The October, 2005 issue of Inspired Homes (No. 12) had a wonderful article title Shipshape Bath. In that bathroom real nautical charts were used to wallpaper the upper half of the walls. My wife and I are in the finishing stages of building a two-story home on the St. Lucie River, close to the ocean, here in Stuart, FL. The master bathroom is being done in nautical theme including SS cleats for towel racks. We have purchased a number of nautical charts of areas where we have lived in the past and now the question is what “glue” or “paste” do we use.
The drywalls have been primed with white Zinzer 1-2-3. In the Inspired Homes article no mention was made as to using any particular backing or of the paste used. I have two questions.
Should a backing paper be attached to the charts first? If so should the paper be heavy white paper? Should something like 3M spray adhesive be used to attach the paper to the chart?
What would be the best adhesive to use to attach the charts to the wall? One person who saw the charts was concerned that normal wallpaper paste may come through or stain the charts. Most wallpaper has a backing.
Thank you for any information you can provide.
Replies
Nautical charts are printed on a very high-quality, resistant grade of paper (for obvious reasons). My guess is that you don't need to put a backing on them, but if you want to be sure, take a small piece and do a test with the glue you want to use. Old-fashioned water & flour paste might be just the ticket. Try it on a piece of scrap gyprock and see how it goes.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not brought
low by this? For thine evil pales before that which
foolish men call Justice....
Regular wallpaper paste will work fine but you'll have to work real fast. I had this done in a retail store on Sanibel Island 10 years or so ago. Looked great but really taxed my wallpaper installer. Since charts aren't made to be used as wallpaper they tend to start falling apart as soon as the paste goes on. You have to give them lots of support as you instal them or they will tear and you'll have to use a gentle touch to get the wrinkles out.
Another idea would be to have the charts laminated onto 3/8" MDF board, (the way posters are done, at a photo shop). That way, they would be smooth, with a cleanable matte finish. And no hassles with wallpaper paste.
Do not use the 3M spray. I've used this product many times in Archy school and would only recommend using it on something which is fairly temporary in nature.
At first, your nautical charts will look fantastic. After a month, small bubbles will begin to appear where the adhesive begins to "fail". After two months, those bubbles will be larger and more vein like. You don't want to put the effort in to only redo (and repurchase materials including the charts themselves) a month later.
I like nautical wall art very much and i have so many painting of nauical wall art in my home.Thanks for sharing with us keep posting.:) Nautical wall art