Care & Mounting

Your mandala is built to last generations. Here's how to mount it properly and keep it looking its best.

Mounting Your Aluminium Dibond Mandala

Pandora, Rubicon, and Quantum mandalas arrive as clean aluminium panels — no holes, no fixings. This guide covers every viable way to mount them, from our recommended gallery-grade system to budget alternatives, so you can choose what suits your space, your skills, and your budget.

Sketch (Canvas)

Sketch mandalas arrive ready to hang — printed on 350gsm polyester canvas and stretched on a lightweight 2cm wooden frame. Simply hang it on your wall. If you'd prefer to add an outer frame, any local framer can help.

What arrives

3mm white aluminium dibond
Your mandala printed edge-to-edge
No holes, no fixings, no mounting hardware

This is intentional. A clean panel, ready for proper mounting.

Panel Weights

Your panel's weight determines which mounting methods work safely. These figures are from the manufacturer's specification (3A Composites, 3.80 kg/m²).

100cm

~3.8kg

110cm

~4.6kg

120cm

~5.5kg

124cm

~5.9kg

136cm

~7.0kg

148cm

~8.3kg

Choose Your Method

Five proven ways to get your mandala on the wall. Our recommendation is the Artiteq Back Frame, but every method below works at the sizes we sell.

Method	Skill Level	Cost	Float	Best For
Artiteq Back Frame★ Recommended	Beginner–Intermediate	£25–75	8–15mm	All-round best. No panel drilling.
French Cleat Z-Bar	Intermediate	£15–40	~6mm	Budget pick. Proven gallery system.
Standoff Fixings	Intermediate–Advanced	£10–25	15–25mm	Bold modern look. Holes through panel.
Picture Rail + Cable	Intermediate	£50–100	On cables	If you have an existing rail.
Professional Installer	None (done for you)	£80–150	Any	No DIY. Perfect result.

The professional way: Artiteq Back Frame

Our recommendation

Artiteq Back Frame 15mm

An aluminium subframe that attaches to the back of your panel with industrial VHB tape. Once mounted, your mandala floats 15mm off the wall with nothing visible from the front.

The system is rated for panels up to 4 m² and 25 kg. Even your largest 148cm mandala (2.19 m², ~8.3 kg) uses only 55% of the area limit and 33% of the weight limit. Every size is comfortably within specification.

This is the same system used by galleries and museums for archival display.

What you need

Back Frame Rails

Aluminium, 15mm deep — ordered in lengths, cut to size

Power Corners

Pack of 4 — corner brackets with built-in levelling adjustment (±6mm)

Both 8mm and 15mm profiles work at every size. 15mm creates a deeper shadow — the choice is purely aesthetic.

Sizing Guide

The frame sits inside your panel's perimeter, set back from the edges so it's invisible from the front. The Power Corners add 5cm each (20cm total), so you need slightly less rail than you might expect.

Mandala Size	Rail Length	Suggested Order
100 × 100cm	~380cm total	4 × 100cm
110 × 110cm	~420cm total	4 × 110cm
120 × 120cm	~460cm total	4 × 120cm or 5 × 100cm
124 × 124cm	~475cm total	4 × 125cm or 5 × 100cm
136 × 136cm	~520cm total	4 × 140cm or 6 × 100cm
148 × 148cm	~570cm total	4 × 150cm or 6 × 100cm

Estimated cost: £25–75 — Rails plus Power Corners, depending on size and supplier

Where to buy (UK)

Picture Superstore

15mm rails from £10.32, Power Corners from £9.60. Best value for individual components.

Eyevolution Ltd

Official UK Artiteq distributor. Custom cutting service available. 100cm rail from £13.20.

Simple Picture Hanging

Profile from £6.33, corners from £6.25. Free UK delivery over £200.

European supplier

Alopsys (Netherlands) — Official Artiteq dealer, ships across Europe. €45–90 depending on size.

All suppliers listed are independent retailers. We have no commercial relationship with any of them.

Installation

1Assemble the frame — slide rails into the four Power Corners
2Position on the back of your mandala, centred
3Press firmly to bond the VHB tape to the aluminium
4Allow 72 hours for the adhesive to cure fully
5Mount to wall using the Power Corner drill guides
6Use the ±6mm adjustment screws to level perfectly

Take your time with this. The frame will hold for years.

Budget alternative: French Cleat Z-Bar

Two interlocking Z-shaped aluminium bars — one fixed to your wall with the lip facing up, one bonded to the back of your panel with the lip facing down. The panel hooks over the wall bar and gravity locks everything together. Galleries and commercial signage have used this system for decades.

Attaching to your panel: Bond the Z-bar to the aluminium back with 3M VHB tape (the same industrial adhesive used in the Artiteq system). Clean the surface with isopropyl alcohol, press the bar along its full length, and allow 72 hours to cure.

For the largest panels (136–148cm): For extra security, bond two 18mm timber battens across the panel back with VHB tape first, then screw the Z-bar to the top batten. This adds structural rigidity and gives you a mechanical screw connection.

Weight capacity: A single 100cm Z-bar is rated for 40kg — giving a 5× safety factor on your heaviest panel (8.3kg at 148cm). Weight is not a concern with this method.

UK suppliers

Supplier	Price	Notes
Aluminium Warehouse	£3.84 per 100cm	Best value. Cut-to-size available.
Sisi UK	Up to £21.99 for 100cm pair	Complete kit: fixings + spirit level included.
Hangman Products UK	£6.99–£28.99	Free domestic shipping.
Amazon UK	£15–20 per pair	Falcon Workshop brand well reviewed.

Total cost per panel: approximately £15–40 including VHB tape (a 19mm × 3m roll of 3M VHB 5952 costs £8–15 on Amazon UK). Roughly half the cost of the Artiteq system.

How does it compare to the Artiteq Back Frame?

Advantages

Roughly half the cost
Widely available from UK sources
No proprietary parts — simple gravity lock
Panel lifts off for easy repositioning

Trade-offs

More DIY confidence required
No pre-engineered kit for Dibond
Subtler floating gap (~6mm vs 8–15mm)
Surface prep + 72-hour cure needed

Modern look: Standoff Fixings

Decorative barrel-and-cap fixings that mount through the panel, holding it 15–25mm proud of the wall. This produces the most dramatic floating effect of any method — your mandala genuinely appears to hover.

The trade-off: 4–8 holes must be drilled through the printed surface. For mandalas where the design extends to every edge, these holes will interrupt the image. This method works best if you're comfortable with visible fixings at the corners of your artwork.

If you'd like us to pre-drill corner holes for you, contact us at [email protected] before you place your order and we'll arrange it.

If you choose this method:

Use HSS twist drill bits at approximately 900 RPM with gentle, steady pressure
Support the panel from behind on a flat surface to prevent exit-layer tear-out
Apply masking tape over drill points to reduce surface tearing
Stay at least 40mm from any edge (manufacturer minimum is 19mm)
Don't over-torque the caps — one turn past finger-tight, or the panel will dimple

For panels over 120cm, use 6 standoffs (four corners plus two mid-points). At 148cm, 6–8 fixings distribute the load properly. Satin aluminium or brushed stainless steel finishes suit the gallery aesthetic better than polished chrome.

UK suppliers

Supplier	Price	Notes
Crown Display	From £0.85 each	UK's largest standoff range (70+ products).
e-signfittings	From £0.95 each	Bulk discounts available.
iSpi Trade	From £0.50 in quantity	Price-match guarantee.
Amazon UK	Sets of 4: £8–15	Convenient for single purchases.

Total cost per panel: approximately £10–25 for 4–8 standoffs with fixings. The hardware is cheap — the real cost is the skill and confidence to drill precisely.

Already have a picture rail?

If you already have a picture rail system (Artiteq Click Rail, STAS, or traditional brass), your mandala can hang from it. Weight isn't the issue — a single Click Rail supports 30kg per metre. Stability is.

Large frameless panels on cables tend to tilt forward. The best approach: combine the Artiteq Back Frame with cable suspension — wire threads through the upper Power Corners, and Flex Bumpers prevent tilting. This is Artiteq's own “Flexible” hanging mode.

For panels up to approximately 120cm, you can use two adhesive Dibond Hangers hung from cable hooks as a simpler alternative. Beyond 120cm, the Back Frame approach is safer.

Approximate cost: £50–100 for rail, cables, hooks, and Back Frame components. UK suppliers: picture-rail.co.uk (STAS official UK store), Picture World (full Artiteq Click Rail range).

Prefer a professional?

Not everyone wants to drill holes. That's completely fine. For panels over 120cm, or if you'd simply rather have someone who does this every day handle it, a professional art installer is worth the cost.

How to find one: Search “picture hanging service” or “art installer” plus your city. TaskRabbit UK (from £44/hour), Checkatrade, and Bark.com are good starting points.

Specialist art installers with gallery backgrounds are ideal — they assess wall type, select appropriate fixings, and achieve perfect placement first time. Companies like Art of Hanging and The Picture Hanger (staff from Tate Modern/V&A backgrounds) cover London and the South East.

Approximate cost: £80–150 depending on location and wall complexity. A handyman via TaskRabbit runs £50–80 for a single panel.

What not to do

We want your mandala on the wall, not on the floor. These methods don't work at the sizes and weights involved.

Blu-Tack — Holds 0.2–0.5kg per blob. Your smallest panel weighs 3.8kg. It will fall.

Single picture hooks — Rated for 2–5kg maximum, single point of failure. One hook on a 148cm panel means 74cm of leverage on each side — any lateral force can dislodge it entirely.

Craft double-sided tape — Zero shear strength. Will creep and fail within days. This is categorically different from 3M VHB industrial tape.

Command strips — Maximum approximately 3.6kg per strip. Not designed for heavy or valuable items.

Suction cups — Lose vacuum over time, fail on textured surfaces, affected by temperature changes. Not suitable for permanent mounting of any weight.

A note on plasterboard walls

A standard screw into plasterboard holds only 3–5kg. Your 148cm panel weighs 8.3kg. Standard plastic plugs will fail.

Use proper hollow-wall anchors — Fischer Duopower, GripIt fixings, spring toggles, or metal cavity anchors rated for 15kg+ each. Better yet, locate and fix into timber studs with a stud finder. This applies to every mounting method that uses wall screws.

Why no corner holes?

We ship your mandala without pre-drilled holes. Here's why.

Visible fixings — Screw heads at each corner. It works, but it's not the look.

Flat to wall — No floating effect, no shadow, no depth. The piece loses something.

Commits you to one method — Once drilled, the holes are there forever.

Only 3mm thick — Drilling into thin aluminium composite isn't ideal. There's no good way to reinforce the material around the holes.

The piece deserves better — You're investing in something meaningful. Screwing it to the wall through visible holes doesn't honour that.

We can add corner holes on request — just contact us at [email protected] before you place your order and we'll arrange it for you.

But we'd gently encourage the Artiteq Back Frame. It's not much more effort, and the result is worth it.

Varnish (+£32)

Scratch-resistant satin varnish. Adds a subtle sheen and protects the print surface. Available for all sizes at checkout.

Worth considering if your mandala will live somewhere busy, or if you share your home with curious hands or paws.

Questions about mounting or care?

[email protected]