Museum exhibit labels kept falling off, solved it with a cheap kitchen gadget

I volunteer at a small local museum in Toledo and we had a big problem last week. The vinyl label strips on our new pottery display kept peeling off the acrylic cases every night, probably because of humidity changes. I tried double-sided tape and museum putty, nothing held for more than a day. Then I remembered my wife uses a small silicone pastry brush to apply egg wash, so I grabbed one and used it to press the labels down evenly with light, firm strokes. That extra even pressure fixed the adhesive contact completely. Has anyone else dealt with exhibit labels failing in humid buildings, and what did you use that actually stuck around?

2 comments

2 Comments

logan_gonzalez25d ago

Wait, did you try cleaning the acrylic with alcohol before applying the labels? I'm wondering if there's a film or residue on those cases that's messing with the adhesive no matter how even the pressure is.

the_quinn22d ago

Gotta disagree there, man. I wiped mine down with 91% isopropyl and let em dry completely, still had the same peeling problem. The adhesive just seems weak on these specific cases, not a surface issue.