Open Forum

Hi all,

I'm in charge of exhibits at my museum, which is housed in a 1909 fire station. It's a great building, but one that is cooled by a swamp cooler. That means our exhibit galleries can get relatively humid this time of year. That increased humidity is wreaking havoc with adhesives I use to secure panels to our temporary exhibit walls.

I've tried many materials, from all types of foam tapes, to velcro, to 3M strips, in a few different configurations. None of them can stand up for long to the humidity, and the panels start to fall. And, no, we can't switch to a different cooling system in the near future.

For reference, I'm working with exhibit walls that were built with wood studs and drywall. They can be patched and repainted as necessary. We're not going to use tacks to hold them up, though we are open to other methods that are visible but not distracting. 

Any budget-friendly ideas for securing panels to walls in relatively humid environments? Thank you for the help!


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Sarah Crocker
Denver Firefighters Museum
Denver CO
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Sarah,

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Matthew MacVittie
Director of Collections & Exhibitions
Seward House Museum
Auburn NY
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-25-2019 01:22 PM
From: Sarah Crocker
Subject: Panel adhesives in historic building

Hi all,

I'm in charge of exhibits at my museum, which is housed in a 1909 fire station. It's a great building, but one that is cooled by a swamp cooler. That means our exhibit galleries can get relatively humid this time of year. That increased humidity is wreaking havoc with adhesives I use to secure panels to our temporary exhibit walls.

I've tried many materials, from all types of foam tapes, to velcro, to 3M strips, in a few different configurations. None of them can stand up for long to the humidity, and the panels start to fall. And, no, we can't switch to a different cooling system in the near future.

For reference, I'm working with exhibit walls that were built with wood studs and drywall. They can be patched and repainted as necessary. We're not going to use tacks to hold them up, though we are open to other methods that are visible but not distracting.

Any budget-friendly ideas for securing panels to walls in relatively humid environments? Thank you for the help!


------------------------------
Sarah Crocker
Denver Firefighters Museum
Denver CO
------------------------------

Original Message------

Sarah,

Try 3M VHB tape. It has a very aggressive hold to it. We recently installed a panel exhibit in an 1816 basement space and have had zero problems. 

------------------------------
Matthew MacVittie
Director of Collections & Exhibitions
Seward House Museum
Auburn NY
------------------------------

We regularly use VHB to attach labels to mounts. It's very handy and can hold almost anything, but be aware it is often difficult to remove and can damage surfaces. If your wall surface is easy to patch and paint, hanging cleats or hardware might be a better option.

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Gayle Ulrich
Exhibition Designer
National September 11 Memorial & Museum
New York NY
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 06-26-2019 07:49 AM
From: John Summers
Subject: Panel adhesives in historic building

I second that idea. There's a wide range of 3M VHB tapes for different combinations of materials. We've used them to fasten split battens to painted cinderblock walls/Sintra panels for display in a humid velodrome and it's worked fine. It may be the most expensive tape you'll ever buy but it definitely works.

John Summers, M.M.St

Adjunct Lecturer, Museum Studies Program
http://www.johnsummers.ca

Original Message------

Sarah,

Try 3M VHB tape. It has a very aggressive hold to it. We recently installed a panel exhibit in an 1816 basement space and have had zero problems. 

------------------------------
Matthew MacVittie
Director of Collections & Exhibitions
Seward House Museum
Auburn NY
------------------------------

Are you printing these yourself or sending them out? Printers can attach various types of hanging hardware to panels; cleats are a nice option and making hanging a breeze.

If you are printing and mounting to foamcore and the like and the humidity is leading to your signage bowing or peeling, I'd also recommend trying direct-to-substrate or UV printing. In this method, the graphic is printed directly on the panel (foam core, gator, or I'd recommend sintra for a humid environment). It's cost efficient because you eliminate the mounting and laminating process and is much more durable.

------------------------------
Johanna Goldfeld Design, LLC
Graphic and Exhibition Design
Tel: 718-789-1238
Visit my website: www.jgoldfeld-design.com

------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 06-25-2019 01:22 PM
From: Sarah Crocker
Subject: Panel adhesives in historic building

Hi all,

I'm in charge of exhibits at my museum, which is housed in a 1909 fire station. It's a great building, but one that is cooled by a swamp cooler. That means our exhibit galleries can get relatively humid this time of year. That increased humidity is wreaking havoc with adhesives I use to secure panels to our temporary exhibit walls.

I've tried many materials, from all types of foam tapes, to velcro, to 3M strips, in a few different configurations. None of them can stand up for long to the humidity, and the panels start to fall. And, no, we can't switch to a different cooling system in the near future.

For reference, I'm working with exhibit walls that were built with wood studs and drywall. They can be patched and repainted as necessary. We're not going to use tacks to hold them up, though we are open to other methods that are visible but not distracting.

Any budget-friendly ideas for securing panels to walls in relatively humid environments? Thank you for the help!


------------------------------
Sarah Crocker
Denver Firefighters Museum
Denver CO
------------------------------

Original Message------

Hi all,

I'm in charge of exhibits at my museum, which is housed in a 1909 fire station. It's a great building, but one that is cooled by a swamp cooler. That means our exhibit galleries can get relatively humid this time of year. That increased humidity is wreaking havoc with adhesives I use to secure panels to our temporary exhibit walls.

I've tried many materials, from all types of foam tapes, to velcro, to 3M strips, in a few different configurations. None of them can stand up for long to the humidity, and the panels start to fall. And, no, we can't switch to a different cooling system in the near future.

For reference, I'm working with exhibit walls that were built with wood studs and drywall. They can be patched and repainted as necessary. We're not going to use tacks to hold them up, though we are open to other methods that are visible but not distracting. 

Any budget-friendly ideas for securing panels to walls in relatively humid environments? Thank you for the help!


------------------------------
Sarah Crocker
Denver Firefighters Museum
Denver CO
------------------------------