Would wallpaper paste work?

August 18, 2007 9:59 AM

Please help me locate a suitable fixing for my posters.

I have several large posters on my walls that keep falling down. They are roughly 75 x 50cm, on slightly glossy paper. I got them from Allposters.co.uk. They're not especially heavy, and they're only going onto a normal white matt painted wall.

I've tried glue dots, blue tack and white tack. They all last for a while, then the posters tend to fall down and get damaged.

I'm looking for an "invisible" fixing - no tacks, drawing pins, sellotape, etc, because they're going to show up. Apparently it needs to be a strong fixing.

Where can I find something suitable? Preferably online, or a UK based store(s) is fine too.

posted by Solomon to media & arts (14 comments total)

Have you tried a double-faced tape? It works really well for the posters we have. That would be my first suggestion. There are plenty of places that sell it online.

When the posters fall, is the tack still adhered to the backs of them, or is it on the wall? If it's still on the posters, try sanding your walls where you put the tack. Even matte walls can be too smooth or glossy.

Wallpaper paste would work (reading your post title) as a stick but it would be difficult to remove the posters without any damage at all. Same with super strong glues.
posted by iconomy at 10:11 AM on August 18, 2007

Oh - apologies if this is ridiculously obvious, but the double face tape goes behind the poster and isn't visible from the front. One side sticks to the back of the poster and the other to the wall.
posted by iconomy at 10:15 AM on August 18, 2007

You want these 3M command strips. Four to six per poster will work. I have has posters attached to brick walls for over a year with no signs of movement.
posted by davey_darling at 10:19 AM on August 18, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Sticky Hook and Loop (i.e. velcro) fasteners work well for my heavy laminated A0 posters. For a smaller glossy poster they should be more than adequate.
posted by grouse at 10:21 AM on August 18, 2007

d'oh

has=had

I can has grammar.
posted by davey_darling at 10:22 AM on August 18, 2007

Second 3M command strips. They're very secure, but can be removed without a mark.
posted by adamrice at 11:21 AM on August 18, 2007

Why not a poster frame? You can get ones that don't cover up any of the poster, they just tiny metal clips to hold a sheet of clear plastic in front, and have a cardboard backing with a mount to hang from a nail.

They're called "clip frames" -- http://www.fastframes.co.uk/acatalog/Clip_Frames.html
posted by CrayDrygu at 12:44 PM on August 18, 2007

Ooops, sorry -- linkified: http://www.fastframes.co.uk/acatalog/Clip_Frames.html
posted by CrayDrygu at 12:45 PM on August 18, 2007

Wal-Mart has these 24" long plastic sliders that attach to the top and bottom of your poster. The top one has an adhesive plastic hanger that you can then use to tack to the wall with a single tack or nail. The bottom one has just enough weight to keep the poster (even a new one) from curling up. These cost about 2 bucks and the poster is completely unharmed. Wal-Mart sells them in the racks with the posters.

ican'tbelieveitoldsomeonetogotowalmartimgoingtohell
posted by HyperBlue at 9:01 PM on August 18, 2007

sorry, didn't read the UK bit. Hopefully Wal-Mart has not invaded Great Britain.
posted by HyperBlue at 9:03 PM on August 18, 2007

HyperBlue: We have those in the UK. They are called "poster hangers." I have bought them before at Ryman. I hate them, and only use them because I am prohibited from using adhesive on my walls. But they are available.

Wal-Mart is in the UK too; we call it "Asda."
posted by grouse at 3:38 AM on August 19, 2007

Yup, try the 3M thing, there's a shop on Ebay.co.uk that sells them. Their shipping is rather slow and they're not exactly inexpensive, but the quality is rather good.

I'd put them on clip frames myself, but don't buy those on Ebay - they're waaay too expensive through there. Try photo stores instead.
posted by Andorinha at 5:20 AM on August 19, 2007

Whatever you use, use more of it. blue- or white-tac will work if you use really a lot.
posted by theora55 at 6:55 AM on August 19, 2007

theora, I use that white-tacky stuff. It holds a bit too well. When I removed some posters that had been up for a couple of years it took the paint off (eeeks!)
posted by HyperBlue at 8:33 AM on August 20, 2007