For those who don’t know me, I wear many hats…musician, wife and mother, nutritionist, entrepreneur, and crafter. In conjunction with those comes, housekeeper, bookkeeper, problem solver, nurse, “budget-er”, confidante, shipping specialist, inventor, advertiser, photographer, webmaster, and the list goes on.

Lately I’ve been winding up some craft projects in getting ready for an upcoming craft show. My latest endeavor…coasters, some with cute sayings on them, some with just fabric. Things were going along smoothly until I sprayed too much acrylic spray in the finishing touches on some of them, in an effort to “get a good coating on them.” Well, a heavy coating of acrylic spray was NOT a good idea. They appeared cloudy. At first I assumed they just weren’t drying because the weather was damp. After waiting all day, I realized I created a real problem.

After doing some Internet research and trying a few things, I found my answer to getting them to look bright, clear and shiny again. But first, let me tell you what NOT to do…

First, I tried sanding them with 220 grit sand paper. Then I wiped them down with a damp cloth. All good and well, but the excess acrylic spray was still on them and they looked worse than before I sanded them. They were dull and scratched looking.

I tried wet sanding another one with #400 grit sand paper, then wiping them down with a damp cloth. Not much better results than the attempt with the other sand paper.

Next, I tried a cotton ball with pure acetone (nail polish remover). That DID remove some of the acrylic spray, but created a sticky, gummy mess that also took some cotton ball fibers along with it that I couldn’t remove from the coaster. Yuk. Won’t do that again!

The nail polish remover did the trick of telling me not to venture further. Here’s what I found that DID work, EVEN with the coasters that were scratched and dull looking…

I found that lightly sanding them with #0000 steel wool (that’s the finest grade of steel wool you can buy) took just a hint of the outer layer of acrylic spray off the top and also removed any small bumps that were formed in the process of coating them initially. This made them smooth and a bit dull looking. I wiped them off with a damp cloth and dried them.

Next, I reapplied a thin coating Mod Podge (glossy finish) with a foam brush. After they dried, to my amazement, the brilliant color of the fabric returned! They did not look dull, nor scratched (EVEN the ones that were scratched from so much sand papering looked shiny and the color of the fabric was brilliant). The picture to the right is one of the coasters that looked really scratched after attacking it with sand paper. The picture was taken after applying the one coat of glossy Mod Podge. (Note, the “scratch” appearance in the lower left corner is not scratches at all; it’s light reflection of the glossy finish.)

After allowing the Mod Podge to dry really well, I reapplied three very thin layers of acrylic spray and the coasters look fabulous. Needless to say, THOSE coasters are well coated and should work well for a long time!

Lightly sanding the excess acrylic spray and reapplying Mod Podge saved me from losing my merchandise. If you’ve accidentally over-sprayed your clear acrylic spray, and your project is cloudy looking, try lightly sanding it with fine steel wool, wiping it off with a damp cloth, wiping it dry, then reapplying a thin layer of Mod Podge. After it dries well, start over with the acrylic spray with light, thin layers. It worked for me and hopefully will work for you too!

Happy crafting,
Judi