My favorite substrate for gallery walls seeing lots of wear & tear is
PLYWOOD.  Do not cover this with wall board or sheetrock, the stuff is too
soft, dents and deteriorates too fast, etc.
Cover the plywood wall with fabric.  Two options exist:
1. Cover with painted muslin or awning canvas, available in humoungous sizes.
   Prime the ply with primer; BIN, KILZ, or your preference.
   Size the wall with a dilute solution of Elmers (not too thin),
   and apply the fabric soaked in a trough of the dilute glue to the wall.
   Prime & paint the wall as usual.
   Assault the wall over time as you will with hangers and patches.
   When the paint build-up becomes a problem: !Strip off the fabric and
   start over!  The plywood should be fine for many, many years.
2. Cover the plywood with a commercial office interior carpeting designed
   for walls... which ACCEPTS HOOK VELCRO.  Our galleries exterior walls
   were covered with close pile fabric over 12 years ago and I have done
   nothing more than vacuum annually.  Nothing.  I mount my exhibit labels
   with velcro dots (hook type) and use standard picture hooks and occasional
   security screws of small diameter.  From arms length these holes are not
   visible, so there is no touch-up or patching.  If I have to mount something
   large &/or heavy, I screw a board to the wall with several sheetrock screws
   , but put a layer of of expanded polyethylene behind to keep from crushing
   the pile of the fabric.  When the board is removed there are no dents in
   the wall covering.  I Love it.

PS re mounting labels on painted walls - the topic of my last thread - the
solution is 3M Wall Mounting Tabs #7220 (pkg of 48) or #7225 (pkg of 480).
I'll post this to the list as a separate item later.


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   Stephen B. Ringle, Registrar             [log in to unmask]
   University of Maine Museum of Art
   5712 Carnegie Hall, Room 109              vox: 207-581-3257
   Orono, Maine   04469-5712                 fax: 207-581-3083
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