Here’s our easy care guide to keeping our signs and blanks looking their best for longer.

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Our signs

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Palight and acrylic both require care when handling, cleaning and installing in your displays and during storage.

 

Careful handling of acrylic is paramount to ensure it stays looking it’s best. Despite being around 20 times stronger than glass, it is a glass like product. Poor handling and impact of the product can cause damage, especially to some of our cut shape blanks due to stress points. Even weight distribution when handling, suitable support when applying and removing vinyl and sufficient packaging during transport needs to be considered or damage is likely to occur. Please see our video (Stress point) at the bottom of this page. to see how despite the strength of our acrylic in both 3mm and 5mm stock sizes damage across stress points occurs with poor handling or poor weight distribution. Whilst every effort is taken to minimise stress points, they are inevitable in some of our shaped designs and customers need to be aware for handling advice.

 

Carefully remove film from the side of the sign you are using, there is often no need to remove film from the back side initially so consider leaving this on where possible to keep a side looking its best. On larger pieces you must ensure you do this carefully as bending acrylic causes it to snap.

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When using line art products and more delicate items, we suggest storing them in the carriers provided. Please remove film carefully on a flat surface to prevent the product from lifting and bending. When removing from balloons or backdrops, please do so carefully. We recommend using craft line to remove from backdrops (please see our Instagram page for a how to video!) and to pop the balloon they are attached to rather than trying to pull the acrylic from the balloon. Bending of acrylic products can cause them to snap. 

 

One of the best products we use on all of our signs is an acrylic safe anti static cleaner. Good quality cleaners not only repel dust but are mild enough to remove most glue marks and fingerprints without marking the surface of the acrylic. It helps provide a clean surface ready for vinyl application. Please note the safety instructions on any cleaners you may use.

 

Always apply vinyl on a suitable workstation, note soft or uneven bases such as floors, carpets and sofa’s are not suitable choices. Perspex and Palight are ideally suited to accept vinyl so there is no need to apply too much pressure. A foam tipped applicator is advised, if a brayer is used then do not apply too much pressure. If vinyl is to be removed it is advisable to add it as close to your event date as possible. The longer it is in place the more difficult it is to remove.

 

Remove vinyl as soon as possible after your event. Here’s a few dos and don’ts to minimise residue and to protect the surface of your board.

 

Don’t

• Never use your nails to remove vinyl – scratching at the board with fingernails, especially acrylic nails, encourages glue deposits to be left behind, each scratch means more glue. You can also mark your board by scratching in this way.

 

• Never use nail varnish remover or any cleaner not specifically designed for the cleaning of acrylic. These types of cleaners can damage your acrylic and leave a haze or discolouration to your sign.

 

• The use of heat is not recommended. Despite being thermotolerant to a certain degree, acrylic will bend and warp if exposed to excess heat. We don’t use heat to remove vinyl from any of our signs.

 

DO

• Remove vinyl as soon as possible following your event.

 

• We recommend the use of our safety scraper when removing vinyl from acrylic or Palight. It’s soft blade carefully lifts the corner of acrylic allowing you to peel it back from your workpiece gently. See our removal video to see how easy it is.

• If residue is left behind always use the most gentle approach possible for removal. If simple water and a soft lint free cloth doesn’t remove it then try an acrylic anti static cleaner or designated acrylic safe glue remover. Never scrub your discs, even with soft cloths as friction can create heat and mark your surface.

• Acrylic sheets will bend and warp. Ensure you store acrylic flat in between uses. This is most important with extruded acrylic such as mirrored finishes.  It may be necessary to apply a weight to them if warping is significant. Storing them flat will return them to their flat state.

• Whilst the care instructions for mirrored acrylic are as mentioned here, due to the mirrored finish of the acrylic marks are far more obvious. To get the best out of your mirrored acrylic consider a clear acrylic same sized overlay to apply and remove vinyl. Clear acrylic is cheap and very durable.

 

Our printed acrylic and Palight signs are protected by a thin laminate meaning they can be vinyled and the vinyl removed following the guidance above. Naturally this process will effect the lifespan of the piece. Note the use of a sticker remover is not advised on these items.

 

Vinyl can be added to our cardboard signs but these are not suitable for vinyl removal.