How to Clean Lucite

I picked up this vintage lucite stool at the flea market a week or two ago and this weekend I had a minute to reupholster the seat and clean up the base.



I was so excited to use this laminated fabric I bought at Purl Soho a while back. You can find lots of laminated fabrics online. They're great to use on dining chairs and play room chairs, or seating in the bathroom.


I took off the old, dingy fabric and used the old fabric as a pattern to cut out the laminated fabric. This way it was easy to choose where I wanted to center the fabric on the pattern.


Laminated fabric, like vinyl, is a little tricky to work with around corners and round edges because it is so thick. Don't be afraid to pull tightly and try hard to keep the folds on the underside of the seat, rather than along the edge.


Before I put the new seat on, I cleaned the acrylic frame. There's definitnely a right and a wrong way to clean lucite. NEVER use Windex!! It deteriorates the acrylic slightly over time and makes it look cloudy instead of bright and clear.


The best way to clean lucite is simply warm soapy water and a soft cloth.



Then just wipe it down with a dry cloth and you're all done. I've seen acrylic polish solutions out there but I've never used them before.


So happy to have a new little waterproof stool in our bathroom for sitting on while I bathe the girls!


PS Here's the post were I painted the little blue vanity. And remember Emily's laminated fabric bench in her dining room? Have you found a great use or source for laminated fabric?

24 comments:

  1. I love the stool! The lucite is beautiful and the fabric you chose adds a nice jolt of color.
    Tiffany
    thedesignerlifestyle.blogspot.com

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  2. so cute. I love lucite. I did cover some vintage folding chairs in the vinyl fabric. actually turned out pretty cute:
    http://youplusmeforalways.blogspot.com/2012/01/before-after-vintage-folding-chairs.html

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  3. I always wished cars had fun laminated prints....like that on the seats. Sweet stool!!!
    I want to make a bag for summer....and an apron.
    pve

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  4. very lovely! it looks perfect in the bathroom. good job x

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  5. oh my goodness I love this! I am dying to get some fabric laminated for my dining room chairs but I have no clue where to start

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  6. It is adorable and I love your bathroom!

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  7. ooo I love the little stool! Great re-do!

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  8. i was just on fabricguru.com yesterday and they have TONS of laminated fabric at pretty good price points

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  9. Love the stool! And thanks for the tips. I have my first lucite coming in the mail any day now :)

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  10. Hi,

    I love the laminated fabric selection at http://www.etsy.com/shop/oilclothaddict. There is a lot of oilcloth too, which is much stiffer.

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  11. looks great, jenny! also noted is your new nude nail polish -- i think its funny that i really pay attention to that!

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  12. To add to cleaning lucite....never use paper towels to clean lucite. The wood fibers will scratch the lucite over time. Best to use microfiber cloths.

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  13. Great advice, also I love your shower curtain!

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  14. This is such a timely post for me--I am looking for the exact same stool and coral-colored fabric for the same reason--to bathe my daughter! How serendipitous! Great blog, btw!

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  15. Thank you for this post. I wish I had known this a lot earlier! :) I have the CB2 Peekaboo coffee table (which is acrylic, not lucite - I guess lucite is higher end?) and I have totally been using Windex on it and it is cloudy!! Doh! (and I just went to the CB2 website and it says mild soap and water, soft cloth! oops) If anyone reading has used the acrylic polish solutions you mentioned I would be interested to know if they work. Thanks!

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  16. vinegar and water in a spray bottle with a microfiber cloth works very well too.

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  17. love the stool! (and I love your shower curtain! Where did you find it!?)email: kelliesam@gmail.com
    Thanks!

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  18. Great stool! Love the fun fabric and the lucite cleaning tips. :) (and having a stool for bathing children).

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  19. This is great! I could do this in our jack n jill bath... maybe someday when we have kids. A cute stool sounds better than sitting on the toilet lid while bathing little ones.

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  20. Thanks for the tips! I want to recover my office desk with laminated fabric, just waiting for the window in the room to be replaced before I go ahead with my office reshuffle and redecoration!

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  21. I have a few vintage lucite pieces and the best (safest) cleaner is Novus. They have it at the Container Store and other online options. I don't find the polish aspect works that well but the cleaner gets off years and years of grime and leaves things with a bit of a shine (not for things you're going to eat off of, like dishes).

    You need to be careful what soaps and cleaners you use. Ammonia will cloud lucite.

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  22. I love lucite furniture...it goes with everything!!!

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  23. cool. I have used spray acrylic polish from Home Depot on plexiglass with great results - not sure if it works on lucite tho

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I so appreciate hearing from you. Nice comments make my day! Thanks for keeping things light here, friends! :)