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Easy RV Mod -> Decorating With Museum Putty & Command Strips

August 5, 2012 by libertatemamo 21 Comments

The wining decorating duo -> command strips and museum putty

It’s been almost 2 weeks since our last exciting Easy RV Mod, so it’s time to bring out another. One of the things I love to do in the RV is hang pictures and decorations that make it our own. There are 2 things that make this slightly more difficult in an RV -> First of all the slides and many of the interior walls don’t lend themselves well to hooks & screws, and second is that the RV moves and bounces around in a living version of the holka polka so whatever you hang up has gotta be shake-proof. Well luckily there are 2 cool buys which will cover both those problems and make all your decorating RV dreams come true. I love these products so much I use them pretty much everywhere, and they’ve stood the test of 2 years of use and abuse so I know they work. Here they are:

The magic putty -> I LOVE this stuff!

1/ Museum Putty

Museum Putty, sold under names such as Quake-Hold or Secure-Hold or simply Museum Putty is an old museum trick to keep precious objects stuck in place. It’s a pliable putty that comes in strips which you pull apart like play-doh, work (knead) a few minutes to get warmed up and then roll into little balls that you put underneath the object you’re securing. Once you press the object down in place, the seal is done.

Our buddha, incense holder and indoor candles are all secured by putty

The great thing about it is that it works on just about any surface and comes off clean and easy with a twist if you change your mind. I’ve used this on everything from statues to candles to ceramic soap-holders and wall decorations and it just plain WORKS! For one package of ~$5 you’ll get enough putty to decorate your whole RV and it will literally last you a lifetime. Buy it on-line or at any hardware store (Lowes, Home Depot). Love this stuff!

2/ Command Strips

For wall hangings with a little extra weight I haven’t found anything that works as nicely and cleanly as 3M Command Strips. These 2-part velcro strips stick to the wall (one strip) and your object (second strip), and you simply press and snap together to make the connection.

The 3M command strips

The nice thing about these strips is that you can pull apart and reposition the frame if you don’t get it perfectly right the first time, plus you can cleanly pull off the strips altogether without damaging your walls if you change your mind later. I’ve used them on all my heavier wall objects and they are rock-solid. The 3M hooks work nicely too. You can buy these just about anywhere (grocery stores, drug stores, hardware stores etc.)

I will sometimes use BOTH products together depending on what I’m hanging, especially if the object is a funny shape or size. If I’m only using museum putty on the walls I’ll usually add-in a single nail or screw to make sure there’s no chance of the object falling down.

Command Strips & Hooks in action. This is our fabulous La Crosse indoor-outdoor thermometer. The outdoor sensor is secured with velcro in our propane bay.

Chinese characters secured with command strips on our living room partition door

Some decorative metal figures from NM secured on the wall with museum putty and a nail
Marsha’s great new family portrait display. Picture taken by Marsha at On the Road Again.

Speaking of wall decorations Marsha from On The Road Again submitted a great way to spiff up an old frame. She has a 34′ Winnebago Itasca Sunova which came with some nice large framed pictures that, while pretty, were totally useless. Wanting to make use of everything in her RV she pulled them off the wall (they were hung with velcro), took out the back, pulled the flower picture out, and filled them with family pictures in front of the flower picture and behind the glass. Great little way to re-purpose an existing frame! Thanks for submitting the idea, Marsha and hope to get more tips to share from you in the future!

Got a cool RV mod of your own? Feel free to e-mail me with photos and details and I’ll highlight on the blog in a future post. Full credit will be yours!

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We LOooVE Comments, So Please Do

  1. Marsha says

    August 5, 2012 at 5:48 pm

    I use Putty the same way you do. Works great!
    We used Command Strips even in our stick and brick home. Wonderful invention!

    Reply
    • libertatemamo says

      August 6, 2012 at 9:34 am

      Glad to hear you like it too! Nina

      Reply
  2. Brenda says

    August 5, 2012 at 6:49 pm

    I have found that the 3m white hooks go on and off very easy. you can take them off and leave no marks.

    Reply
    • libertatemamo says

      August 6, 2012 at 9:35 am

      Yup, I use quite a few of the 3M hooks too. Love them for hats, purses and jackets in the entry-way.
      Nina

      Reply
  3. Slabber says

    August 5, 2012 at 8:47 pm

    Do they work in 110 to 120 degree heat? No, I’m not kidding. I tried the commercial sticky velcro from Walmart and in this heat, the glue just melts and slippy slide. Whaaa! Have not tried museum putty, though. I had tried the velcro on flat surfaces to hold objects and had a melted mess. Of course they still stuck in MY HAIR! Go figure! LOL

    Oh, I haave ome ideas about controling flies…not a decorating tip per say, but could be fun…hehecheck out my blog and let me know if you have any other ideas…cheers

    Reply
    • libertatemamo says

      August 6, 2012 at 9:33 am

      I’ll admit we’ve never quite tested 110-120 degrees inside the rig, but we’ve travelled/stayed thro’ 110 degree TX heat (keeping the inside of the rig ~20-degrees cooler) and the putty has never melted. I’ve had it in direct sun, heat everything…and it’s always held. So, my thinking is it’ll do fine.
      Nina

      Reply
  4. Daveave says

    August 6, 2012 at 5:41 am

    x2 on Command Strips—God send for RV’ers!

    Reply
    • libertatemamo says

      August 6, 2012 at 9:34 am

      Yup, I love those things. They’re a bit pricey, but totally worth it!
      Nina

      Reply
  5. cozygirl says

    August 6, 2012 at 5:44 am

    PUTTY – wow how neat is that!! No mod yet but when I come up with something to use in our Casita that is covered floor to ceiling with carpet that will be a good day :O) One post I read was to use “T” pins…but if I had a kitty, I know they would be in dreamland! ~cozygirl itsacozylife.blogspot.com

    Reply
    • libertatemamo says

      August 6, 2012 at 9:36 am

      Floor-to-wall carpet…now that IS a decorating challenge! Nice idea with the T-pins. Nina

      Reply
  6. Mark Gehring says

    August 6, 2012 at 4:23 pm

    Totally agree on the Command strips. Discovered them at Home Depot just before our first RV trip ( yes, the 15k mile one ! ) and every one stuck fine. I peeled several off after we got home, no problem.

    Reply
    • libertatemamo says

      August 14, 2012 at 12:43 pm

      Good to know you like ’em too!
      Nina

      Reply
  7. Brenda Thomas says

    January 10, 2014 at 7:50 am

    Hi! I’m a full-timer living in a 40ft Heartland Landmark. What do you use to hang really heavy items like jackets and robes? I have found the command hooks do not work well at all for that.

    Reply
    • libertatemamo says

      January 10, 2014 at 10:27 am

      Actually we just use the larger command hooks for our jackets. They can handle 5-7 lbs of weight depending on the type you buy. We also have one screw-in multi-hook for our keys which can handle even more weight. If none of these work for you, you might want to consider one of those hang-over-the-door type hook racks and install it over your bathroom door. Kind of like these ones:
      http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/1/3/over-the-door-hook

      Hope that helps!
      Nina

      Reply
      • Sandra says

        April 22, 2018 at 6:28 pm

        Dollar Tree sells those too, I bought a bunch at that price.

        Reply
  8. Rosanne says

    April 26, 2014 at 5:11 am

    I tried using 3M strips to hang a fairly lightweight painting (about half a pound or less) on the wall. There is something about the vinyl wallpaper in our new RV. The strips stuck at first, but would not hold. I cleaned the wall with alcohol first too, but nothing will stick. I ended up using the strips to hang the painting on wood, and that worked fine, but I’d really like to put some decorative things on the wallpapered areas. Anyone else have this problem? Any recommendations?

    Reply
    • libertatemamo says

      April 27, 2014 at 4:15 pm

      Hmmm…if the strips won’t work, then the next surest option is a screw/nail to hold stuff up. Otherwise the only other thing I can think of is sand-papering the wall to get it more “rough” before putting on the strip. Of course that defeats the purpose of not altering the walls, but it may be the only other option if you don’t want to add any holes. I haven’t found anything that sticks better than the command strips.

      Nina

      Reply
    • Jamie says

      January 5, 2017 at 2:41 pm

      I have the same trouble in my newer RV. Command strips and any other non-permanent adhesive fall off in short order. No solutions found yet for me, but would love to find one. Many things not in my trailer that I wish were!

      Reply
  9. shana says

    March 26, 2015 at 12:39 pm

    im wondering if anyone has had a problem with the command products damaging or pulling off the wallpaper in their rv? i assume i have vinyl wallpaper, i do not know.

    Reply
    • libertatemamo says

      March 26, 2015 at 12:54 pm

      So far we’ve not seen any problems. Some of the command strips in our RV have been on the wall since we started RVing (in 2010) so they’ve had quite a lot of use. Don’t know if others have seen issues.

      Nina

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Boondocking For Newbies Part II -> Prepping Your RV | Wheeling It says:
    January 30, 2015 at 1:49 pm

    […] I do have some table-top ornaments which are secured with Quake-Hold/Museum Putty, and picture frames on the walls secured with 3M Command Strips. Both have held for years of boondocking with no issues.   Related Link: Easy RV Mod -> Decorating With Museum Putty & Command Strips […]

    Reply

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