Cleaning Sheets of Acrylic

[Nate1n22]

Was wondering what others are using for cleaning sheets of acrylic for printing directly to it. I've tried 91/99% iso, 91% iso mixed with distilled water and Matthews plastic cleaner for cleaning it. The problem is, whatever you do you always have small dust particles left on the sheet. I've tried wiping them off with an anti-static brush, and a tack cloth. Also tried a dryer sheet, but it catches the side of the acrylic and leaves little hairs sticking up.
Anyone have a way that works good?

 

[Andy D]

It depends on the condition of the acrylic, if it has just been cut and has a ton of shavings, before I take the protective liner off,
1 I will take it outside and blow the majority of the shavings off with the air hose
2. put it on a clean table, scrape the edges if there are shavings
3. spray both surfaces with my homemade app fluid and use a window squeegee to remove the app fluid and any remaining trash, this also get rid of the majority of
the static electricity.

Only then will I put it on the print bed and remove the protective liner, but I still have to squat down and look at the sheet on a horizontal plain to see any
trash that's left, and I dab at those with a tack rag, and will check several times while it's printing, pause the print and dab as needed.

 

[Starter]

I feel your pain. I use a product called Sprayway Plastic Cleaner SW-848 with great results. It cleans quite well and reduces static. And there are always the Novus line of cleaners that most sign supply stores carry.

 

[Nate1n22]

The Matthew's Cleaner leaves the acrylic really smooth, which is somewhat easier to get the dust off of. But doing a full 4x8 sheet, it's difficult.
I'm using poly wipes to clean the sheets. Might try a microfiber cloth?

 

[Andy D]

Ya'll do what you want, but anything you put between the ink and substrate has
the potential to cause issues down the road. If you can get rid of the trash and static
prior to removing the protective liner, then it's a medium that your printer's ink was tested and
engineered to adhere to. The only thing I will wipe my substrates down with after the protective liner is removed
is a dry, clean, high quality, microfiber cloth to avoid "cleaning swirls" and contamination.

 

[Nate1n22]

What's considered a high quality microfiber cloth?

 

[Andy D]

What's considered a high quality microfiber cloth?

Read this, although, I will admit that in the past when I was in a bind I have used the cheapie ones from Harbor Frieght
and as long as I shock them out real good prior to using and replaced them often, they weren't too horrible.

 

[artbot]

try this (should be using Optix DA... but i digress). peel off the backer. let the sheet sit uncovered for about 20 minutes. then lay it flat. blow it off with air. lay drier sheets about every two feet. don't wipe. the presence of the drier sheet will take the charge of the sheet sitting still.

 

[Andy D]

try this (should be using Optix DA... but i digress). peel off the backer. let the sheet sit uncovered for about 20 minutes. then lay it flat. blow it off with air. lay drier sheets about every two feet. don't wipe. the presence of the drier sheet will take the charge of the sheet sitting still.

Artbot, try the method of spraying both sides your sheets down with the liquid of your choice before removing the protective liner
and use a window squeegee and towels to dry it off, and then remove the liner right before you start the print...
it works like a charm at removing static, you will be thanking me for making your life easier.

I also have a home made microfiber mop with a wire going from the inside of the mop head, up the handle, and the wire attached to the ground of a plug
and plugged into a receptacle... works great for coroplast.

 

[DougWestwood]

cmprssd air

We have a compressed air line next to both our flatbed and our laminator.
Just blow your problems away.

 

[Andy D]

We have a compressed air line next to both our flatbed and our laminator.
Just blow your problems away.

We do too, but I don't like to use it due to the tendency of trash lodging up into the printer parts,
especially the homing strip.

 

[Nate1n22]

Might get something like this: https://www.amazon.com/O-Cedar-Hard...68961815&sr=8-7&keywords=microfiber+floor+mop

And some higher quality microfiber cloths.

Also, I've tried using air, but that doesn't help get the fine particles off.

 

[Jeff South Florida]

I use polyester wipes with minimal Iso 99% alcohol.Wipe until it is dry. The Arizona has an anti static bar, so static is not an issue.

 

[signbrad]

Static is an old problem

There are a lot of good ideas here. Andy's suggestion to spray the liner before removing it seems like a very good idea.

Static has always been an enemy of back spraying plastic faces. It seems even more a problem with digital printing. The traditional cleaning method for plastic is a wipe with a moist chamois (rather than a cloth) using an alcohol/water mix. The theory is that a chamois does not re-introduce static the way a cloth does.

Also, the less you wipe, the less static you create.
The longer a substrate sits, the more static will build up again. Treating for static just before processing your substrate is better than waiting for a while.

............

I remember hand lettering acrylic that had so much static that it pulled paint out of the lettering brush before the hairs touched the surface—little spidery threads of paint. This could happen from as far away as an inch. The threads looked like tiny, skinny tornadoes going sideways. I could entertain a child by writing my name with the little streams of paint. Maybe this is how electrostatic painting was discovered.