Frequently Asked Questions
From the most basic "what the heck are wall decals" questions to advanced installation troubleshooting, we've done our best to compile a comprehensive list of questions commonly asked by our customers. Tap the plus sign to expand and view the answer.
Product Info
From the super basics to more info than you probably every wanted or needed to know about vinyl decals.
We use the industry leader for indoor vinyl. It is very thin (3 mil in thickness) and has a matte finish to give the illusion of paint when applied to your walls. They are backed with a light adhesive that is clear, water-based and completely removable.
No, each element or letter is an individual piece. Designs with multiple pieces, such as a quote or stripe, are pre-positioned so that they entire design can be applied as a single piece. When the transfer tape is removed, each element is exactly where it should be. For some designs, the elements can be cut apart before removing the backing paper and tape and placed individually to create your own pattern or layout.
Each color of vinyl comes in a large roll with the vinyl attached to a backing paper. It's fed through a machine called a plotter that cuts the design just deep enough to penetrate through the vinyl, but not the backing paper. The excess vinyl (anything not part of the design) is then removed by hand to reveal the final design.
From there, a large roll of transfer tape (picture a super wide roll of masking tape) is applied to the remaining design and backing paper. This allows you to then remove the backing paper and transfer the design to your wall.
Vinyl decals are shapes cut out of solid colored vinyl rolls. In the case of designs with multiple colors, each color is cut and applied separately to create a multi-color design. We prefer this type of wall application because you can achieve much more fine detail and the colors are pure and more vibrant because the vinyl retains its color throughout with no variation or print lines.
Printed decals are created when artwork is printed (picture a giant ink jet printer) onto white vinyl and then cut out. This method is required for extremely detailed artwork with gradients and other dimensions such as photographs. Since colors sit on top of the vinyl, this method can produce variation in color. We do not currently offer this type of vinyl decal.
Before You Buy
Will our vinyl work for you? A must read before ordering.
While decals work best on smooth walls, all hope is not lost if you've got really textured walls.
On smooth walls, the adhesive is making maximum contact and in turn, installation is a breeze and your decals are going to stay put until you remove them.
On textured surfaces, the problem is that the decal isn't making the same connection. Decals are thin so that they can conform to texture grooves and give that hand-painted look. But when you have sharp edges (like knockdown), the vinyl has a harder time getting down into the grooves and you end up with lots of gaps between the wall and the vinyl. This results in a much more difficult installation and sometimes causes the vinyl to peel off (particularly on some of the more solid designs that have more weight). There are a few solutions and you can find those below in the "Installation Tips & Tricks" section.
While we love eco-friendly things, eco-friendly paint does not love us.
VOC stands for volatile organic compounds. VOCs are found in many building materials and are partially responsible for that "new-paint" smell. Oils are added to Low VOC and Zero VOC paints to take the place of VOCs, and these oils can repel adhesive.
While Low VOC paints are pretty common now and the vinyl we use has the best adhesion rate with these eco-friendly paints, we still recommend ordering a test decal if you're not sure what paint was used on your walls.
The short answer is no.
These paints are specifically designed to make sure nothing sticks to them, and that includes decals. Overall, we don't recommend installing decals on walls painted with these sorts of paints, but we have found that scrubbing the paint with a Scotch-Brite pad may help the decals get the grip they need to stay stuck.
Installation Tips & Tricks
Having troubles installing your decals? Don't fret! Here are some common issues and solutions to everything from difficult walls to difficult decals.
If you've lost or misplaced the instructions that came with your decals, you can download them here.
There are a number of factors that can effect how well your decals adhere to your wall or surface. Here's a checklist to make sure your installation goes smoothly.
- If you've recently painted, you're going to want to make sure to wait 2-4 weeks before applying decals. Fresh paint goes through a process called curing, and during this process, gases are released from the paint. If you apply decals too soon, those gases can get trapped under the decals and cause bubbles, effect the adhesive itself, or cause damage to the walls.
- Make sure the surface is clean, dry, and free from any dust or particles. A damp washcloth will do the trick. Try to avoid any chemicals as those can affect the adhesive on the vinyl.
- Temperature matters! Your surface should be between 45 & 90°F for best results. In addition, a room with high humidity (like bathrooms without proper ventilation) might not be the best place for decals.
Start by laying your decal on a flat surface, design/transfer tape side up. Take a squeegee, rubber spatula or credit card and in a pulling motion, apply pressure to all areas of the design. This will encourage the transfer of the decal to the transfer tape. Once you've finished, flip the entire thing over. Starting with a corner, peel the backing paper back onto itself. Do not peel straight up or away from the design. Slow is the name of the game in this process. If any pieces of the design peel back with the backing paper, simply roll the backing paper back down, apply some pressure with your finger, and try again. This should do the trick.
This is a common question for our popular starburst design and can seem impossible without a laser level, but we have a super simple trick.
Cut out your starburst and add tape to the top, leaving the top point exposed. Place your starburst where you want it on the wall. Take a string and tie a weight to the end. Tape the top of the string just above your starburst so it aligns with the top point. Allow the string to hang down over the decal. The weight on the bottom will assure that your string is straight up and down. Now carefully slide the bottom of the starburst so that the bottom point lines up with string and apply a small piece of tape to keep it in place. From there, remove the string, place a hinge tape along the center of the starburst at an angle, and follow the center hinge installation instructions included with your order.
The most common reason for difficulties in transfer tape removal is textured walls. Decals need a lot of surface area to adhere to. The problem with highly textured walls is that the decal isn't making enough of a connection on your wall to counter the connection with the transfer tape. While some walls are just too textured for decals, with a little patience, decals can be applied to most textured walls.
The goal is to get the vinyl into all the grooves of the wall. This can be done by rolling a tennis ball all over the design, covering a squeegee with a towel and pushing and pulling along the design, or using your finger to apply pressure to the areas where the decal isn't making a connection.
Once you've done your best to get the decal into all the grooves, start peeling the backing paper back onto itself. Work in small strips by tearing the transfer tape so you can concentrate on smaller sections at a time. Do not peel straight up or away from the design. Roll the transfer tape back onto itself slowly. If any pieces of the design peel back with the transfer tape, roll it back down, apply pressure with your finger, and try again. If there are particularly stubborn pieces of vinyl that just won't stay on the wall, try to get a corner released from the transfer tape and start the separation process by hand. If you can get enough of it stuck to the wall with your finger, you can hold that piece in place and continue to remove the transfer tape.
Once you've successfully removed the transfer tape, we highly recommend that you go back over the decal with your finger and make sure there aren't any loose areas where the decal isn't making a connection.
Payment & Shipping
We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, Apple Pay, PayPal, Etsy Gift Cards and Etsy Credits.
We really felt that it was important to have a website. Etsy is an amazing platform for selling our decals, but we needed a place where our customers could come with questions or learn more about PM Vinyls than we're able to show you on that platform. Things like FAQs, video tutorials, a blog, customer photos, and information about custom decals. And we wanted customers to be able to get all this information and shop in the same place.
We started designing this website and building out the back-end for e-commerce when we realized that what's great about selling on Etsy is that it's easy. They have all the tools needed for small business owners to run and manage their stores efficiently, allowing more time for creativity. Anyone who sells online knows that setting all of this up on your own site can be difficult and time-consuming. So we did some research and found the best solution for us.
We use a really cool plug-in called Etsy 360, which allows us to keep all of our products updated and manage orders on a single platform. You do all your shopping here and when you're ready to check out, your cart is seamlessly transferred to our Etsy shop for payment, where you know your information will be kept safe and secure.
It depends on when you order. All orders are cut during office hours Monday and Thursday evenings. All orders ship Tuesday and Friday mornings.*
Domestic orders ship via USPS Priority 1-3 Day mail. To see where you fall in that time frame, visit USPS and enter 93004 in the search bar.
International orders ship via USPS First Class Mail International. Delivery times vary but generally fall within the 7-21 day range. Buyers are responsible for any customs and import taxes that may apply. We are not responsible for delays due to customs.
*Production/ship days may vary.
Yes! Rush production and shipping are available. Please email hello@pmvinyls.com to see if we can meet your in-hands date.
General Questions
Anything not covered above should be in here...
Email us as soon as possible! We check all messages and emails first thing when we get into the office, so as long as your order hasn't entered into production, cancellations are not a problem at all. We will refund your order through Etsy and your payment will be posted back to your account usually within 1-3 business days.
Unfortunately, however, if we have already started production on your order, we are unable to cancel and refund since all decals are cut-to-order and we do not keep any pre-cut stock.
Each decal is cut-to-order and we do not keep any pre-cut stock, so all sales are final. If you're not happy with your decal, please email us and we will do everything we can to come up with a solution that works for everyone.
If your decal arrives damaged or doesn't show up at all, we will send a new one out as soon as possible at no additional charge. If the decal arrives damaged, please provide photos and retain the box and damaged decals as they may be needed for an insurance claim with the USPS.
If you have a concern that your walls may be painted with Low VOC paint, are too textured, or you have never worked with vinyl wall decals before, please do not hesitate to request a free sample.
The short answer is no. We do our best to create mock-ups that depict what our decals will look like in any given room, but it's not an exact science when using stock photography. Please consult the measurements in each listing for exact sizing of designs. If you're concerned that a design may be too small or too large in your space, you can email us a photo, provide measurements, and we can do a to-scale mockup on your wall at no charge!
Video Tutorials
We're currently undertaking a new office build, so that's taking up a lot of our time and energy outside of daily operations. Once we're settled in our fancy new space, we have a ton of great video tutorials planned. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and we say a video is worth a million.
Contact Us
Shoot Us a Quick Message
In the virtual world, we're open 24/7. You can place and manage orders at your convenience. We try to answer all emails and messages within 24 hours. Please allow 1-3 business days for your order to ship. If you're in a hurry, just let us know and we will do our best to accommodate!
