commercial grade w/polyester backing

[valant43]

I have been attempting to hang a commercial grade 54" vynal that has a polyester backing. The manufacturer says to use clay base adhesive. I have hand pasted, as recommended, w strippable clay base. When hung, all sheets shrink back at the edges. I have repasted tops and bottoms and smoothed down and eventually got them to lay down. Problem: all double cuts have shrunk back exposing the seam. I have used plenty of paste. I went as far as leaving the sheets on the wall overnight and then double cut the next day. I am using a double cutter. The seams look great after initial cut and seaming, but after 15 minutes each sheet seems to shrink exposing the seam; and in some instances the edges seem to lift slightly. I went as far as repasting under the seam with 111 and smoothing, but to no avail. Any suggestions (in case I still get paid to rehang this room).

[Cliff Hayes]

We routinely hang a type II that just seems to have a mind of its own. It's Genon "Maya". It does all the things that your poly-backed stuff does. We switched to a high-tack primer (R-35, two coats), and pasted with uncut HD clay. I don't think very much of the strippable clay. It has all the worst properties of clay, without the adhesion.

[Rusty]

I agree with Cliff about the use of strippable clay.I would trash it and buy shur stik 111.Then prepaste your seam areas and let dry.After they dry you can dry hang or paste your sheets .I am a firm believer of seam busters,but sometimes they will remove the glue and make your seams pucker.The seams that are opening maybe puckering,and the curling of the edges you might be able to fix with a heat gun.Rusty

[valant43]

Thank you for the pointers. It is great that this forum exists. In the mean time I have been called to another job and the contractor and decorator have not gotten back in touch with me to tell me what they want to do about my problem polyester backed vinal. It is such a small room that I will rehang for free; to make things right. Have you run into chamfurred(spelling) corners:a corner bead that is a 1" wide 45 degree angle. I have found it difficult to make a clean corner on a soffit where a horizontal 90 degree angle runs into a vertical. the chamferred corner creates a situation where there is a triangle with a Y cut. Hard to decribe, hard to make it appear perfect.