My rant against silicone/teflon craft mats

[Buried Treasures]

I always worked on large sheets of packing paper or parchment paper, which I could just throw away when they got too bad. I've heard so many people rave about the craft mats that I purchased a pack of three.

I've been using the silicone mats for a few weeks and they have been fine, but they did accumulate some dies that had dried. Yesterday, I was painting some die cuts for a card with acrylic paint. I couldn't move the pieces until they dried, which didn't take long. However, when I tried to wash the mat, the paint would not come off.

I ended up using a rubber scraper to get the paint off, which made a huge mess on my kitchen counter. In addition, the dyes and ink that had dried on the mat stained my white countertops. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper.

Anyone else have issues cleaning a silicone mat? Politically correct or not, I'm going back to plain old DISPOSABLE packing paper.

[UnderstandBlue]

Are you using a silicone mat? Or a teflon mat? I use the teflon oven liner mats (similar to the Ranger craft mat) and don't have any trouble cleaning paint off them. Well, when I want to. Most of the time I don't try too hard . How did it stain your countertops? Did the ink somehow go through the mat?

I do love freezer paper for gelli printing though - cheap, easy, convenient.

But I like the teflon mats a lot for daily spraying, painting, ink mixing and for protecting my work surface from heat. I got a thicker, black one last week that I love - I cover my whole desk in these mats and then put my SU grid paper on top.

[SkyNacho]

I don't think silicone is necessarily nonstick the way teflon is.

[Buried Treasures]

I just checked my Amazon order and the mats are Teflon. I got ink on the countertops when I tried to wash the mat and then laid it on the countertop to scrap off the dried paint. Apparently they reactivated when they got wet. The white Formica sucked it right up. Grrr.

[ailhelen]

Wow sounds like you got a dud. I have used the Simon Says mat for so many years I cant remember when I got it. It has been through the wars and no matter what I have used on it it cleans right up. Glues, paints, silks, inktense puddles, hot glue splotches all just clean of. Have one area that stained and that was purely because I used the the alcohol inks on there to make about 50 backgrounds and the ink just wore into the grain. I love it as well because itsso easy to pack and take when travelling.
Are all three mats like this, maybe they are a faulty batch.

[UnderstandBlue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buried Treasures

I just checked my Amazon order and the mats are Teflon. I got ink on the countertops when I tried to wash the mat and then laid it on the countertop to scrap off the dried paint. Apparently they reactivated when they got wet. The white Formica sucked it right up. Grrr.

Yeah any waterbased ink is going to re-activate on there. That's actually sort of the great thing about those teflon mats - you can use them like a palette because the ink sits up on there forever.

Sooo sorry about your counter though - that stinks.

[Hallupino]

Sorry to hear about your inky mess- I don't have much advice about the mat (I usually stick to newspaper or wax paper) but I might have a couple of tricks to get stains out of the countertops. I've had luck rubbing baking soda with a damp cloth into stains, and it usually gets them right out. And if that doesn't work, I can recommend using a thick slice of potato- yes, potato- and letting it sit overnight on the stain. I've used that to get curry stains out of linoleum and other stains off the counters (I have formica too.) Repeat as necessary. Hope that helps!

[sunrisea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buried Treasures

I always worked on large sheets of packing paper or parchment paper, which I could just throw away when they got too bad. I've heard so many people rave about the craft mats that I purchased a pack of three.

I've been using the silicone mats for a few weeks and they have been fine, but they did accumulate some dies that had dried. Yesterday, I was painting some die cuts for a card with acrylic paint. I couldn't move the pieces until they dried, which didn't take long. However, when I tried to wash the mat, the paint would not come off.

I ended up using a rubber scraper to get the paint off, which made a huge mess on my kitchen counter. In addition, the dyes and ink that had dried on the mat stained my white countertops. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper.

Anyone else have issues cleaning a silicone mat? Politically correct or not, I'm going back to plain old DISPOSABLE packing paper.

I tried the teflon over mats that people recommended and had a mess when I tried to clean up paint it went right through the mat and onto my white counter top! I use the Tim Holtz mat and have had no problem.

[nancystamps]

Try magic eraser on your countertops.....works for me like a charm!

[Louisa May]

I also use both teflon oven liners and silicone oven mats. My silicone mats are thicker than teflon. The silicone stains and doesn't clean up as well as teflon but its thickness prevents anything from seeping through to my counters when I clean them. It's definitely not porous, and I'm wondering how stuff is seeping through unless there are cracks or slits in it.

[staceylovespaper]

if paint or something wont come off with water, try some rubbing alcohol

[UnderstandBlue]

Just as an experiment today I poured reinker onto my teflon sheets to test bleed through - this is a big deal for me because my new work surface is wood. I put a sheet of paper under it for the test. I left them for a few hours, added water to them, left them for a few more - no bleed through. I bought mine on Amazon - just the restaurant grade ones in a 5 pack for $14 - they are a slightly darker color than the Ranger version and a TEENY bit thinner, but the performance doesn't seem to be any different. I wonder if yours had a hole in it maybe?

I also bought this black one which is much thicker than the Ranger mat, a 2 pack for $15 - it's MUCH thicker - maybe twice as thick, and doesn't curl and move around as much as the other two kinds. However, you can't really see your inks on a black mat - that was sort of a lucy moment for me . But for heat protection and general work surface protection it's awesome.

[cerridwen3301]

I can't imagine not using my teflon mat. However, it sounds like you picked it up and washed the whole thing under water or something - that would definitely reactivate the inks and make a mess. All you need to do to clean inks is use a wet paper towel and for paints I use a plastic pot scraper to get any dry paint off. I DO think I would probably not craft on my kitchen counter without newspaper under my mat because I often go off the edge. I only use Ranger or Scor Pal mats so I don't know if that matters. Sorry about your counters!

[Buried Treasures]

Thanks, Cer. That was exactly the problem. I should have just wiped it with a damp paper towel and scraped the dried paint off, which is what I ended up doing.

I just want to clarify. The ink didn't go through the mat. When I got the mat wet in the sink, I laid it on the counter and the water overflowed onto the counter taking the ink with it. Fortunately, a little bleach took out the stains.

Thanks for all the comments.

[Buried Treasures]

Some time ago, I ordered disposable cutting boards to use for meat and chicken. Lo and behold, they have a waxy surface and are PERFECT to use in lieu of a silicone mat. Although they are disposable, everything seems to rinse off easily and if not, I have the option to toss them or use them in a collage. They come in different sizes. Mine are 18 x 24. Knowing the next question will be where to buy them, here is the link: Order Cut & Toss Disposable Cutting Boards HERE!

They come in packs of 100! Happiness is a disposable cutting mat. Gee, I'll bet they could be used with a rotary blade too! I'll have to try that next.

[Copperkids]

I have the Tim holtz mat and it works well. Just bought the amazon pack of 5 mats. And they also work well. I dont like the blue imaginecrafts mat. It's for painting and stamping- thicker but just weird. It does adhere to the work surface without needing to be taped down.

Also this is my 3rd post to SCS and it's not so scary!! Love reading all the forums daily

[Buried Treasures]

Of course it's not scary. This site is full of wonderful, crafty ladies willing to share everything they know.

[ailhelen]

I wish I could buy through Amazon, apparently they aren't allowed to send the Tim holtz mats to Australia. So I have to buy through Craft places at, wait for it $30.00 for one. Unbelievable hey!!

[staceylovespaper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ailhelen

I wish I could buy through Amazon, apparently they aren't allowed to send the Tim holtz mats to Australia. So I have to buy through Craft places at, wait for it $30.00 for one. Unbelievable hey!!

Have you tried the mats that are used to protect the bottom of an oven from spills? They are a little more stiff than a Tim Holtz mat, but may be a lot cheaper for you

[UnderstandBlue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Copperkids

Also this is my 3rd post to SCS and it's not so scary!! Love reading all the forums daily

YAY!