Printing a vinyl wall mural to cover up a drab garden wall is a great investment for your property. To get the most from your investment, it’s important to take steps to ensure your mural’s longevity.
Knowing how to weatherproof garden wall murals can save you time, effort, and money. Vinyl can’t absorb moisture, and improvements in printing technology mean vinyl is pretty durable.
But it doesn’t make it indestructible. Weather can cause damage especially if no care is taken to protect your wall mural.
When you combine Coastal Creative’s quality custom wall murals with our tips and tricks to weatherproof garden wall murals, you’ll ensure your wall mural will stand the test of time.
What This Article Covers:
- Are Vinyl Wall Murals Weatherproof?
- How To Weatherproof A Vinyl Wall Mural?
- Caring For An Outdoor Wall Mural
Are Vinyl Wall Murals Weatherproof?
Short answer: they are weatherproof for a time. Long answer: it depends on the weather and how you care for your vinyl wall mural.
Vinyl, or Polyvinyl chloride, comes in two forms: rigid and flexible. The vinyl used to make wall murals is of a flexible variety. It’s widely used and it is the third most-produced synthetic plastic in the world. It’s super versatile and is used to make everything from rigid pipes to flexible waterproof wall murals.
Vinyl is plastic and won’t absorb moisture so even when it rains, your vinyl won’t get waterlogged. Good quality outdoor wall murals, like ours, will withstand the elements for around two years before wear and tear become visible.
For indoor murals, it’s around five years. This time can be extended even longer when you choose to add laminate to your garden wall mural.
Besides quality, the two biggest determining factors are how the mural was installed and how you care for it.
Vinyl wall murals that were installed properly will last longer. Our installation team will clean the chosen wall thoroughly, dry it completely, and then lay down the mural without any wrinkles or air pockets. This strong foundation, unbothered by dust or air, will bring out the full potential of the vinyl adhesive.
Without this strong foundation, vinyl can discolor and lift from the wall leaving you with a warped wall mural peeling at the edges.
The second biggest determiner is how you care for your vinyl wall mural.
How To Weatherproof A Vinyl Wall Mural
Add A Laminate To Your Vinyl Wall Mural
Sunlight and rain will cause the most damage to your vinyl wall mural. Sunlight can bleach or fade the colors. The heat from direct sunlight can also cause cracks and weaken the adhesive under the vinyl.
And while vinyl can’t absorb moisture, repeated rainfall can lift the edges of your vinyl. If these lifted edges catch enough of the water, it will slowly slacken the adhesive and can form water pockets that bulge on your wall.
If you live in an area with mild weather all year round, the above issues shouldn’t be a massive concern if you have good quality vinyl that was installed properly.
Here at Coastal Creative, we understand the damage the elements can do to your vinyl mural. That’s why we have a laminate option, especially for those that live in places with more extreme weather. Adding a laminate acts as an extra layer of support and protection and can significantly extend your vinyl wall mural life span.
Choose The Wall With The Least Weather Exposure
When you are choosing the perfect outdoor wall murals for a garden, be mindful of where you are going to be installing that wall mural.
If you have several open walls in your garden and want to create an accent wall, choose the wall that gets the least sun exposure. This will all depend on which hemisphere you are but you should have noticed at some point which spots in your garden gets the most shade.
If not, use a tool like Google Earth to see which areas will get the least sun during different seasons. Even better would be a wall with an overhanging roof that will offer shade and protect your mural from rain and hail.
If you only have one wall available for your garden mural, don’t worry. With our other tips and our quality vinyl wall murals, you will still be able to extend your mural life span.
Caring For An Outdoor Wall Mural
Clean Your Mural
General cleaning of your wall mural is very important. Not only does it keep your mural looking its best, but frequent cleaning will keep your mural free from scuff marks or even scratches.
Scratches can be especially bothersome. If water gets behind your wall mural, it can cause water bulges that warp the mural, loosen the adhesive, and pop. This will leave you with a distorted and peeling wall mural.
Because garden wall murals are exposed to the outside world, they will pick up dust and other dirt. This will leave you with a faded-looking wall mural that is only half of what it once was.
Luckily, a vinyl wall mural is easy to clean and should be cleaned regularly. Wall murals should only be cleaned with a dampened sponge or cloth and shouldn’t be washed with any harsh chemicals. If there are no stains, diluted soapy water will do just fine.
Do not use harsh, abrasive chemicals like alcohol, bleach, citrus additives, or ammonia on your vinyl wall mural. These chemicals damage the product and erode the ink.
Stain cleaning
Cleaning tougher stains or pen marks can be tricky when working with a wall mural. Use a soft cloth or sponge with lukewarm water and a bit of soap to lift the stain.
Gently wash the surface of the wall mural, only moving the sponge in one direction. Don’t wash in circles, to prevent marring. Don’t scrub on the mural as it can remove the laminate and damage the product beneath.
Regularly rinse the mural with clean water during the cleaning process. The goal is to keep the soap on the mural as little as possible to prevent any damage or marring.
For stubborn stains, use a non-abrasive household cleaner without alcohol or bleach. Wash the spot with frequent douses of clean water to prevent the cleaning solution from damaging the laminate.
After you have cleaned your mural, be sure to rinse it thoroughly. Make sure no soap is left behind on the surface. Soap and direct sunlight will cause severe damage to your mural. After you have rinsed off your mural completely, dry it with a soft cloth.
Dust Your Mural
Outdoor wall murals are constantly exposed to natural elements and even though we might not notice it, dust is everywhere all the time. This is especially true for exterior wall elevation wall murals that are high and exposed to the windest weather.
This dust, invisible most of the time, will make itself known when you have a wall mural. Dust collects in the scratches and scuff marks, leaving you with ugly smudges along with the mural. This is why a quality mural laminate and frequent care are so important. Dust also tends to collect around the edges of a wall mural. Dust sticks to the adhesive and can create a dirty border that will take the tackiness of the adhesive away and lead to peeling.
Thankfully, regular dusting will prevent this from happening. Regularly dust your mural, especially along the edges, to prevent the adhesive from corroding. The best part is how quick dusting a wall mural is. It’s an easy and fun activity, making it something even your children could do.
Conclusion
Nothing beats the addition of a perfect wall mural to a gorgeous garden. With the right artwork and our outdoor mural ideas, you can elevate your garden and customize it to fit whatever your aesthetic needs are.
With our tips, you can have your garden wall mural last significantly longer. With proper care and some weatherproofing, you get to enjoy your garden wall mural without having to replace it every so often.
It gets even better when you choose Coastal Creative to print and install your garden wall mural. Our quality wall murals will last years without fading, peeling, or failing you in any way. Coastal Creative is a wall mural quality standard you can trust.
Did you enjoy reading our blog? Then consider checking other guides:
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- How To Seal a Wall Mural?
- How To Reuse Wall Murals
- How to Remove Wall Mural
- Best Removable Wall Murals
- Wall Mural Installation
- What Is a Wall Mural?
- Decorating With Wall Murals
- How Are Wall Murals Printed?
- Types Of Wall Mural
- Does Mural Need Smooth Wall
- How Much Does a Wall Mural Cost?
- Best Wall Murals for Bedroom
- Wall Murals For Business
- Home Office Wall Mural