How to Clean Your Metal Print

While Aluminyze’s metal prints are designed to withstand the tests of time, it’s still important to keep up proper maintenance to get the best possible lifespan and quality from your prints. Semi-regular cleaning will keep your prints looking brand new for years to come. Make sure to follow our directions to keep your aluminum prints looking pristine! 

Basic Materials

Fortunately, due to Aluminyze’s metal prints being rust-proof, water-proof, scratch-resistant, and heat-resistant, you shouldn’t need much elbow grease to get them clean. Our number one recommendation for cleaning supplies is a microfiber cloth. With a microfiber cloth, you’re able to wipe off dust, dirt, and fingerprints. It’s simple, but so effective! While a more abrasive material like paper towels might seem appealing due to the convenience, using a microfiber cloth is a better, low-cost and environmentally friendly option. Plus, with a microfiber you don’t have to worry about any unpleasant streaks. We recommend wiping down your prints about once a month to keep dust and grime from building up, especially if they are placed in high-traffic areas of your office or home. 

Deep-Cleaning

While most prints just need regular dusting, if your prints are regularly exposed to nicotine, smoke, candles, or exhaust fumes, they might need a higher frequency and intensity of wipe-downs. You don’t want to let the grime build up too much – you wouldn’t have ordered a metal print if you didn’t care about its vibrancy! If the microfiber simply isn’t cutting it anymore, you are able to supplement with a cleaning solution. Don’t worry; you don’t need to order some expensive specialty cleaner. More abrasive, heavy-duty cleaners like ammonia or bleach are actually unnecessary and potentially harmful. Any commercial glass cleaner will do the trick! Due to the waterproof nature of our ChromaLuxe aluminum, you can spray your cleaning solution directly on the print.

Technique

While it’s easier to clean your print before it is hung up or mounted, you do run the risk of smudges from handling. If you do decide to clean it before, we still recommend a little spot cleaning after it has been hung/mounted. This erases any of those pesky fingerprints that may have popped up during the hanging process. Just make sure you’re careful not to knock it down or pull it off the wall while cleaning it! We have a general technique we like to use, which is to start at the center of the print and slowly work our way to the edges. This pushes all the dirt and grime to the very edges of the print, making them much easier to remove.