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Tape mounting dimensional letters
- Thread starter drew_psg
- Start date
What kind of tape? And what size letters? are they going to be in reach of kids picking at them?
Lots of different variables. Some drywall has paints that wont let tape adhere to it either... so thats another one. We put a lot of letters on walls, if theyre heavy we screw them in, if they're not, and not at reach to be yanked off the wall... We generally use a Clear VHB type tape, works great. And you'll yank half the drywall off before you can yank a letter off.
Lots of different variables. Some drywall has paints that wont let tape adhere to it either... so thats another one. We put a lot of letters on walls, if theyre heavy we screw them in, if they're not, and not at reach to be yanked off the wall... We generally use a Clear VHB type tape, works great. And you'll yank half the drywall off before you can yank a letter off.
Johnny Best
Active Member
If they are acrylic letters that can be stud mounted then that is what I order and prefer to install them that way with a pattern as to where I need to put the holes for stud mounting. If they are small and to thin to use studs, then the VHB tape with a little dab of silicone is used.
Testing the painted wall to see if tape will stick always is a good thing to do before installation.
Testing the painted wall to see if tape will stick always is a good thing to do before installation.
Can you stud mount to drywall? Is the thickness of drywall enough for silicone to hold the studs on acrylic letters?
Texas_Signmaker
Very Active Signmaker
I do.. then again I told them not to sit there and pull on the letters.
MikePatterson
Head bathroom cleaner.
Yes you can stud mount to drywall. I just did 4 logos in the entry of a local business. drilled the pattern with a smaller drill bit and installed them into the holes. Now these will at best be wiped with a duster and not pulled on in any way.
Moze
Active Member
If it's a painted wall, I prefer stud-mounted just to avoid any potential issues with the tape sticking. Most of the common paints these days are designed to NOT have things stay on them (dirt, grease, stickers, etc.). That unfortunately also effects tape-mounted signs and letters as well as vinyl graphics.
Ultimate13
New Member
I realize this is an old thread, but just curious when you stud mount to drywall are you saying you don't use any adhesive in the holes? We have a project coming up and this is the method we are using but didn't realize it could be done without adhesive.
DerbyCitySignGuy
New Member
You can stud mount without any adhesives and the letters are fairly easy to remove, as Marlene mentioned. The downside is that if they're in an area accessible to the public, your letters are easy to remove.
signman315
Signmaker
Stud mount with studs lightly dipped in silicon is a good way to go for sheetrock or otherwise. And if you really need to you can also apply VHB/silicon to the letter backs along with the studs, but as mentioned it will tear up the wall upon removal. I've also used high tack vinyl designed for low energy plastics (such as oracal 3105ht) to cut the letter pattern and apply that to the wall first, then VHB tape the letters to that. The 3105 will stick to modern paints that are designed for be easy to clean and nothing sticks except for a high tack. Then you can VHB mount to that and be good to go, the VHB will stick to the vinyl aggressively. I've used this method for about 4 years now and no failures whatsoever. Cut your vinyl pattern with a thin inline to make mounting the letters a little easier. But as many have mentioned some letters/materials are too heavy for just tape application. My motto is "screw and glue" or "stud and glue" in this case. And in my opinion any wall mounted letter within reach will fall victim to vandals/kids/etc, no matter how it's mounted they will find a way. Once in awhile customers will ask me if I have a solution for vandals, and my response is "short of guarding the sign with a baseball bat, there is no solution to a determined vandal"...I made a couple of really nice carved, gold leafed, HDU signs, that I installed into a local park and the vandals were chased away by the police (who my client asked for extra patrols in the area once the signs were up) leaving the sign behind...removed from the posts (carefully I might add) they dropped it and ran. Very little damage to the sign so it was remounted to the posts and guess what, happened again and again. Each time the vandal/thief not making off with the sign but not getting caught either. And I felt terrible that I couldn't offer a solution, other than raise our kids better lol. My biggest confusion in the situation was the motivation of the vandal...they were trying to steal the sign not destroy it. Were they going to try to pull the gold leafing and sell it? It's real gold but not sure what they were thinking, perhaps a personal grudge against the town/park? I can't quite wrap my head around that one!
We use studs and LEXEL High strength Adhesive whenever possible. For smaller letters where studs aren't practical, we use the clear VHB and a few dabs of LEXEL.
I prefer LEXEL over silicone because it has a quicker initial grab and its grip actually strengthens as it cures but it never gets too stiff like silicone can.
I prefer LEXEL over silicone because it has a quicker initial grab and its grip actually strengthens as it cures but it never gets too stiff like silicone can.