Decoupage Defects

Fixing Defects in Finished Decoupage Projects

Hi Eileen,

I made a decoupage on a glass plate, but when I put the glue on I try to clean it with a wet sponge but when it dries there is some glue shown but dry so how can I clean it up?

Thank you for your help.

Dima

If you put your images on the back of the plate and the glue bump is trapped between the plate and images, I'm afraid there is nothing to be done this time. The bump will turn clear after a time and be less noticeable.

If the bump is on the surface, you can still work it down. Moisten it and wait for it to turn white which means it is becoming tacky again. Then with a moistened fingertip you can carefully flatten it.

PVA glues like Mod Podge take a long time to fully cure and even then will soften if immersed in water. So dust your finished decoupage projects will a dry soft cloth and when they need a deeper cleaning use a moist cloth but do not immerse the object in water.

On your next project, be sure to smooth out all the lumps and bubbles when you apply images and watch for drips while each coat dries. Any drips that appear can easily be smoothed before they set.

Drips are a challenge whenever you decoupage on a non-flat surface. One way to minimize them is to let a bowl of decoupage medium sit out for a while to thicken before you apply it.

However this will not work well if you are decoupaging images using very thin paper like tissue paper or napkins. For the more typical copy paper, it is a technique I often use.

Hope this helps.