# Outside corner trouble with commercial vinyl



## dnj300

Hello.. Im hanging 54in vinyl and having some trouble getting the outside corners tight. Getting bubbles that I can't seem to smooth away. Walls have been oil primed and I'm using Roman 838 HD clear. Tried scoring the back of the paper at the corner and it helped a little but I'm still having trouble. Any techniques/tools that you guys use I'd love to hear. I've been hanging paper for 20yrs but mostly residential.
Thanks. Dave. 


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## Woodco

Are you using a heat gun or a torch to soften it up at the corner?

Thats pretty much standard operating procedure.

Not a bad idea to prepaste corners and let dry beforehand.

Also, I was under the impression that paste doesnt stick to oil primer. I could be wrong, but thats what the Jim parodi said in his DVD course. Even if it does, I dont think thatd be a good primer to use, cuz it will make a moisture barrier, and the paste will take take forever to dry under the vinyl.


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## dnj300

Woodco said:


> Are you using a heat gun or a torch to soften it up at the corner?
> 
> Thats pretty much standard operating procedure.
> 
> Not a bad idea to prepaste corners and let dry beforehand.
> 
> Also, I was under the impression that paste doesnt stick to oil primer. I could be wrong, but thats what the Jim parodi said in his DVD course. Even if it does, I dont think thatd be a good primer to use, cuz it will make a moisture barrier, and the paste will take take forever to dry under the vinyl.


Primer is quick dry, meant for wallpaper. Thanks for advice on the heat gun. That did cross my mind but was nervous about trying it. 

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## Woodco

All the commercial guys I've seen have a trigger finger blowtorch on their toolbelts. It doesnt take much. Just run it up and down a little, then slam it around the corner. Obviously, a heat gun is a little safer, but takes more time.


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## dnj300

Just found another thread from 2008 talking about using heat gun or propane torch.. Thanks again. 

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## dnj300

dnj300 said:


> Just found another thread from 2008 talking about using heat gun or propane torch.. Thanks again.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


Just an update.. Torch is helping tremendously, as is pasting the corners beforehand and letting them get tacky. Any other advice is welcome as I'm still not completely satisfied with results. Still getting some small bubbles.


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## Gwarel

All I have without knowing your technique is don't overwork it. The more times you work it with a smoothing tool the more paste you are dragging away from the corner. I have also seen primer let go of the mud joint from too much heat, paste and friction.


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## Woodco

Have you tried prepasting your corners and letting them dry?


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## dnj300

Woodco said:


> Have you tried prepasting your corners and letting them dry?


I have been doing that. 

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## Gwarel

Once the paste is dry I'm not sure how much it helps. I sometimes hit all the corners with R35 to give them some extra tack.


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## Ayscii

If you can get this technique down, it works. Hold a single edge razor blade between your thumb and forefinger by the very tip of one end of the blade, barely exposing the tip from between your thumb and forefinger. Practice on a sheets of notebook paper until you can consistently score and cut halfway through the paper. You will get the feel on what is going on. You can then use this technique to score the *outside* of the corner in such a manner as to facilitate the wrap. The difference between success and a major problem is the depth of cut. Obviously, you are on your own in doing so, but I have many times done this when other methods were not enough. VOV is your friend here too....

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## CApainter

I would try some thin double backed tape adhesive. I've been using it for rubber cove base installation in place of the liquid adhesive. It works excellent on corners that are difficult to keep material pressed tight against the surface.


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## dnj300

Interesting suggestions. Thanks. Just to clarify, your actually slightly cutting the wallpaper on its face? Or did you mean scoring the backing slightly? 

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## Gwarel

dnj300 said:


> Interesting suggestions. Thanks. Just to clarify, your actually slightly cutting the wallpaper on its face? Or did you mean scoring the backing slightly?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


Either way it's a risky move.....


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## dnj300

Gwarel said:


> Either way it's a risky move.....


Indeed 

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## Robert616

*Outside corners WC*

Standard for hangers. Prepaste corner of walls let dry, paste wc back of sheet, fold sheet 2 folds top to center bottom to center, let set 15 mins. to 1/2 hour, hang, wrap around corner, gently smooth out, use your hand to smooth out corner , use your other hand to help your smoothing hand like its a tool, finish with smoothy or brush. Corners can be hard if not plumb, dont over work it, wont pull back if u stretch the vinyl. Hang a lot vinyl


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## Hanger in VT

Some 54" vinyls can be quite stiff and difficult to wrap on outside corners, columns, etc. To make matters worse, some vinyls are treated with a Tedlar coating which makes it practically impossible to wrap corners with. We have always prepasted the corners, and used a heat gun to soften the vinyl. Once heated, the vinyl will wrap much easier and give you a tight, bubble free corner. It's still quite the PITA, but you will kill yourself and not get a tight corner otherwise. I've seen guys use butane torches too, but it is easy to overdo it with a torch.


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## finishesbykevyn

Gwarel said:


> Either way it's a risky move.....


I too am in the middle of hanging 54" Comercial Vinyl for the first time in 2 bathrooms. 
What a PITA! It will not sit tight in the corners. I now have an outside 22.5 ccorner to do in the other bathroom and am freaked out. Should I be pasting the wall or the product with vinyl. Also what paste is best. I'm using the dynamic heavy duty stuff.. All I can get around here..


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## Gwarel

finishesbykevyn said:


> I too am in the middle of hanging 54" Comercial Vinyl for the first time in 2 bathrooms.
> What a PITA! It will not sit tight in the corners. I now have an outside 22.5 ccorner to do in the other bathroom and am freaked out. Should I be pasting the wall or the product with vinyl. Also what paste is best. I'm using the dynamic heavy duty stuff.. All I can get around here..


I usually paste the paper but I grease the corners with mini roller a few minutes ahead of time to give that paste time to tack a bit and add some grip. Once I have the strip on the corner, before I turn the corner, I heat it with a heat gun to soften it and then stretch it tight. As it cools it should shrink and hold tight.


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## finishesbykevyn

Gwarel said:


> I usually paste the paper but I grease the corners with mini roller a few minutes ahead of time to give that paste time to tack a bit and add some grip. Once I have the strip on the corner, before I turn the corner, I heat it with a heat gun to soften it and then stretch it tight. As it cools it should shrink and hold tight.


Yep. Bringing my heat gun on Monday.. Would you use that on inside corners too? So hard to keep them tight.. I figured pasting the paper would be better, but trying to paste and book a sheet of that size on my little table seems catastrophic. .:vs_whistle:


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## Gwarel

finishesbykevyn said:


> Yep. Bringing my heat gun on Monday.. Would you use that on inside corners too? So hard to keep them tight.. I figured pasting the paper would be better, but trying to paste and book a sheet of that size on my little table seems catastrophic. .:vs_whistle:


I grease the inside corners as well, but I don't usually have to heat them. If your material is so heavy that it won't turn inside corners well then heating them will help. Leave the table at home and just put a drop or some 1.5 mil plastic on the floor and use a roller pole.


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