Dab Mats

It protects the surface underneath from heat and residue, and gives your tools, carb cap and hot banger a defined place to sit instead of the bare table.

Concentrate does not bond to silicone, so anything that lands on the mat scrapes off cleanly. Silicone also tolerates heat, which fabric and wood do not.

Warm soapy water handles most of it. Use isopropyl alcohol on stubborn residue, rinse, and let it dry flat before rolling or storing it.

Silicone tolerates heat far better than a bare table, but do not treat a mat as a heatproof pad for something glowing. Let a torch-heated piece cool first where you can.

Enough room for the rig plus your tools and caps beside it. A mat that only fits the rig leaves the loose pieces on the table, which defeats the point.

That is the main reason to use one. Residue lands on the mat rather than the surface, and silicone wipes clean rather than absorbing it.

Yes. Silicone rolls without creasing permanently. Make sure it is fully dry first, because rolling a damp mat traps moisture against the print.

They work as a general non-stick, heat-tolerant work surface, which is why people use them under a torch or while cleaning glass.

The print is durable under normal use and cleaning. Scraping directly at the print with a metal tool is what wears it, so scrape residue rather than the surface.

Silicone tolerates the incidental heat of a warm banger or tool far better than wood or fabric. It is a protective surface, not a substitute for letting hot glass cool.