I was specifically asked to do transparent. However, then the artist realized that the wall is blue and might interfere with the colors. So I am trying to come up with a solution since we don’t have time to order opaque.
I was not previously aware that the wall would be blue behind the leaves themselves.
I went through my supplies and I think I have enough opaque leaf colors for what she needs, but it’s 1/4" thick. At least she’ll have an option for either painting white leaves on the wall behind where the acrylic will go, or using 1/4" opaque acrylic.
Giving this some thought, I would be inclined to paint the front-facing side - which means using acrylic is redundant (and expensive). Cheap baltic birch or even hardboard would suffice.
The longevity of the adhesion of 3M tape (or any other adhesive) onto painted acrylic- without prior testing - is questionable.
Just curious: So you would remove the paint on a wall to make a mural if you were placing acrylic?
No, because most paint bonds to the absorbent textured surface of drywall much better than plastic (acrylic).
I’d use construction adhesive (Liquid Nails, for example)…
I don’t understand why it’s ok to adhere the leaves to a wall that is painted in some cases but not others.
I am talking about adhesive onto a paint applied to plastic (acrylic), not the wall.
Few “paints” will adhere (long-term) to smooth plastic. Heavily solvent-based will work better. Testing required.
Painting the front side, and glueing the back with liquid nails or similar, will probably be just fine - but then there’s no point using acrylic.
I’m not going to paint acrylic on the front side and glue it to the wall. I’m pretty sure you know that, too.
Have you attached acrylic to a painted wall with 3M adhesive?
Not acrylic…but I used it to try and adhere an extension cable plug…It worked, but the plug was a bit too heavy, and it ripped the paint off the wall before falling into the bathroom sink 
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i’ve attached acrylic to painted walls with strips of 3M (not sheets of 3M). they’re very permanent and it will definitely tear the paint and probably the outer paper layer of the drywall off. but if it wasn’t that strong, then the signage wouldn’t be held on that well. hanging temporary stuff i would use something more like command strips. of course, that’s very unfriendly to non-opaque acrylic. and it has a thin layer of separation from the wall unlike the tape, which will put the acrylic right against the wall.
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There is no concern about tearing the paint or drywall after removal. (This is a permanent mural that will be up for years, and I’ve discussed this with the person I’m working with and she does not have any concern about that.)
I’m trying to understand if there is any concern with either having paint on the wall or paint on the acrylic, and the quality of the bond of the adhesive. I don’t want the leaves to fall off the wall. The wall is already painted blue. We need a white background below the acrylic - either on the back of the acrylic or on the wall.
These are not large pieces, only about 3.5" square roughly with 1/8" thick acrylic.
Diagram of painting back of acrylic leaves white (which actually looks really cool, and no does not look exactly like opaque) and then applying 3M 468MP.
Diagram of painting wall white where the leaves will go, and then applying 3M 468MP.
I’m trying to research but it’s challenging to find information, so I was hoping someone here might know.
I’m trying to work with what the artist of this mural has requested and what we have purchased (colored transparent acrylic). She did not like the look of the opaque.
Thanks in advance if anyone knows about this and can help. 
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I’m guessing that if using 3M 458MP isn’t going to work, that maybe liquid nails would work ok if the pieces are painted white, but I don’t know…?
this will work. essentially it’s just adhering to a painted wall, which is exactly how signmakers do it. the paint is adhering to the drywall, which is a more porous surface and won’t likely separate. i have pieces i hung in our office 5 years ago that are still just fine, including in bathrooms and in the elevator core.
i think this one could be a problem. this one has paint adhering to acrylic and the adhesive between the painted drywall and the painted acrylic. the issue here is that the paint will not have the same adhesion to the acrylic and eventually the weight, as light as it is, could cause the paint to separate from the acrylic in a way that the paint won’t separate from the drywall.
not saying it definitely won’t work, i haven’t tried it. but i can see adhesion between paint and acrylic holding weight being problematic over time.
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Thank you so much for taking the time to provide such a detailed response! i seriously appreciate it! 
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I don’t think I saw anywhere what type of paint you’re planning on using?
Acrylic is notoriously difficult to paint durably because it’s so slick. The paint film tends to peel right off. Krylon makes a rattle can line called Fusion specifically designed to bond to plastics. I don’t know of any water based paints that work well at all on acrylic.
An alternative to paint, if you have enough of your 3M adhesive, would be to bond a laser safe opaque layer beneath the transparent acrylic. Veneer could be nice.
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thanks for the suggestion! I did think of this but I only have a few days to get everything done and get it all to her, so she can go start putting the mural together. Her trees look so awesome. I can’t wait to see how it all turns out.
(Yeah we weren’t planning to paint but I didn’t realize that the wall was being painted blue under wear the leaves will go… so when she mentioned that, we realized we had to solve for that. That’s what turned into the big challenge.)
But it’s all good. I’m going to make a stencil or two for her and then cut all the leaves and get that to her asap. I’ve had to solve much harder problems this week, so eh whatever. LOL
I actually love how spray paint looks on the underside of acrylic. I did a test piece with metallic gold on clear acrylic and it looks really cool. I also did a test piece with transparent blue painted white underneath. I started a set of dominoes using this method before but didn’t use spray paint, just used acrylic craft paint. That doesn’t work great, but I learned what I needed to do differently. I’ll be doing those dominoes again sometime hopefully soon.
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I have been thinking that transparent caulking might do well as it would be less rigid than a harder adhesive that forces one place would not transfer the same.
Alternatively I have used rolls of this…
https://www.amazon.com/Gorilla-Mounting-Squares-Pre-Cut-squares/dp/B0787PGKWR/ref=asc_df_B0787PGKWR/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=242023504538&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3153653734934917520&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9012119&hvtargid=pla-415412511275&psc=1
And like so many other tapes generally better than competition.
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Yeah I think in other applications these would be great. I was just concerned about using something that would not cover the entire piece (especially since they are small) and it showing through. I use other gorilla products and really like them!
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So for a total change in plans, we found a local supplier with a retail store that she had time to go buy opaque acrylic from. This simplifies things. I’ll use the transparent acrylic for something else.
This is how things go when you’re doing last minute projects, and that’s ok. 
It’s all good.
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