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7 Top Tips for Working with Acrylic Surfaces from That’s Crafty! by Neil Burley


Neil Burley is back at Hochanda HQ this Friday demonstrating the fabulous products from That's Crafty! Tune in to see his shows packed full with demonstrations at 8am and 11am using Acrylic Stacks, MDF shapes and bases, stamps, stencils and so much more! 


Before Neil kicks off his fabulous shows, he sent us 7 of his top tips for working with Acrylic surfaces, check them out below.



1. The acrylic sheets are normally covered on both surfaces by a protective film – only remove the film when you’re ready to decorate the surface, and it will be perfectly clean.
2. If you’re not sure if the film is still on, scratch your finger nail across the surface – if it leaves a scratch mark, the film is still on.
3. Fingerprints will stop any paint layers adhering well to the acrylic sheet. Clean them off with isopropanol (rubbing alcohol) and allow to dry for a minute or so.
4. You can dry paints on the acrylic pieces using a heat tool without doing any damage, as long as you waft from a distance and don’t pause for too long over any one area.
5. Some glues don’t work well on non-porous surfaces. Try ultra-tacky double sided tape (the red backed stuff) or Glossy Accents instead.
6. Remember you can decorate both sides of the acrylic pieces – you can add depth to your image and make full use of translucent paint or ink effects.
7. And if it all goes wrong, most acrylic paints and inks can be wiped off before they dry, or dried paint can be softened with alcohol-based hand sanitiser gel and then washed off with soap and water and a soft scrubbing brush.

Do you have any other tips for working on acrylic surfaces? Let us know in the comments below! 


Don't miss Neil's shows this Friday 7th October at 8am and 11am. Here's a sneak peeks of just some of his demonstrations;


You can watch Hochanda live online, Sky channel 663, Freeview 85 or Freesat 817.

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