Favorite Temporary Adhesive that Won't Rip Paint

So close to moving in! So much so that I am actually starting to pair devices and create the scheduled lighting. I'm getting ready to start playing with motion and contact sensors. What are your favorite adhesives that won't rip off paint? I think my husband would kill me if I started chipping off the new paint :sweat_smile:

I use 100% transparent silicone. Holds well and peels off without a trace.

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I presume that you need temporary tape so that you can play with placement of your motion and contact sensors. Yes, the adhesive on those things will definitely pull paint off. I sometimes use the blue or green painters tape for temporary placement. I don't use double sided tape. It will pull paint as well. But, the painters tape does not work very well in warm or cold environments like outside or in the garage. And it's use must be very temporary as this tape will not hold for very long.

Edit : Never tried silicone. Sounds like a great idea.

Best bet is 3M command strips. Because you remove them using a tab the stretches the come off a painted wall clean.

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Like a tube of caulk? What form are you speaking about?

Would you like to see the paint rips it's left on some of my walls? :rofl: On the back of the primary light switch in each room is the paint code for that room... A little spackle and sanding and a small can of paint fixes it...

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Wouldn’t use it to hold anything heavy, but rubber cement might work for you.

With 3M command strips, I’ve found it helps if you’re careful to pull as parallel to the wall as possible. With any amount of pulling away from the wall, it’s much more likely to pull paint rather than release its hold.

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Gorilla Mounting Putty

I saw this suggested on the forum a couple years ago. When we moved into our current house, I decided to use it to test out motion sensor placements.

Is the paint really, really new? Allow plenty of time to dry/cure. A new house to automate can be exciting, so it is tough to give advice like "give it a week".

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I use hot glue

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Not super new. Maybe a 3-4 months? Haha things move really slowly here.

Yup! To play around with sensor placements

When you say 100% silicone, are you think like silicone caulking or something else?

They do make a silicone that will peel off without much residue. I saw a news article where some are using it down here to seal up exterior doors and windows before hurricanes.

Do you have a link to an example? When I hear silicone, I think of caulking lol

I've never heard of this. Is this like some kind of tape or mounting squares or something? I would be interested in trying this out! what exactly do I need to look for?

I use a lot of this. I am using it to mount all of my hubs to cooling fans, and then that whole assembly to the wall. It works well. I also have a few devices that I have used it with. I will add however that in areas where temperatures can get a bit warm, I have seen a tendency for the Gorilla Putty to occasionally loose it's holding power. Also, I have a couple spots where it did leave a little residue behind with off color marks on the wall. No biggie easily touched up, but it is something that may occasionally happen.

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I’ve gotten Alien Tape for this purpose. It is transparent and works pretty well, though sensors that are too heavy will possibly end-up falling when the temperature gets too warm…

I use the standard 100% (important) silicone, transparent found on any home depot :

https://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-Supreme-Silicone-Caulk-2-8-oz-K-B-Sealant-Clear-2974790/330885489

An alternative (but lower resistance in time) :

https://www.homedepot.ca/product/dap-draft-attack-removable-weatherstrip-sealant/1000176103

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They didn't give brands in the news story but a Google search yielded results like the following:

https://www.amazon.com/18354-Seal-Removable-Caulk-10-1-Ounce/dp/B001QFZS6E/ref=asc_df_B001QFZS6E/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693071814376&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1211570281187449863&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9012343&hvtargid=pla-304448077416&psc=1&mcid=dad0703a816139a0aab9f49fc2a094a0&gad_source=1

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No thanks.

I've had very good luck with them. I use regular Ben Moore paint. Did your strips fall off or were pulled off with the tab? I can see if they were pulled off by the weight of whatever they were holding the paint may go with them.