When choosing the best wallpaper adhesive, you dont want to find yourself six months down the road wondering why your wallpaper is beginning to peel at the seams. One of the reason that wallpaper begins to peel is due to the way in which the walls themselves can move due to humidity. Additionally, there is various weight of wallpaper, and not all adhesives are created equal.
Getting this step of the wallpapering process wrong will leave you wondering why the professionals found the process so easy to master. Fortunately, the chemistry behind each type of adhesive has been refined over many decades. By learning the chemistry of each type of adhesive, you will find yourself no longer in a guessing game as to which adhesive to use for which project.
Wallpaper adhesive is not a one-size-fits-all product. Each manufacturer makes the adhesive with a slightly different chemical composition to provide a specific type of grip, to allow for a specific amount of open time for the adhesive to bond to the wall, to provide for a specific level of slip for the wallpaper to easily adhere, to provide for mold resistance, and to allow the wallpaper to easily be stripped once it reaches the end of it’s lifespan. The specific type of wallpaper that you are using will have a significant impact on the type of adhesive that must be used for it to adhere properly to your wall.
The list provided below will discuss the types of wallpaper adhesive that are available. Each type of adhesive has a specific category for which it is best suited, a few specific quirks about the adhesive product, and a reason for which it has a place on the wallpaper adhesive shelf in the store. One of the oldest types of wallpaper adhesive is based upon starch.
Common Types of Wallpaper Adhesive to Use
1. Starch-Based Adhesive
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/137359857360282717/
These types of adhesives are primarily made of modified wheat starch or corn starch and are available in powder form. Once mixed with water, the starch-based wallpaper adhesive will create a thick and slippery paste. The natural formulation of the starch-based wallpaper adhesive allows it to breathe, which permits it to work well with uncoated paper, grasscloth wallpaper, and historic reproduction wallpaper prints.
Additionally, the low odor of this type of adhesive and the ease with which you can clean it up with warm water are considered positive attributes of starch-based wallpaper adhesive. Its drawbacks are that it is less moisture resistant than other types of wallpaper adhesive, limiting its use to spaces that do not experience high humidity levels, such as living rooms. Additionally, starch-based wallpaper adhesive should not be used behind vinyl wallpaper or in kitchens.
2. Cellulose-Based Adhesive
Cellulose-based wallpaper adhesive is the moddern evolution of the starch-based wallpaper adhesive. The cellulose-based wallpaper adhesive uses cellulose fibers, which are derived from wood pulp or cotton. The cellulose-based wallpaper adhesive comes in powder form, like the starch-based adhesive, but creates a clear and smooth paste, which is less likely to form lumps when prepared.
Because cellulose can hold water for longer periods of time, the open time for this type of adhesive is longer then starch-based adhesive. Additionally, cellulose-based adhesive tends to grip on porous walls and is less likely to soak into them. Because of these features, cellulose-based wallpaper adhesive is a modern installation solution that aims to offer the best of both worlds: the ease of use and forgiveness of the traditional wallpaper paste, but also the more predictable behavior that is required in varying indoor climate conditions within a home.
The downside of cellulose-based wallpaper adhesive is that it is not waterproof, which limits its use in bathrooms.
3. Vinyl-Over-Vinyl Adhesive
Vinyl-over-vinyl wallpaper adhesive was created to solve a specific problem that occurs during the installation of vinyl wallpaper. Vinyl wallpaper will not allow other types of pastes to adhere to the surface of existing vinyl wallpaper.
Vinyl-over-vinyl wallpaper adhesive contains elements that adhere to vinyl but still permits the new sheet of vinyl wallpaper to slide into place when the adhesive is applied. Vinyl-over-vinyl wallpaper adhesive is available in premixed tub form. Because vinyl-over-vinyl wallpaper adhesive is premixed, the installer does not have to worry about the ratio of the vinyl adhesive to water.
The vinyl adhesive has a strong smell upon application, and it has a shorter time window during which it can perform its intended function. These features limit the use of vinyl-over-vinyl wallpaper adhesive to situations in which one is installing vinyl wallpaper sheets upon existing sheets of vinyl wallpaper. Additionally, using vinyl-over-vinyl wallpaper adhesive will make the eventual removal of the wallpaper from the wall a miserable experience.
4. Heavy-Duty Clay Adhesive
Finally, the last type of wallpaper adhesive that will be discussed is the heavy-duty clay adhesive. The reason for the inclusion of fine clay particles into the wallpaper adhesive is to provide the adhesive with tremendous strength. Such a feature makes it ideal for use with heavyweight wallpaper, such as canvas, linen, and cork.
Additionally, clay wallpaper adhesive comes in powder form. When mixed with water, the adhesive creates a thick consistency that is similar to peanut butter. This type of thick consistency will not allow the heavyweight paper to droop while it is being installed, and it will compensate for any minor imperfections in the wall.
Furthermore, clay-based wallpaper adhesive resists shrinkage as it dries. This prevents any seams from becoming visible on the wallpaper that is applied on darker colors. However, the disadvantage of clay wallpaper adhesive is that it dries harder than other wallpaper adhesive types.
This can cause the wallpaper to be more difficult to remove after many years of application to the wall. Clay adhesives are best reserved for papers that are labeled as “heavyweight” or “commercial grade” because clay adhesive needs to last for various temperature swings and bumps in transit.
5. Ready-Mixed Adhesive
Ready-mixed adhesives come in thick white ready-mixed forms that include fungicides and preservatives.
Professionals can find several bucket of ready-mixed adhesive on their trucks for ease of use. The consistency will remain the same from one batch to the next, and the chemistry of ready-mixed adhesive will remain tacky for a longer period. However, the problem with ready-mixed adhesive is that some economy brands contain enough water to make thin papers on the project potentially curl when using too much of the ready-mixed adhesive.
Also, ready-mixed adhesive is heavier to carry up stairs. However, for most projects for residential homes, ready-mixed adhesive will provide a path of least resistance for the hangers.
6. Strippable Adhesive
Strippable adhesive is formulated for a reason: to allow the project to be redecorated.
Strippable adhesive forms a membrane between the paper and the wall. Once ready, the paper can be scored, misted, and peeled from the wall. Strippable adhesive is used for rental properties, homes with growing families, and individuals who like to change the decor of their room every few years.
However, older plaster walls can be too porous to absorb the strippable adhesive; thus, it is best to test the product on a few square inches of a 50-year-old wall project before commencing work.
7. Border and Repair Adhesive
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/4599230822072822784/
Border and repair adhesive comes in small tubes for a reason. Small adhesives are meant to be used along the border of a project or to repair seams along a project.
Because border and repair adhesive is water-based and dries quickly, it will prevent border papers from shrinking away from the wall. Even if using a different type of adhesive for the main drops on the wall, a border or repair adhesive is essential to have in the toolkit. A single drop can save a room from looking shabby.
However, border and repair adhesive should not be used as a replacement for the adhesive for large areas of paper. The chemistry of border and repair adhesive is too aggressive for large sheets of paper and could cause wrinkling if used on large areas of the wall.
8. Low-VOC and Natural Adhesive
Low-VOC and natural adhesive formulas have become increasingly common in the trade in recent years due to homeowner concerns regarding indoor air quality.
Low-VOC and natural formulas use plant-based ingredients rather than synthetic chemicals. These adhesives are almost as strong as traditional adhesive formulas. The downside is that the initial tack is slightly lower.
Thus, the worker must take a little more time to place the adhesive and smooth the drops. If you are wallpapering a nursery, a child’s bedroom, or if you are concerned about air quality in the bedroom for a chemically sensitive person, using natural adhesive will allow you to sleep soundly throughout the night.
9. Specialty Adhesive Formulas
Finally, there are specialty adhesive formulas for those who work with exotic materials.
Metal foil, flocked velvet, woven textiles, and silk all require their own type of adhesive. These specialty formulas contain an extra amount of acrylic or another chemical that will not discolor the exotic material. These adhesives tend to be more costly and come in smaller quantities since they are not needed in large amounts for accent walls.
The manufacturers test the adhesive on the specified material so when the label says silk, it is best to believe the label. Using the clay adhesive for one of these projects will ruin the material. When choosing the adhesive to use on a project, there is no one best brand for every type of paper.
However, there are four simple questions to ask before purchasing any adhesive:
What is the paper made of? How heavy is the paper? What is the environment of the project?
How permanent should the adhesive be on the project? When you answer these four simple questions, the adhesive of choice will almost choose itself. When your project remains flat for years and your walls remain flawless, you will remember the next time you are selecting wallpaper for a residence that the magic was not in the wallpaper but in the glue that was used to keep the pattern from ever letting go at the wrong moment.
