Should I apply a clear coat polyurethane over my decals?

From time to time we have customers ask about sealing their decals.  Usually they are applying decals to a board or tile and want to make it last for many years.  Here we have a little info about decal stickers and polurethane.

If you are ordering a wall decal, it should be a matte finish and the adhesive is not super strong (to allow you to take it off without wrecking your painted walls).  Here is a picture of what can happen if you apply a thick coat of polyurethane over a wall decal sticker.

 

Polyurethane can cause the edges of the decal to curl.  Now I am not saying you CANNOT seal your decal sticker.... we have had customers tell us they have done it without any problems.

Here is some things to consider:

If you have a Wall Decal (matte finish and not super-strong adhesive), use a VERY light coat of polyurethane.  Mod Podge is another product that I have heard customers state they have used over their wall decal stickers.  The polyurethane tends to curl the edges of a vinyl sticker and with the lighter adhesive, the strength of the adhesive can break down.... on a Wall Decal Sticker. 

 

Another factor on the above board might have been the seams of the wood - this allowed the polyurethane to seep under the decal sticker just a bit and this reacted adversely with the adhesive on the decal sticker.

When our customer sent us this photo with "Help!" as the subject line, we suggested we get her another decal (we generally offer a mess-up decal replacement at half price).  The second decal sticker would be made with the GLOSSY OUTDOOR grade material, though.  

The glossy was not a factor seeing the polyurethane she added made the decal glossy-looking anyway.  And our outdoor grade material has a MUCH stronger adhesive... once that sticker sticks to a spot, there is very little chance you have to pick it up and move it to a correct spot!  So the stronger adhesive of our Glossy vinyl material was a much better fit for this project.  The strength of the adhesive allowed for a strong application to the wood and therefore wouldn't curl the edges of the decal when a light coat of polyurethane was applied.

Generally a seal is not needed for a decal made with our Glossy outdoor grade material, but if you want to feel safer, go ahead and apply a coat over your decal, but, please, make it a LIGHT coat! The beanbag toss board picture below is an example of using a light sealant coat over top the decal stickers.

Looking for a personalized or customized Wall Decal design?  Visit our website and use the Contact Us form.

We have MUCH to be Thankful For! Read for a Thankful Leaf Family Tip..

Hello all! Thanksgiving is less than a week away! Have you decorated for fall, and now want to turn it into Thanksgiving decor? Check out some of the options that using wall decals can offer you!

 This board has leaves, acorns and a decal about giving thanks. Sounds like fall to me! But it also has a Thanksgiving theme!

Giving Thanks... Here's an idea for the those fall leaves shown above: Order them in a Yellow or Orange (lighter color so a Sharpie marker will show up).  Then let each member of your family or gathering write on a leaf and adhere the leaf to a wall, door, window or even a board or tile for preservation.

What are we thankful for this year?
1. A new Shop with more room and efficient work space
2. Dedicated employees that continue to help us grow
3. YOU - our customers - for your continued support as we would not be a business without you.
4. Amazon.com - a large marketplace that does a great job marketing our products
5. FAMILY - without the support of husband and children, running a business would be a little more challenging

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I hope you too have much to be thankful and can enjoy the holiday with your family and friends!

~ Cassie & Kristi

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We Are Featuring Our Coolest Wall Decals This Month!

Hello there,

We have a whole bunch of new Wall Decal designs that I would like to share with you! 

First up, we have our Caution Boys Decal Sticker to make a Gadget Board!  We spray painted a board bright yellow, and then we added the "Caution: Boys at Play" Decal with stripes. Once that was done, we added gadgets! A key and lock, door stop and fence latch are only a few ideas!  The gadgets can get costly so we offer the Caution Boys decal in a small or large size.  We have the small size displayed here.  You can see the larger size in action HERE.

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Second, we have our 'Masterpieces' Wall Decal! We were contacted by a customer to design a wall decal like one she had found on, yea you guessed it, on Pinterest. She wanted to put this above her children's art! So we came up with a few designs and this was the favorite. Naturally, we had to add this wall decal to our system to share the fun with you!

And then we have a few more new wall decals, that we didn't do projects with but are still really cute!

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