Securing backdrops to the wall

[joe323]

Is it possible to hang a backdrop on a wall in such a manner as to make it secure yet easily removable if the need arises?  I bought two backdrops in visit to Chicago this week. They are like posters but 6' x 1'

[rrinker]

 Those big prints are too flimsy to standon their own, so they need to be attached to some sort of backing. That could then be attached to the wall with magnets. That was what I had planned for the (low, because of the sloped ceiling) backdrop between my yard and the staging tracks on my last layout - flats and cutouts mounted to some masonite, with magnets to hold each section in place in case something happened that I needed access to the staging tracks.

                                        --Randy

 

[mbinsewi]

Once you figure out what type of backing or frame work your going to use,  maybe hang them on the wall like a picture, or a wall hung shelf.  There are many different types of hardware items for this.  Hardware would be different if it's a masonary wall, like a basement, or a stud wall with drywall.

If the bottom of the backing, that your posters are attached to, can sit on the layout, for extra support, how about velcro strips?

Mike.

[RR_Mel]

I used 4’ x 8’ x ½” sheets of foam insulation board to hang my 11’ x 3’ backdrop.  I doubled the sheets overlapping the joints.  I used Scotch 77 spray adhesive to glue everything together, I eroded the first time by not letting the adhesive to fully dry.  My second attempt worked great, I let the foam boards dry for a week before I attached the backdrop.  2” clear Scotch wrapping tape does a good job sealing the joints, its thin enough that it doesn’t leave a bump.

 

The finished backdrop is very sturdy and light (6 pounds total), I can easily move it by myself.

 

Mel

 

Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951

 

My Model Railroad   

http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

 

Bakersfield, California

 

I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.

[NevinW]

joe323

Is it possible to hang a backdrop on a wall in such a manner as to make it secure yet easily removable if the need arises?  I bought two backdrops in visit to Chicago this week. They are like posters but 6' x 1'

 

 I'm using velcro to attach mine, so I can take them down when I move.  So far it was worked fine.  

[selector]

There are obviously many ways to do this.  The image (I take it that it's an image) will have to be flat if it is to look good, and that requires it to be mounted on a backboard or something that can, itself, be hung.  I use a drill to make small holes in 1/8" masonite or some similar material and hang the whole on L-shaped steel wall screws of about 8 gauge wire.  You can buy packages of them at most hardware stores for a couple of dollars.  With the short leg of the L screw facing upward toward the ceiling, hang your newly mounted backdrop on those screws.

Or, mount several small blocks of wood in a line so that their top surfaces are level. Set your backboard on those, and keep the top of the backboard in place with bathroom mirror retainers, those clear plastic brackets through which you drive a small screw into wall anchors.  If you'd like more security along the bottom, make a groove on the surfaces of those supporting blocks, but make sure they all line up!