Digitally printed wallcoverings with a texture, such as sand, canvas, linen, brushed or embossed patterns, are popular for hotels, offices and feature walls. The texture adds depth and helps hide wall imperfections. It also makes protection harder. A film laminate either flattens the texture or fails to follow it, trapping air and showing silvering in the recesses. This is one of the clearest cases where a liquid coating has the edge.
Getting into the texture
A liquid coat follows the surface rather than bridging it, so it can protect the peaks and valleys while keeping the texture visible. The challenge is evenness. Coating tends to build up in the recesses and thin out on the high points, and the high points are exactly where scuffing and cleaning wear happen first. Points that help:
- Use a roller nap or application method suited to the depth of texture, and test it. Our roller coating guide covers the basics.
- Avoid heavy single coats, which pool. Two lighter coats usually give a more even result.
- Check the sheen at an angle. Uneven coverage on texture shows as patchy gloss when light rakes across the wall.
- For long runs, a liquid lamination machine gives far more consistent film build than hand rolling across many drops.
Choosing a finish
A high gloss can look odd on a fabric-effect texture and draws attention to any unevenness. Matt or satin finishes tend to suit textured wallcoverings better and keep the material looking as intended. Gloss may suit some embossed metallic-effect designs. Match finishes across every drop in a room, ideally coating the whole job in one session.
Hanging and seams
- Make sure the coating is fully dry before rolling drops for the installer.
- Check that the paste used does not mark the coated face if it gets onto it at seams, and that it can be wiped off.
- Butt-joined seams on texture need clean edges. Coat a joint test and look at it on the wall.
Substrate and ink
Textured wallcoverings come in vinyl, non-woven and paper-based forms, printed with latex, eco-solvent, UV and other inks. Some bases respond to solvents differently, so test on the specific product. Our wallpaper media page covers base materials, and hospitality discusses why cleanability matters so much in hotels and restaurants.
Texture is hard to judge from a description. Send us a coated length of your wallcovering, or call 01252 624 411, and we can talk about application methods for that surface.