Picture hooks will not stick on concrete walls

[Wouldy]

Hi folks. 

This has happened twice now. I cleaned the spot with turps before sticking the hook on. I left hook for 12 hours after sticking to wall. It was the right hook size for the weight of my picture to go up. 

Hung the picture, and a few hours later it felt down. It broke my picture. It seems to be occurring on most of the walls. 

The walls are concrete. As you can see the paint job is very thin. 

I'm not sure what is causing the issue but I want to resolve it so it does not keep occuring. I had success with one hook so far on the same wall. Picture is hanging fine. 

However, it is dicey. What is causing this problem? 

I do not want to do nails. It's pretty hard with concrete walls. 

Thanks 

Wouldy

[Jason]

Hi @Wouldy,

Can you please let us know what product you are using to try to hang your pictures? I'm sure @EricL will be happy to make other suggestions.

Jason

[Wouldy]

@Jason @EricL 

This is the brand I used. Pull tab ones. But not this hook. Thank you. 

Wouldy

[EricL]

Hi @Wouldy,

I'm not overly familiar with this brand. I've always used 3M Hooks and their associated fittings. It's possible that the paint is not receptive or strong enough to hold the weight of the picture.

Turpentine is not recommended as a cleaning agent when mounting sticky hooks. It leaves a residue that causes the sticker to fail. I suggest using Isopropyl Alcohol it is solvent-based and leaves no residue and is perfect for cleaning surfaces.

It could also be a faulty batch of stickers. My number one suggestion is to try Isopropyl to clean the mounting area. 

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[Wouldy]

@EricL 

I appreciate the suggestions. I get the feeling that's not going to work either. It's happened with other adhesives as well. 

My curtain rod came unstuck last night after a few weeks of staying put. It's happening on all the walls. 

I'm not familiar when working with concrete walls. I do not have a tool to put hooks in the wall and I don't have any money left for quite a while now. 

So in other words, I'm broke, I'm tired and just have no idea right now. 

Wouldy

[Wouldy]

@EricL 

I'm a bit slow on the uptake. I simply hammered a nail into the wall for the picture. 

It's not been a good Christmas with the house and having to kick my housemate out on Christmas Eve. Been under a lot of stress so wasn't thinking 100% clearly. 

Wouldy

[MitchellMc]

Hi @Wouldy,

I'd agree that turpentine is not the best cleaning solution to use. Give the isopropyl alcohol a try, and then please let us know if you need further assistance or have other questions. If you're looking for other non-invasive mounting techniques, I'm sure our helpful members will have some suggestions.

Mitchell

[Wouldy]

Hi @MitchellMc 

Thank you. I resorted to using nails because I was getting too frustrated. Should have done in the first place. 

Wouldy

[brendawebster44]

Hello , my heart goes out to you, well not really. Read instructions!!!’ I always do after nothing works properly The alcohol is good on many surfaces then let it dry completely before attempting to use any adhesives.If it has to be a hook then it is going to be hit and miss each time, with you getting your hopes up and then dashed. Now you could try and use extra strength heavy duty Command Stripes from Bunnings and place them  over your picture frame press firmly on to the wall and leave for 24hrs For future reference ask here first haha I believe there is a course on how to replaster a wall b🌺

[Wouldy]

Ha ha. Thanks for the advice Brenda. Always a student, never the master

Wouldy