How to Clean and Maintain Acrylic?

Choosing Right Cleaner

When acrylic becomes particularly dirty and filled with debris, we recommend using Novus acrylic cleaning products. NOVUS #1 Plastic Clean & Shine is the best acrylic cleaner on the market. it will gently clean plexiglass, acrylic, and plastic without leaving scratches. It leaves a polished shine that resists fogging, repels dust, and eliminates static. NOVUS #2 can be used to remove fine scratches, haziness, and abrasions. NOVUS #3 will be your choice to remove heavier scratches and abrasions. 

Choosing A Cloth

Your ideal cleaning cloth should be non-abrasive, absorbent, and lint-free. A microfiber cleaning cloth is the best way to clean acrylic because it meets these conditions. NOVUS Polish Mates are the best microfiber cloth because they are durable, abrasion resistant, and highly absorbent.

If you are looking for a natural method for cleaning acrylic, use a soft cotton cloth (such as a diaper) can be substituted. Make sure it is not a rayon or polyester cloth as they can leave scratches.

Cleaning Your Acrylic

1. If your surface is extremely dirty, you will want to spray your acrylic liberally with NOVUS #1 Plastic Clean & Shine
2. Use a long, sweeping stroke to wipe up the dirt from the surface. Make sure not to put pressure on the display case as lingering dirt may scratch the surface.
3. Spray your NOVUS #1 onto a clean portion of your cloth and polish your acrylic with short, circular strokes.
4. When you have covered the entire surface with NOVUS, use a clean portion of your cloth and buff your acrylic.  This will make the display case more resistant to dust and scratches.

Cleaning Dust and Debris on Acrylic

1. Using a can of air to Clean loose dust and debris from the surface of acrylic is simple. Canned air is sold at almost every big box store and is commonly used to clean out keyboards and computer ports. Spray the air on the surface of the acrylic. The compressed air will provide enough force to eliminate any dust or debris accumulated on the surface.
2. Use a soft cotton cloth with 1% soap water to wipe your Acrylic.

Cleaning Smudges, Fingerprints, and Stains on Acrylic

Smudges, fingerprints, and stains are often collected onto the surface of the acrylic. Everyday handling is enough to create fingerprints on the surface.

1. Use Novus#1 Spray and Novus Polish Mate Cleaning Wipes. Novus Spray and Polish Mate are specifically designed for use on acrylic. Spray your NOVUS #1 onto a clean portion of your cloth and polish your acrylic with short, circular strokes.
2. If Novus #1 Spray and Polish Mates are unavailable to you, use 50% isopropyl alcohol in the placement of the Novus 1 Spray. In the placement of the Polish Mates, you may use a clean and unused microfiber cloth.

Tips for Cleaning Acrylic

• Do Not Use paper towels because they’re abrasive and will leave the surface with lint and scuffs
• Do Not Use ammonia-based products like Windex or glass cleaners.
• Use only a very soft damp cloth when cleaning acrylic surfaces. 
• Never use the same cloth that you clean other household items with 
• scratches do happen – but don’t worry! Unlike other materials, scratches on acrylic can be easily removed with Novus products.

Advanced Methods for Cleaning Acrylic

If your acrylic needs some more advanced cleaning to restore it back to nearly new, there are a few effective ways. However, these advanced techniques are not for beginners or DIY projects, and should be done as carefully as possible.

Scraping

Scraping is a good way to remove any machine marks or jagged edges from acrylic. It can be done with a razor blade or sharp scraping tool (a Stanley knife for example). 

Scrape the acrylic by moving the razor blade or sharp tool from side to side, evenly scraping off excess and scratched acrylic. Angle your razor blade or tool at 10 degrees to avoid digging into your acrylic.

Sanding

Sanding will not only remove machining marks but also produce a matte finish on your acrylic. Choose three types of sandpaper: a coarse one (180 grit), a medium one (320 grit) and a light one (600 grit). Start with the coarse sandpaper and work up to the finest. If your acrylic has deep scratches start off with the coarse 180 sandpaper. If your acrylic has only very light scratches start with the medium 320 grit. 

Buffing

Polishing wheels are the perfect way to achieve a nice clear finish on your acrylic sheets after they have been sanded. Make sure you clamp the acrylic in place so that it doesn’t move when buffing. The finished quality of acrylic is dependent on the kind of compound you choose to use. A medium compound will result in a glossy finish. If you wish to achieve a more brilliant shine this can be accomplished by applying a fast-cutting compound.

Flame Polishing

Flame polishing offers a clean, shiny finish to your acrylic sheets. It is typical to use a normal hydrogen-oxygen torch with a #4 or #5 tip. When using the torch flame you want to heat the edges with swift motions and make sure to not heat the acrylic too closely. If done correctly, the edges of your acrylic sheet will have a clean, shiny finish that will result in a highly impressive outcome.

How to Maintain Acrylic Sheeting?

Conclusion

Clean and maintaining Acrylic is not hard but requires patience to take care of it. KUSLA is a leading manufacturer of acrylic sheets in China, we provide not only plexiglass sheets, but also machine acrylic for our clients. Contact us if you still have questions on Cleaning Acrylic.