Review on 3M 568 Positionable Mounting Adhesive by Jessica Lewis

I had high hopes for this product as it allows me to easily and cleanly mount multiple high quality inkjet prints onto a matte board. Before I share my experience, I would like to reiterate some of the (negative) comments made by other Revain reviewers. (1) For practical reasons and despite the manufacturer's claims, this is not a movable mounting option. At least not that easy. In fact, one of the first instructions is to carefully place the print face down on the adhesive. Once an edge of the print touches the adhesive, it's where it should be: yes, you can lift the print off the adhesive, but with that comes some sticky "strings" or cobwebs that are difficult to peel off. avoid. (2) Which brings us to our next criticism: when you tear the photo off the adhesive, the material is a fibrous mess, and I found it very easy to transfer it to the front of the photo with some glue. (if the imprint separates from the glue) or your fingers, which the glue tends to stick to. I found this material difficult to work with and NOT to put glue where it shouldn't. For the latter, a product tips YouTube video shows how to apply Frog Tape around the edges of the print before applying the adhesive to the print. roll. The video specifically refers to YELLOW Frog Tape, which is intended for "sensitive surfaces". That way, any streaks of glue that curl around the edge of the print will (in theory) stick to the edge of the tape instead, and the tape can then be removed. I haven't had that kind of success. When I first tried this Yellow Frog Tape trick, the tape didn't peel off the print—at least it didn't leave its own adhesive on the print. And there was no way to remove the tape without damaging the print and in fact I completely ruined a very good print with it. I'll try the blue masking tape from 3M and post an update if it's more successful than Frog Tape. However, I've found what I think is a decent (and inexpensive) solution, at least for now. I went to Lowes and bought a roll of THIN kraft paper (12" (remember) x 50 feet (not the heavy duty stuff you might use to pack a bag) intended for covering things while painting. After I Once the print was placed on the adhesive sheet, I placed 12" pieces of this kraft paper of any length on top of the print, up to - but no further than - the edges of the print and covered the rest of the photo. I simply cut out appropriately sized pieces of kraft paper instead of trying to match the dimensions of the print to a single sheet. These pieces overlapped a bit, but because the kraft paper is so thin it didn't stop me from applying glue to the back of the print. Then I laid that down I used the included removal/transfer paper on the print and used the included squeegee/buffer to get the adhesive back onto the print.When I was done with this part I lifted the photo Watch carefully while holding the kraft paper to protect the photo from those sticky strips of tape. Only after the print was completely removed from the adhesive film did I remove the kraft paper sheets. I have successfully used CLEAR mineral spirits applied with a cotton swab and wiped with a paper towel to remove small patches of stubborn adhesive from the panel. white border of mounted prints. Seems to work well with due care - at least with the Red River Arctic Polar Luster. I cannot assume any liability for suitability with other papers or paper finishes. The 3M kit includes a handy, soft and semi-rigid "squeegee" to press the print against the adhesive (to transfer the adhesive) and for re-use when the print is glued to a matte board with an adhesive backing for example . This works, but the first few steps require STRONG pressure to cover the entire back of the print with adhesive without leaving any voids. Until now, no matter how much I polished things, I couldn't get 100% transfer and coverage. 3M's instructions say you can use a rubber roller/brush instead of the included squeegee. I've tried this with several good quality rollers and have never been able to apply enough pressure to get a glue coverage anywhere near that I got with a squeegee.