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Tuesday, January 29, 2013







It comes down to 2 choices - Wallpaper or Adhesive Vinyl, 
But Which One?  

~ 5 Things to Consider when Producing a Wall Mural ~

1. Removability
How long do you plan on having the wall covering up? Short Term, less than a year or two - or longer term, up to 5 years or more.

Wallpaper can be removed fairly easily if the walls have been properly primed prior to the installation.  After the wallpaper is removed the walls can be lightly washed with soap and water to easily clean any residual adhesive remaining.

Adhesive Vinyl: depending on the type, permanent or removable, depends on how easily it will remove.  Over the long-term, permanent adhesive vinyl will perform better than wallpaper but will be harder to remove.  For short-term applications, a removable vinyl adhesive is the choice.

FABJET II from Quality Media and Laminating is an adhesive backed fabric that is ultra removable, excellent opacity and has water fast coating suitable for cleaning.


2. Wall Surface
The surface texture of a wall can make or break the success of an installation for both adhesive vinyl and wallpaper.  Rough textures do not hold the adhesives well and will show through both materials.

Glossy painted walls are difficult to adhere to. Adhesive Vinyls won't adhere very well to matte wall surfaces.  
Eggshell paint is a terrible surface to bond to except for the FABJET II!


3. Finished Look of Wall Mural
Adhesive Vinyl material requires overlapping seams due to the natural shrinkage of the material that will occur early on after installation. These small seams, depending on your image, can be noticeable. A vinyl adhesive material for long term will need an overlam applied to it.  Surface choices can be matte, lustre or gloss.

Wallpaper material can be overlapped, then double cut creating very tight seams with no overlap. Wallpaper materials come in a variety of surface textures however colors can appear a little flatter / less saturated than on adhesive vinyl.  Wallpaper can allow for changes to be made after the installation because of the removability.  In most cases pieces of the mural can be changed with the replacement pieces added without notice, i.e.; dates, names, additions to time lines, etc.
 
4.  Wall Variations 
Windows and doorframes can cause installation problems if the correct material is not used.  If you want to cover your walls, door and window casings with a wall graphic, wallpaper is probably not going to work for you.  Adhesive Vinyl will conform better to the corners and angles of the casings and will adhere better with its' more aggressive adhesive.




5. Installation
The Wall: before the installation takes place the walls should be spackled and sanded wherever necessary and then wiped clean. 
Before hanging, determine if the wall should be primed with a white primer to lessen any possible color bleed-through. Priming promotes adhesion and less damaging removal.

Wallpaper: Shieldz brand primer products, Clear – for solid painted walls and White – for new walls, need 2 days for drying before applying a mural.
Do not use latex paint as the wallpaper paste can soften the latex making the paper become part of the wall.

Adhesive Vinyl; It's best to use a latex semi-gloss paint and allow to dry and cure for at least 2 weeks to eliminate the out gassing that will create bubbles under the wall mural material.  You can also use Kilz brand primers. They have shown excellent results and reduce staining and bleed-through problems.  Allow at least 5 full days of drying for Kilz.

So what material should I use?  ICL Imaging's experienced account representatives will be able to answer that question for you.   Email us at info@icl-imaging.com, and we'll be glad to review your wall-covering project and offer you the best solution to your wall mural challenge.

For more information about ICL Imaging, its' products and services, please contact us at
Tel: 508 872 3280
or check us out at
Contributing writer was Larry Johnson at AJ Robbins

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