Thread: velcro dots question..

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Hi-
I'm a newbie- and I've been reading as much as possible in the forum.. but I have a question. I just found out my girlfriend wants to throw our Halloween party at her boyfriends house since he has more space for the crowd.. but he doesnt want us to put any holes in the walls with thumbtacks... I saw a few of you said you use velcro dots, but I never read where you use them. Can they stick enough to a wall and hold spiderwebing etc ? and will they damage the wall? or do you have any ideas how we can hang spiderwebs and other things without holes?

Hi aocain, Welcome to the forum!!

I used the velcro dots last year in my 'spider's den' bathroom to attach webbing. When I removed the dots it took the paint off the wall, right down to the drywall. We had to spackle and repaint the entire bath. Our house was built in 2003 and because this was the guest bath, which we hardly ever use, it still had the cheap builder's paint on the walls. The velcro worked fine on the tile but I would test a small area before applying it to painted walls.

What about the 3M Command strips (not sure if that's what they're called outside Australia??) that come off clean, they do a range with velcro as well as hooks if you're concerned about the webs not sticking or hanging pictures/other decorations.

I did a test spot with the velcro dots, and it took the paint off the wall. Opps. I would recommend testing a few areas you have in mind first. I am gonna use those Command Hooks for the walls, they come off with no issues.

Welcome! I've been using velcro dots for years & never had a problem. It works great to hang spider webs & cheese cloth from where ever you want. Have used it on both ceilings & walls. Don't forget about webbing around light fixtures (chandelier, table or floor lamps) & mirrors as well.

Haunty- what's the secret to keep the velcro dots from taking the paint off the wall?

When I hang stuff with velcro dots..... I would use half of the adhesive side to hold the material (cheese cloth for example) in place & lightly press the other half to the surface. Maybe other people are pressing the dot to the surface a bit harder, & causing it to stick?

If the paint comes off the walls the surface may not have been primed properly. This is actually a test painters use before painting "do I need to strip it down", if you put a piece of scotch tape and rip it off, and the paint comes off, you probably need to either strip it down or use very strong primer that will eat through the top layer of paint to prime it.

Of course if the adhesive is aggressive enough it'll take the paint off regardless. Also, if it was left in direct sunlight for a long time the adhesive may have hardened a little and then can't be "peeled off" anymore. A little bit of heat from a carefully applied iron (put a silicone ironing sheet or baking parchment over it so the dot doesn't stick to the iron) or heat gun may help.