After launching our line of peel & stick products, we have had a considerable amount of practice installing our designs on numerous wall types. Initially we scoured the web for tips & tricks, suggestions, and guidelines for a frustration free installation. This did help, and practice has made installation easier as we embarked on more and more spaces. The trick is to smooth the mural onto the wall as evenly as possible to alleviate the possibility of getting air bubbles trapped in between the wall and mural, but this concept is far easier said than done. Using a traditional scraper or squeegee can scratch the wallpaper, or stretch the vinyl material (which could cause misalignment and more bubbling.)
To avoid both scratching and stretching we settled on using either our bare hands or a microfiber towel to press the peel & stick wallpaper strip to the wall, while simultaneously peeling back the protective paper backing. We thought we had found the best and most simple solution for a bubble-free result….until we found the best tool on the planet earth for peel & stick wallpaper installation. This discovery was a fluke, an odd coincidence that we stumbled on, and we will never go back. The tool I am referring to is the “Handy Scraper” made by Pampered Chef. Weird? Yes. Effective? Also yes.
What makes the “Handy Scraper” so perfect? The combination of its slightly curved shape, a soft-ish rubber edge and small size mean that it can be easily maneuvered with one hand with the exact amount of pressure necessary to stick your wallpaper to the wall with minimal bubbles and very low levels of underyourbreathcursing.
Long story short, if you buy a peel & stick mural, please get yourself one of these bad boys. We have also learned that ceramic blades are the best knife for trimming excess mural length, excess mural width in corners, and around outlets. We use this one (available on amazon).
Click here for a link to the “Handy Scraper”
Click here for a link to the “Westcott Safety Knife (16475)"