Tan-A-Rama

I am fairly new to the tanning business and need to know how to maintain the acrylics. Is there a certain cleaner/polish? And how often should I do this?

BooBop

I use Novus. I degrease mine twice a day during the peak season. And Polish once a month.
I don't know that this is the exact way it should be done, but it works for me.
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Working and Loving The Tanning Industry
Mitzi
[ This Message was edited by: buntanner on 2002-02-24 22:33 ]

MJ

Beds should be clean as possible.. bulbs acrylics the complete works ..
also, change the filters (if you have them on your beds)as often as possible.
I use novus polish.
mj

solarmeter

Sooner or later, acrylic will start blocking UVB transmission .. even before it yellows/cracks. Borrow someone's B meter and check with/without acrylic to see how much is blocked.

Ginger

Mitzi,

How do you degrease? I just clean with Lucasol after each tan & I have the polish that I use.

BooBop

I have a degreaser (oil and grease neutralizer) I purchased from a distributor. (Raleys, in Knoxville TN) I bought a couple of cases of it about 2 - 3 years ago and I still have several bottles. You mix it pretty much like the sanitizer, so it goes a long ways.

Over the weekend, one of our clients used something that we could not get off the bed. My employee used everything we had in the salon. Soap and water wouldn't cut it, window cleaner, all purpose cleaner, or the degreaser either. Finally she used alcohol. That is the only thing that would take it off the bed. I only hope this doesn't harm my acrylic.

Needless to say, this girls file is marked for inspection.

They said that is was slick and when they sprayed cleaner on it, it would just bead up.

Kimmee

I have the novus three step also.

I use the lucasol cleaner after each tan and the novus 1 each evening before we close up.

Teez

I use an acrylic stripper once a week. Should I also use a polisher?

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Teez Tanning[ This Message was edited by: Teez on 2002-02-25 13:47 ]

pam

We were told in a maintenance class in Nashville to use mineral spirits if you had a really gunked up bed. Follow that with Novus Step 2 and 1. We have had to do that twice recently. We have a girl using baby oil. She has been warned and she promised not to use it again but yesterday she did, so when she comes in today she won't be allowed to tan. Pam

TBSun

Acrylics should obviously be replaced when they are broken, especially if the crack is large enough to either pinch a customer, or break completely and further damage your tanning unit.

One of the biggest mistakes of salon owners is waiting for their acrylics to break before replacing them. Even if your acrylic appears to be in perfect shape, over a period of time it will begin to block a percentage of the UV light. Most acrylics should be replaced every 1500-3000 hours.

The best way to test the UV transmission of your acrylics is to purchase a light meter. Take a reading with acrylic on. Then, take a second reading with the acrylic off. If the readings show a difference of 20% or more, the acrylics need replacing.

To prevent premature cracking, make sure that your bed has all of the acrylic supports properly installed. Inspect them to make sure that they are not loose or cracked.

Some units do not have a proper support system to begin with. In that case, you can either purchase aftermarket acrylic supports that can be modified to fit your tanning unit. Or, you can purchase replacement acrylics in an upgraded thickness for an additional charge.

Use disinfectant and cleaners that are acrylic safe. Most home cleaning products are damaging to acrylics.

Clean and polish your acrylics regularly with a system such as Novus Plastic Polish. It comes in three steps: Step 1 cleans and prepares the acrylic surface for polishing, Step 2 removes haziness and fine scratches, and Step 3 removes deeper scratches. Using this system will prevent build up, remove scratches, and help prolong the life of your acrylics.

Make sure that all of your internal cooling fans are working. Defective fans can cause hot spots in your tanning unit. In a worse case scenario, this can cause unnecessary warping of your acrylics.

Do not allow any of your customers to use tanning products that are not designed for use in indoor tanning equipment.