Hanging Tapa

Hi, I am looking for a way to mount Tapa cloth to a wall.It doesn't have to be rock solidly glued to the wall--just enough so it stays put and is not loose. I will probably use wallpaper paste. Any comments or recommendations??
Also, I have a piece of lumpy / stretched tapa. It used to hang from a ceiling so some areas have stretched and down lay flat. Any recommendations for getting it back into shape??

Thanks--Mr Smiley

Use this:

Easy to find at Home Depot and Lowe's. Use a paint brush or a roller if doing a large piece. You have to roll it on the tapa and on the wall then wait about 20 minutes. Then press it on. There's a little wiggle time if you need to adjust, but not much. Ventilate the area well when working with this stuff. I used it to hang lots of tapa and lauhala and it works great.

...and this for inspiration:

...oh yes, sorry WARNING! NUDITY!

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2010-05-09 17:07 ]

On 2010-05-09 17:06, bigbrotiki wrote:
...and this for inspiration:

...oh yes, sorry WARNING! NUDITY!

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2010-05-09 17:07 ]

I think I have the EXACT same tapa in my livingroom (seriously!) - my husband probably wishes he had the EXACT same woman in his livingroom! LOL

On 2010-05-09 19:03, beadtiki wrote:
...my husband probably wishes he had the EXACT same woman in his livingroom! LOL

If that picture was taken in the 60s, she's about 70 years old now :D

omg That's some good tapa cloth.

Thanks, Gatorrob-I have been using that for matting and other heavy duty uses. I may still go with the wallpaper paste in case I ever need to remove the tapa. (Hopefully not).

Bigbro, your inspiration is causing me perspiration! :)

I have used wallpaper paste for this all over. Hale Tiki and at home. Works well. Your tapa will flatten out as you press it on the wall.

It will take 2 people as one will start placing it (after your cover the wall with paste, and the other holds it so you work across, making sure it is flat and smooth. You might use a metal ruler to help flatten it against the wall.

If you get started wrong, you can pull it off and restart. If your tapa is bigger than what you are covering, leave it bigger and cut it down afterwards. It's best to plan to cover the edges some way. It is hard to get a straight, nice edge.

Use lots of paste so it will soak into the tapa well and go back around all the edges once it is first up and find what isn't stuck or where the layers come apart and paste them down.

With the paste, you may be able to just pull it off in the future. Maybe even salvage it. Not like scraping wallpaper.

I have a similar dilemma. I'm a renter who can't do anything that severe to my pad. Has anyone had any luck affixing to something that can go with once moving? Foam core? Luan?

How about attaching the board to walls?

And most significantly, how about dust on the tapa? My dust allergy has me in strangle hold.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

On 2010-05-10 11:57, I dream of tiki wrote:
I'm a renter who can't do anything that severe to my pad.

Something like this:

http://www.123frame.net/zbars.html

or this

http://www.hangmanproducts.com/hangman-z-hanger.html

Simple concept if you want to do the DIY thing and make your own similar mounting system. Will damage the wall very little when you remove it meaning very easy to fix before you move out.

Also, ask the internet about Quilt Hangers, tons of ideas and products available with the bonus of doing little to no damage to the Tapa.

"ask the internet about..."

:lol: I like that :lol:

bruce, i know a great way that is not permanent.

something simple like this. the border can be hot glued, stapled or put on with brads. i have a gun.

On 2010-05-10 15:16, pdrake wrote:
something simple like this. the border can be hot glued, stapled or put on with brads. i have a gun.

Hehe.... yeah, invite over the guy that says "I have a gun."

I laughed when I read that!

On 2010-05-10 11:57, I dream of tiki wrote:
I have a similar dilemma. I'm a renter who can't do anything that severe to my pad. Has anyone had any luck affixing to something that can go with once moving? Foam core? Luan?

How about attaching the board to walls?

And most significantly, how about dust on the tapa? My dust allergy has me in strangle hold.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Liz, Our room once was the back porch, now framed in. So two of the walls were once outside stucco-covered walls. Gluing lauhala to the stucco was no problem, but tapa presented a challenge. What I ended up doing was gluing the tapa to a heavy paper board (kind of like a classroom whiteboard) and then liquid nailing that to the stucco. I don't know why you couldn't duct tape some foam core board together to get the size you need and then glue the tapa to that. Foam core is light and so is tapa, so the whole thing could be attached to the wall with some thin hangers or maybe even velcro strips.

As to the dust, how about spraying the finished tapa with something like non-glossy polyurethane or something similar to give it a slick coating that dust won't cling to as easy. At least it would make it easier to wipe it down.

I hung large tapa at my old rental using a museum textiles method. Buy a large roll of velcro. Wide stuff. 2 inches. Use a baste stitch to attach the velcro to the tapa. This will not harm the tapa and is easily removed later if needed. Attach the other side of the velcro to a 2 inch board. You can then hang the tapa by hanging the board.

That's how this tapa is hung:

Swanky - that's a well-hung tapa :wink:

Thanks for all the great ideas, folks. I have a ginormous tapa that I have been saving for my next tiki room, but didn't want to permanently destroy it by mounting it to a wall. Swanky's method looks pretty good to try...

Here is a link for the method I used. Get a thimble for sure! Tapa is tough and I did mine without one. Ouch!