Interior Wall Mural material

[MHester]

I wanted to get opinions on what the best material to use for an interior wall mural. This is just for our own business location, we're not selling or installing these for our customers, so I can do some trial and error here....

I have a 30' wide X 10' tall wall that I want to get a printed design onto, edge to edge. In the past (another wall I did about 1-1/2 years ago), I used Optima (Advantage house brand) walltext 8 mil matte low tac removable vinyl, printed out and installed with 1" overlap on the seams. It's still holding up pretty well. But I don't have that material any more and now I'm looking to stock up on new vinyl.

What are people using? 3 mil, 6 mil? what brand? I see there are multiple types from GF, orajet, 3M, Kapko etc from my distributors, but not sure whats the easiest to install. It's a standard painted drywall surface, and I'm looking for easy pressure adhesive install that I can reposition as I install it. We like the matte finish look, with no embossed texture needed or fancy fabric or canvas look. It need to be compatible with my HP Latex printer.

Also, if anyone has install tips that would be great. I learned the hard way on the last wall I did that I should not have used 4' wide panels to install on a 10' tall wall, by the time I got to the lower 1/3 of each panel, the weight of the vinyl stretched and the image didn't want to line up on the bottom. I ultimately reprinted 2' wide panels and that worked out fine.

Thanks in advance,
MH

 

[BigfishDM]

Lots of options for this. Materials like PhotoTex work great and are easier to install than vinyls IMO. There are so many variables with the wall paints and finishes that I am seeing more and more people using a paste and apply method, the paste acts like a primer on the wall and makes installs much easier. I carry 10' seemless wall fabric so you can do a whole 10' wall with zero seems. The other benefit of using fabric instead of vinyl is the fabric won't stretch on you. You don't have to use it in 10' but it does come in that size.

 

[clarizeyale]

^ PhotoTex is great for wall murals but if this is for your shop.. I'd go with something inexpensive. We bought a bunch of stock from Grimco when they took over Advantage and have just been using that for our shop (like optima optisolve). Giant a$$ murals too

But for our own clients, we use GF Automark or Phototex. GF has matte and gloss lam but sometimes we just use mactac matte lam....

We also don't usually have issues with stretching? I print as wide as I can for however tall the walls are (but if they're too tall, then we make the panels shorter, not narrower) and the installers or my boss rarely has issues...

 

[MHester]

^ PhotoTex is great for wall murals but if this is for your shop.. I'd go with something inexpensive. We bought a bunch of stock from Grimco when they took over Advantage and have just been using that for our shop (like optima optisolve). Giant a$$ murals too
But for our own clients, we use GF Automark or Phototex. GF has matte and gloss lam but sometimes we just use mactac matte lam....
We also don't usually have issues with stretching? I print as wide as I can for however tall the walls are (but if they're too tall, then we make the panels shorter, not narrower) and the installers or my boss rarely has issues...

oh, so you're the one who bought up all the optima optisolve.....grrrr... lol. I tried to jump on all the old advantage materials the week the announcement went out, but Grimco told me they didn't have any more supply left..I think they lied. I think the automark and the phototex are a bit too expensive for my internal use. I like the fact that the GF has an air release liner though, that would be easier to install. You obviously have better installers than me. LOL. Thanks for your advice.

 

[clarizeyale]

oh, so you're the one who bought up all the optima optisolve.....grrrr... lol. I tried to jump on all the old advantage materials the week the announcement went out, but Grimco told me they didn't have any more supply left..I think they lied. I think the automark and the phototex are a bit too expensive for my internal use. I like the fact that the GF has an air release liner though, that would be easier to install. You obviously have better installers than me. LOL. Thanks for your advice.

LOL! Wasn't it region based? We're on the westcoast so we swooped on whatever it was they had left. Sorry if you're on this side toooo haha

We like GF for the most part.. If I stumble upon anything just as good but inexpensive, I'll try to remember to share. Good luck on your search!

 

[Bly]

Avery 2611 is easy to install and removable.
A bit pricy though.
If you don't mind a wet install HP PVC Free Wallpaper is another option.
Also removable and cheaper than 2611.

 

[MHester]

Avery 2611 is easy to install and removable.
A bit pricy though.
If you don't mind a wet install HP PVC Free Wallpaper is another option.
Also removable and cheaper than 2611.

Thanks, but I'm going for cheap. Also, I've never done a wet install that large..That's a bit intimidating and beyond my comfort zone. Thanks for the idea tho.

 

[ikarasu]

Your looking at 300sq ft about. I'm all for going cheap, but we usually use whatever material we recommend the client.

Nothing gives a customer more confidence than showing them the product, telling them this is year xx that it's been up, and look at how well it's doing.

Where as if you use a cheap product that doesn't hold up well, it might turn potential customers off.

If it's not something you plan on selling to a customer, and just want it to look nice... Any bubble free vinyl would work .I've found the easiest installs to be a fabric material. I bought some cheap canvas material off of eBay that was self adhesive for a wall in my basement... Its been up two years and showing no signs of wear.


You could also buy printable wallpaper, it's really cheap. Downside is you apply it with wallpaper paste, and while it seems messy to me, I remember as a kid me and my sister wallpapered our rooms.and it.disnt turn out bad... So must be easy!

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

I just installed about 800 sq. ft of interior walls for a retail build-out. The printing company used laminated 3M control tac. Went on smooth. The walls I did were not just a big blank wall... some were curved and lots of "cut outs".

 

[eahicks]

Using mostly GF 226 wall vinyl. Matte finish, installs easy and seems to stick well. And only about .48 a sf.

 

[eahicks]

I just installed about 800 sq. ft of interior walls for a retail build-out. The printing company used laminated 3M control tac. Went on smooth. The walls I did were not just a big blank wall... some were curved and lots of "cut outs".

I can see that being a decent material for a wall, but super expensive for a wall wrap.

 

[Reveal1]

We do a lot of large scale wall projects. After much trial and error with smooth films from GF, Avery (2611) etc. we find that 3m 40c is becoming our go-to. It is thinner (3mil) than 6mil wall films so conforms better to slightly textured surfaces and we laminate most wall film with 2.5 mil GF 240 matte unless it is to be a short term install. 40C has a more aggressive adhesive, while still removable will hold better to the newer paints that are sometimes a challenge. Finally - since 40c is also a staple for print/cut and flat vehicle graphics, we can stock and color profile one product.

 

[bigben]

We use about 6 to 10 rolls of phototex per month. But I prefer to work with GF 226. Phototex have changed something in their material lately and we use more GF 226 now. It is easier to install than phototex in my opinion. I've never tried water or paste base material, but we will try them eventually.

 

[MHester]

I'm leaning towards GF 226 or Orajet 3268. They're both 6 mil, and I feel more comfortable working with 6 mil rather than 3 mil. Seems folks are happy with the GF, does anyone have a personal opinion about Orajet?

 

[eahicks]

I'm leaning towards GF 226 or Orajet 3268. They're both 6 mil, and I feel more comfortable working with 6 mil rather than 3 mil. Seems folks are happy with the GF, does anyone have a personal opinion about Orajet?

Don't use 3268....too low tack, as it is a repositionable vinyl.

 

[shoresigns]

Avery 2611 is easy to install and removable.
A bit pricy though.
If you don't mind a wet install HP PVC Free Wallpaper is another option.
Also removable and cheaper than 2611.

Thanks, but I'm going for cheap. Also, I've never done a wet install that large..That's a bit intimidating and beyond my comfort zone. Thanks for the idea tho.

I highly recommend Avery 2611 for an easy dry installation. I got stuck with the job of installing a 30'x9' mural with 2611 years ago, completely on my own with zero training. I literally just watched a YouTube video and then went at it, and it went flawlessly. The only prior experience I had was applying prints to substrates on the table.

 

[clarizeyale]

oh, so you're the one who bought up all the optima optisolve.....grrrr... lol. I tried to jump on all the old advantage materials the week the announcement went out, but Grimco told me they didn't have any more supply left..I think they lied. I think the automark and the phototex are a bit too expensive for my internal use. I like the fact that the GF has an air release liner though, that would be easier to install. You obviously have better installers than me. LOL. Thanks for your advice.

JSYK, the Optima Opti-Solve Simple Curve vinyl has the same air release type channels as General Formulations Automark... for future reference

 

[AGCharlotte]

I use Avery 2611 for a less permanent option and 3M 40C if it's more perm or has a lot of contour cutting.

 

[tollerdad]

For those using 3M 40C and a lot of contour cuts what app tap works best?

 

[AGCharlotte]

For those using 3M 40C and a lot of contour cuts what app tap works best?

I've used the 3M SCPS.