue pen, let us know what you think. The tutorial looked like it really works great.

I have never been able to get the same great sticky results trying to "resticky" my Cricut mats. I just buy new ones when I come across great deals.

I use the re-positionable SPRAY adhesive.

I have this big fat ZIG pen and this is what I use it for. I've found it works great as long as you let the mat "dry" to a tacky stage before you put the plastic film back on top of it. I've even left mine overnight. One thing - be sure NOT to get the blue along the border edges or it will get on your Cricut feed rollers. Nothing is going to beat a brand new mat, but this really does help extend the life.

i've done it twice on 2 different mats and I think it works pretty good. I let them dry overnight too. When I first use them, they are SUPER sticky and sometimes slightly rip the paper I'm peeling off as well as the cut image, but is still usable.

I tried cleaning with soap/water only and that did me no good. Make sure the mat is really clean before applying.

Eh, I just buy new ones. Its always so hard to get htem back to normal plus I have super long hair and 2 cats, its difficult to keep them clean each time I use them even though I always put the plastic right back on!!

This is what I do. I first clean the mat with warm soapy water and lighytly scrub off the little paper bits (if you have any on there), then let the mat completely dry. Then use the ZIG two way from left to right. Make sure you use the same amount for he whole mat. Then let it dry completely. I woud recommend to let it dry at least 30 minutes before you touch it to check if it's dry. You will leave a finger mark.

I have found that by doing this though, the mat will be a litle to sticky at first. Other then that, you can use the mat lots of times before having to apply the application all over again.

My question is this,,,,

How much do you REALLY save??

Point,,,,2 6X12 mats at Wally World 7.99,,,

1 ZIG gy glue pen at M's 6.57,,,,

exactly how many mats will a ZIG gy pen re-sticky??

two?? If it will only re-sticky two mats then how much money are you REALLY saving???

2 bucks??? Not even?? When you take into consideration your time to actually sit and DO IT?

Not worth it,,,,,,

I'll just buy the dang things,,,,,of course, I do wash them several times, and I've gotten many weeks of use out of them that way,,,,,but when they're done, they're done,,,,,,

I've had my Cricut now for about 4 weeks, and I've used 1 mat completely and started a second mat,,,,

so about 1 mat every 3 weeks,,,I don't think that's half bad,,,,

Holly

I was curious about how long the ZIG pen would last also. So I am writing on the container how many times I've re-sticky'd my mats so I can keep track of how many uses it has. So far my Big ZIG pen has re-sticky'd 6 mats and counting! (I'm not using it for other crafting)

I've done this too and it seems to work real well. It really extends the life of your matt. I haven't had to buy a new matt in quite a while.

What I did was just take the piece of paper and use Hermafix repositional sticky dots and put a few small swipes on the corners and one or two in the middle (of the paper not the mat). Then I just stuck it in the machine and cut like normal.

well then that answers my question, thanks,,,,,that pen doesn't look that large It might be worth it for that many times Thanks for the info Holly

• SwirlyGirl Said:

It is totally worth it to use the ZIG pen. You can use Coupons to make it even less and it works great. I've already done 10 or 12 mats with mine and it's still going.

• DawnInAZ Said:

Me too! I read online how to use Quilter's Basting Spray on your mats to make them sticky. I bought a can (which is not cheap!) and the blue painters tape and followed the instructions to the letter. The result was that the mats were so sticky that I couldn't get my paper or the cut letters off. So I ended up throwing all my mats away and wasted the money on the spray and the tape. I just buy new mats now.

I have a bottle of Wacky Tack repositionable glue with the sponge tip. It doesn't hold for scrapbooking, but it's great for Cricut Mats!

Is anyone worried that using all these different sticky things could gunk-up their cricut? I was warned that using things like that could negate my warenty.

yup,,,,,sure am,,,,,,and I don't do it myself, nor am I,,,

I am still using the same mat since nov.. and it is just now getting to where it doesn't stick well.. I heard about using a baby wipe and that did nothing for me..... so maybe I should try the ZIG pen! Thanks!

I wash mine in hot soapy water using a sponge and let it dry overnight in the dish drain. It is re-sticky in the morning and extends the life of my mat.

• sunny_day_09 Said:

I have a very similar problem--my long hair, one cat, and one beagle and we all seem to be shedding!! I've tried to wash my mat with soapy water and did not have very good results. I think I'll buy new mats the next time I go to WalMart.

• Pawz94 Said:

make sure that the soap you use does NOT have cream in it!!! alot of the soap we use for our kitchen sinks has hand cream in it and this does NOT give good results!!! I personally have better results with plain hot (not scorching) water and a soft tooth brush,,,

Holly

I just used plain old Dawn, but thanks for the tip! I'll try no soap the next time.

try using a toothbrush,,,it might help get that hair off Holly

My personally I would just buy new ones. I would hate for something to cause the life of the actual circut to go wrong. Thats just me. Wal Mart here sells the matts for $10 for the expressions. I don't know for the smaller one. I think the 10 bucks is worth it.

• jazzescrapper Said:

Walmart sells the smaller ones for 8.00 for two,,,,

• scrappin 2 Said:

I've heard this alot too in this forum, but can someone explain how this could really happen..or have had experience with this happening to their machine. I mean, the sticky stuff is on the matt (where it's supposed to be) and on the paper. I'm not understanding how would it wreck anything else on the machine and the warranty.

i think its come down to if you use a spray glue you may get it on the blue where the rollers are and then itll collect on the roller and cause them to become sticky

I just buy replacement mats at J or M you can use your 40% Coupons for cricut accessories even though you can't use them for machine or cartriges.

• LPinto Said:

I would think that if you put too much on it could collect under the housing and the blade gunking it up too,,,,who knows, maybe making your blade less effective, meaning a change of blades more often, costing more money in blades,,,

I think it's just something each person has to weigh themselves and decide if the savings is worth it for them personally,,,,

it's NOT for me,,,,it may be for you,,,, I don't think there's any right or wrong here,,,,

Holly

• ~*~Kathie~*~ Said:

Kathie, I was in the middle of a big project making butterflies for my niece's wedding, when my Silhouette mat lost it's stick. I would have preferred to buy a new mat, but I don't live near any stores that carry the mats, and I needed it right away.

So I started looking through my adhesives and found 2 bottles of WackyTac Liquid with the foam tip--just like yours only mine is called "Liquid Sticky Note"---probably the same thing---as I have had mine for over 2 years. I applied it and let it set up for a few hours, and I was back in business! My mat worked like a new one.

I was concerned that the glue might cause a problem by getting on my blade, but I checked and it was clean as a whistle.

• melissadam Said:

I didn't know that! I thought it meant you couldn't use it for any Cricut product. Good to know! Thanks!!

• LPinto Said:

Well my J's won't let me use it for ANY cricut product,,mats included