Wallpaper

Custom wallpaper murals can be printed from your own photo or design, or you can use a stock photo from one of the many sites available that provide images such https://www.istockphoto.com - https://www.shutterstock.com - https://www.dreamstime.com and many others. These sites have low cost stock images you can purchase, and there are some that offer free images, but make sure any free images are of a suitable resolution because you do often get what you pay for. If you plan on using your own file or photo, be sure you read the helpful information in the FAQ tab to learn about file sizing for quality wall mural printing. If you're printing a traditional wallpaper design with a repeating pattern, you can provide the pattern file and we can repeat it to fill your desired dimensions>

Wall Preparation

Wall should be prepped to a smooth, clean, and dry surface prior to installation. Wallcovering will not hide wall flaws such as: nail holes, bumps, or dirt.

Proper surface preparation is key to getting great results. To prepare the surface properly, we recommend that you prime all surfaces with a universal, white-pigmented, mold inhibiting wallcovering primer. Use acrylic wallcovering primers such as Professional Ultra Prime (PRO-977), Golden Harvest White Bite, or Allpro Ultra Prep 685. Priming provides a sound surface that wallcovering will adhere to. It is recommended to strip down previous layer(s) of wallcovering. The wallcovering may seem to be firmly adhered to the wall, but the addition of another layer can cause adhesion failure.

Prime over glossy paint with one of the above mentioned primers.

Using a pencil, mark straight horizontal and vertical lines on your wall to line up the first panels.

Recommended Wallpaper Paste

Clear adhesives such as Professional Ultra Premium Heavy Duty Clear Strippable (PRO-880), Golden Harvest GH-34 Clear Strippable, and Allpro Pro-Duty 3400 provide good adhesion and allow for easier stripping when the wall covering is to be removed or replaced.

Clay adhesives such as Professional Extra Strength (PRO-732), Professional Clay Strippable (PRO-774), Golden Harvest GH- 40, Allpro Extra Strength Vinyl 600, and Allpro Clay Strippable 661 have also been shown to be effective both during installation and the removal of these wallcovering materials.

Pastes such as Professional Heavy Duty Clear PRO-838 or Allpro Clear Hang 610 have a more aggressive adhesion and should be used for more permanent applications.

Vinyl over vinyl pastes tend to dry too quickly on these products and are not recommended.

Applying Paste

Brush or roll an even coat of paste over entire back of wallcovering. Pay particular attention to run over edges so they are sure to be pasted. Fold each end toward the middle, pasted sides together, aligning the edges carefully so they do not dry out. CAUTION: Do not crease wallcovering. Allow to “relax” for ten minutes (booking). This will allow the adhesive to penetrate the wallpaper, which is important to a successful installation.

Hanging Information

Avoid burnishing the face of the material. Use a wallcovering brush or a soft plastic scraper to smooth the wallcovering onto the wall. Do not allow vinyl adhesive to dry on surface as it may leave a white residue. Wash off excess paste from face of wallcovering as you hang it with a cellulose sponge. The cellulose sponge must be rinsed in clean water after every use. Dry with a clean cloth. Place the second strip to the edge of the first strip. Tape seams before overlapping and double cutting to avoid getting adhesive on the face of the wallpaper. If paste does get on the face, clean it off immediately with clean warm water and dry with a clean lint less towel. Use a soft bristle brush to wash the ceiling and the baseboard to remove any paste residue.

The low wet expansion of these products allows double cutting at the seams. Overlapping the seams is not recommended. Seams should not be located closer than 6” to corners.

Maintenance and Care

Ordinary dirt and smudges can be removed with a mild soap and warm water. Clean from bottom of wall upward. Rinse thoroughly with clean water from the top down using a sponge. Dry wallcovering with a soft lint free cloth or towel. For more difficult stains that are only surface deep, the use of a stronger detergent is recommended. Always test an inconspicuous area with the stronger detergent to be sure that the surface and ink are not damaged. DO NOT USE steel wool or powdered abrasive because they can damage the image and wallpaper surface. When cleaning, always take measures to prevent water from dripping behind molding. 

How wide will each panel of my wall mural be?

Generally we make each panel of a larger wall mural 48 inches wide. If the dimensions of your mural are such that narrower panels are necessary to divide it into equal sections, we may make the panels narrower. For example, if a mural were 80" wide, we might split the mural into two 40" panels, rather than one 48" and one 32" panel. For wallpaper and textured vinyl wallcoverings that require wallpaper paste for installation, we leave a 1"-2" overlap between panels to make alignment and trimming easier. For self adhesive products, we leave a 1/2" overlap since those materials require you leave the overlap between panels rather than double cut and butting the seams.

For smaller murals or graphics, we try to keep the image in one piece if possible.

Should I install my wall mural, or should I hire someone else to do it?

We generally recommend having a professional paper hanger install your mural. The process isn't any more difficult than installing other wallpaper, but since a custom wallpaper mural is more expensive than standard wallpaper, a mistake during installation could be more costly. For that reason, professional installation is the safest approach. Also, many people are used to installing wallpaper in smaller sections and may have a more difficult time with larger 48" panels. Your local wallpaper retailer should be able to suggest a qualified installer, or most painting contractors can also install wallpaper.