What surfaces can MusselBound be adhered to?
MusselBound may be adhered to CLEAN and THOROUGLY DRY surfaces such as; painted or primed drywall (including plaster or lightly textured that is commonly referred to as “knock-down” or “orange peel” texture), cement board (primed or coated with liquid waterproofing membrane like AquaDefense® manufactured by Mapei or Hydro Ban® manufactured by Laticrete, or similar), stainless steel, glass, fiberglass, plywood, securely adhered: wallpaper, paneling, laminate or uniform surface existing tile. Primed/painted surfaces must be fully cured, typically 5-7 days after painting.
What do lightly textured walls look like?
Can I really avoid demolition and tile over dated tile?
Just clean and dry the existing tile and following the regular installation instructions. Existing tile must be securely attached to the wall.
What tiles are compatible?
Any type of uniform-backed glass, stone, porcelain, ceramic, metal, or mesh-backed mosaics 1 sq ft or less (ex: 12” x 12” or 6” x 24”, etc…) and less than ½” thick. There are no minimum tile size restrictions with MusselBound. MusselBound is not compatible with “paper faced” tiles that are installed with the paper facing out and then the paper is removed with wet sponge.
Can I install metal edging (aka Schluter® trim by Schluter Corp) with MusselBound mat?
Yes, metal trim may be installed with staples or other fasteners and then mat applied right over the area that the tile is set. Alternatively, metal trim may be applied with mat on the back or the mat may be installed and the metal trim set onto the mat. Then a small strip of mat can be added onto the metal trim where the tiles are set.
What surfaces can MusselBound NOT be adhered to?
MusselBound requires a CLEAN and THOROUGLY DRY solid surface. MusselBound does not adhere to felted/fuzzy surfaces like KERDI® board by Schluter or GoBoard® by Manville that has not been primed or coated with liquid waterproofing membrane. MusselBound will not bond to dusty/chalky surfaces like Hardie® Backer Board or unpainted/unprimed wallboard or spackle/patching compound.
Will MusselBound adhere to patched walls (spackle)?
Any patch/spackled surfaces must be coated with paint/primer to remove the dusty surface and allow MusselBound to adhere. If tried to adhere to a dusty surface, see below.
I tried to adhere MusselBound to a patched walls (spackle) or dusty surface. What do I do now?
Patch/spackled surfaces must be coated with paint/primer and allow 5-7 days to fully cure. Any dusty surfaces must be cleaned and allowed to thoroughly dry. Will need to use a “fresh” piece of MusselBound as any previous piece of MusselBound will be blinded over with dust and will no longer be sticky to bond firmly.
What if MusselBound or tiles won’t stick to the wall?
Surfaces must be clean and thoroughly dry, MusselBound is a pressure sensitive adhesive and requires a FIRM press to fully activate the strong bond. If the mat doesn’t adhere, it is possible that there is residual grease, moisture or dust. Repeated attempts at applying the mat will render the mat unusable. Thoroughly clean and dry surface again and apply fresh mat.