Hey guys,
I have a commission for some indoor signage to be mounted on the wall of a new cafe here in town. They want the letters to be mounted flush against the wall. Any suggestions on mounting options?
At this point I have thought about glue (too permanent), signage standoffs, screwing it into the wall and then glueing the last layer on the top to cover the screws, or duct tape. 
What material, and individual letters or…?
Screw and keyhole?
I thought about that but they don’t want it to be easily removable (by customers)
Good old Double Stick Tape, some of the 3M stuff is pretty darn good at holding signs on walls… at least its worked great for me.
Cheers!
Always a fan of duct tape…there’s just no problem that can’t be solved with it. 
(Actually have no idea, just wanted to get that out there.)
Anything strong enough will remove paint when the sign is removed. So glue or good double sided tape.
I know you said no glue, but low-temp hot glue (oxymoron) sticks well and can be popped off at a later date (varies as to the finish of the wall and lettering, of course).
What kind of wall is it, and what material are the letters?
If you can engrave/cut some pockets in the back to conceal the tabs (but still be able to grab with needlenose or something), maybe command hook adhesive? That stuff is pretty serious, but can remove safely if you’re careful.
I like this option the best because 1) it is going to confuse the heck out of the person who has to eventually remove it and 2) s/he will curse you to damnation and back.
It sounds like they are worried about theft/vandalism and if using adhesives is out then I think you’re left with a fastener. If going through the front is going to be too ugly, you could do a bracket to the wall and then use a screw going in from the top, bottom and/or side. It complicates things and will add a lot to your design time. But if they’re willing to pay for beauty…
I really like the standoffs being sold these days and they can even be placed on the outer edge to entrap a sign without actually being secured to the signage. Also can be mounted into the corners of the sign itself. Both defeat the kleptos of the world. (The LED lit ones are exciting if using acrylics).
Ton of options, tight to the wall, held off wall, back lit, etc.
Just for curiosity though, I went on a search for different methods.
Found this page that covered several standard tactics with advice on each.
http://www.mohawksign.com/specifications/mounting.cfm
when we had our logo cut from acrylic and mounted in the elevator core, the vendor mounted what were essentially brad sized nails on the backside of the logo.
so instead of screws inside, just mount the nail fasteners between the layers, sticking out the back. And then, when installing (presuming it’s drywall or wood or something you can nail into and the sign isn’t really heavy), just use a mallet to pound the sign into the wall. that way, if it needs to be removed, you’ll do less damage to the wall than screws and not have to mount in two pieces. It should still be flush mounted and possible to take out with the right tool.
Thanks guys!!! I actually hadn’t thought about 3M adhesive tape on the back. It might work. I’m just waiting to hear back about what the wall is made of.
Jeremy…you’ve changed. 
Haha! I figured it was about time for an update. Haha!! Don’t worry, same old me inside!!
Makes a bit of a difference if you are looking at mounting to drywall vs mounting to brick!
Take a look at 3M’s VHB foam backed tape. It’s incredible tough. They have been selling it as an alternative to rivets in road sign construction. I saw a demo of the stuff about 15 years ago - a $100 dollar bill captured between two piece of 3/4" lexan taped together with the stuff. It took jamming one have between a set of lecture seat and full on mule kick to the other half to extricate the Benjamin.