Best Paint or Sealant for Adhesive Wall Graphics?

[Patrick Bateman]

We are going to be installing adhesive backed vinyl film(Dry Erase) onto painted walls. The contractor initially painted the walls with an egg shell finish but is open to painting the walls with whatever we recommend.

Since we can recommend any paint or sealant. What specific semi gloss, gloss or sealants would you all recommend as the best option for adhesive back vinyl?

TIA

 

[eahicks]

We've found cheap semi-gloss paint is the easiest to stick to. It's the expensive stuff with additives for repelling stains and marks that tend to reject any adhesive vinyl.
But if you have your choice before they even paint, NO paint is the best option. Primed walls are great for graphics. Make sure they are smooth and dust free, clean with alcohol.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

The walls were already painted with an egg shell finish, essentially a matte finish. One contact recommended using Pro-999 | Rx35 from Roman which is a sealant and adhesive promoter. Anyone ever used that product?

 

[bigben]

We do tons of dry erase vinyl. We always ask for an oil based primer or use Zinsser Gardz. We prefer Gardz because it's water based and it dry within 3 hours. So you can install the next day compared to oil based primer that you have to wait 6-10 days in average.

The dry erase vinyl is particular compared to regular vinyl because it contain a thin layer of polycarbonate (for most of the manufacturers). It has a tendency to pull off the wall particularly on the edges. Even if you use the 3M adhesion test kit and pass the test, it could be a problem. So you need an extra safety other than paint to have a great adhesion. This is why we recommend Gardz.