Counter trays and props are touched by customers, baked by lights and dusted by the air every single day. Within months the velvet flattens and shines white, the acrylic collects scratches, and glossy surfaces turn matte. The customer's first thought isn't “the prop is old” — it's “is the merchandise old too?” Prop condition pulls the whole display down a grade.

Velvet “wears white” the easiest. On a dark set like the navy blue microfiber modular display set DJ03, dust plus repeated touching collapses the pile in patches, fading it gray-white. Maintenance is three words: wash rarely. Use a soft brush, following the pile direction, to lift surface dust daily; for local stains, spot with a velvet dry-cleaner — never soak the whole piece. Water-washed velvet collapses and pills, which looks worse than dirt.

Acrylic fears hard objects. Sets like the gold-edge black velvet combination tray TP43, with clear acrylic and metal edging, should be wiped with a soft cloth — no dry tissues rubbed hard, and no rings or keys tossed on top. Light scratches can be softened with fine polishing compound, worked slowly; deep ones are beyond saving, so replace.

Leather surfaces are less fussy. For PU leather sets like the gray-and-white color-blocked PU leather prop set DJ01, wipe with a slightly damp soft cloth and finish with a dry one. One warning: no alcohol — it discolors the leather and stiffens it.

I learned this the hard way. Once, feeling the velvet trays were dirty, I rinsed them under a tap. After drying, the pile collapsed completely and pilled — a whole batch was ruined. Since then, one rule: velvet gets dry cleaning only, never water; acrylic gets wiped, never scrubbed.

Prop care takes minutes, but it's what keeps the counter looking new. Pick one day a week: brush the velvet, wipe the acrylic, straighten the metal edges. Customer trust in your counter builds up exactly this way — a little at a time.