I knew this new crystal chandelier was precious the minute I walked into the dining room …
Because it was the first thing the homeowners pointed out. Even before showing me the beautiful wallpaper I would be hanging there.
The textured walls needed to be smoothed , and that meant there would be lots of dust from sanding.
Drywall dust is fine and sifts everywhere. I looked at those shiny crystals and knew that there would be no way to clean them to remove dust . So, to keep dust off, I covered the light fixture with painter’s plastic. Only thing is, the light bulbs get hot and would melt the plastic. Which sticks and you can never get it off. Yes, I could have turned off the lights. But I didn’t want to work in a dark room. So above, you can see I took a scissors and cut slits in the plastic to allow the light bulbs to slip outside. This way, the glass fixture was protected, nothing hot touched the plastic, and I had plenty of light to work.
I will be wrapping a stiff , thick , embossed textured vinyl wallpaper around the inside of this window return . This 90* angle is called an outside corner . This is tricky enough. But the real feat will be wrapping the material around that bend , and getting it to adhere to that little lip on the bottom next to the wainscoting – which is only about 1/4″ deep . That doesn’t give much for the paper to grab hold of, especially since it is stiff and will want to retain it’s flat position . Heat gun to the rescue! Heat will cause the vinyl to soften and allow it to bend . This is my test piece. I’m experimenting with how much heat is needed and the delicate balance between bending and melting or burning . Also how much time is required for the vinyl to cool and how well it will retain its new shape , and how firmly it will adhere to that little narrow 1/4″ lip . Because I can’t safely put my hands in front of the heat gun, and my plastic smoother tool would not hold up, I use this ” Euni Plate ” of stainless steel , which was invented and manufactured and sold by a colleague of mine in the Wallcovering Installers Association WIA . Here’s another view. The plate has angles and rolled edges for various uses. The damp cloth is to quickly cool the vinyl, in hopes to keep it in the bent shape . Another trick is to use a straightedge and razor blade to gently and lightly score the vinyl along the outside of the corner fold , to break the surface a little and allow it to bend . You’ve got to be careful, because cut too deeply and you’ll end up with a sliced edge that’s unattractive and also may delaminate ( come apart ). Finished – with nice tightly wrapped edges that are staying in place . wallcovering installer houston installation
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