If we switched them to a clear, they would have problems, because it handles differently. Virginia contractor Bookie Westbrook said the main improvement he'd like to see is an adhesive with better freeze-thaw stability. And sometimes paste gets left in the vehicle accidentally, and then it freezes. Yet all the major manufacturers say they have adhesives formulated for freeze-thaw stability. We test for it through five cycles and hard freeze down to zero.
Manufacturers claim they have non-staining formulas, but with exceptions.
They always suggest testing the wallcovering first. The only true non-staining adhesive is pure cellulose, said Kay Peters, but it's awfully wimpy. Evans is working with contractors and wallcovering manufacturers to develop new techniques for hanging atypical wallcoverings. Gerry Russo said that Roman Adhesives leads the industry in research, and products introduced in the last four years already account for over 20 percent of Roman's sales. Its researchers are investigating nontraditional materials for new adhesives.