Hand-painted acrylic mural
The classic, most repairable way to put artwork on a wall.
- Shanghai Xionglan Culture Communication Co., Ltd. (brand: Xionglan Art)
- Shanghai-based workshop · delivery in 67 Chinese cities
- 10 capability groups / 102 individual techniques · design, fabrication and installation in-house
- Phone +86 156 0163 6249 · Mon–Sun 09:00–18:00 (CST)
Acrylic hand painting is the most direct route to a bespoke mural: colour is mixed on site, brushwork can be fine or loose, and later damage is touched in with the same palette. It suits feature walls where the artwork itself is the point, not the material.
Commissioned work in hand-painted acrylic mural normally runs from 4 to 26 m², with 3–6 working days in production from approved drawings. The reference range for this technique is CNY 150–600 per m², quoted itemised. It sits within our Wall Painting & Murals capability, alongside 12 related techniques, and the 4-point deliverable below is what a commission includes as standard.
When hand-painted acrylic mural is the right answer - and when it is not
Hand painting wins where the artwork is bespoke, the wall is awkward, or the client expects to live with the result for a decade and repair it rather than replace it. It loses on very large repetitive areas, where printing is both faster and cheaper, and on surfaces you cannot prepare. The honest dividing line is roughly twenty to thirty square metres of detailed work: below that hand painting is usually the better buy, above it printing takes over.
How the work is actually carried out
The wall is washed, filled and sanded, then sealed so the paint film grips rather than sits on dust. A base coat goes on in the dominant mid-tone, and the design is transferred by projection or a pounced cartoon. Colour is mixed on site in batches kept in sealed containers, because a mismatch between two batches is the single most common defect on a large mural. Work proceeds from background to foreground, with a protective clear coat at the end whose sheen is chosen against the actual lighting.
Typical applications
Typical specifications
| Typical size | 3 m2 accent wall up to 500 m2+ hoarding |
|---|---|
| Lead time | 2-7 days on site, depending on area and detail |
| Substrates | Emulsion paint, skim coat, concrete, timber, metal panel |
| Pricing basis | Measured painted area plus complexity of the artwork |
| Capability | Wall Painting & Murals |
| Reference range | CNY 150–600 per m² |
| Techniques in this capability | 13 |
| Coverage | Shanghai base, nationwide delivery, overseas projects on request |
Reference price bands for Hand-painted acrylic mural
Indicative only, based on the scope normally quoted for hand-painted acrylic mural. A firm price follows a site survey and an itemised quotation split into material, labour, finishing, packing and freight.
| Scope | Typical area | Reference total | Unit rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small area | 5–13 m² | CNY 750 – CNY 7,800 | approx. CNY 600/m² |
| Standard area | 13–35 m² | CNY 1,950 – CNY 21,000 | approx. CNY 375/m² |
| Large area | 35 m² and above | CNY 5,250+ | approx. CNY 150/m² |
Build tiers for hand-painted acrylic mural
Hand-painted acrylic mural is not one product at one size: the table below is the same scope ladder we quote on, so you can see where your project sits before asking for a price.
| Build tier | Typical area | Production days | What changes at this tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | 5–30 m² | 3–5 | Up to 30 m², one substrate and one access setup, 3–5 days in the workshop. |
| Tier 2 | 2–10 m² | 4–7 | 2–10 m² across two or more faces, 4–7 days, substrate build-up agreed per location. |
| Tier 3 | 3–20 m² | 4–8 | 3–20 m² across two or more faces, 4–8 days, substrate build-up agreed per location. |
| Tier 4 | 3–30 m² | 2–5 | 3–30 m² across two or more faces, 2–5 days, substrate build-up agreed per location. |
| Tier 5 | 3–15 m² | 3–6 | 3–15 m² across two or more faces, 3–6 days, substrate build-up agreed per location. |
| Tier 6 | 5–50 m² | 2–4 | 5 m² and above, multiple substrate types and phased access, 2–4 days with a join and numbering plan. |
What we deliver
- Design, mock-ups and on-site colour sampling before full production
- Base repair, primer and protective topcoat included as separate line items
- Interior and exterior walls, ceilings, hoardings and feature panels
- Touch-up kit plus documented colour codes on handover
Faults we see most often in hand-painted acrylic mural
Each of these is a field failure rather than a workshop one, and each is cheaper to prevent at enquiry stage than to correct after installation.
- Painting onto a damp or dusty wall - the film will blister within a season, and no topcoat rescues it.
- Mixing colour in open trays across a long session, so the second half of the wall drifts a shade from the first.
- Signing off a colour from a printed render instead of a physical sample patch on the actual wall, in the actual light.
What to settle before an overseas project starts
| Viewing distance | Tell us where people will stand or sit. A mural detailed for two metres looks busy across a lobby, and a mural designed for a lobby looks empty at two metres. |
|---|---|
| Surface and access | Send photographs of the wall including the floor and ceiling, plus how a painter reaches the top. Scaffold, lift or tower changes both cost and the days on site. |
| Colour control reference | If the artwork must match brand colours, send the Pantone or RAL codes. Screen colours will not match painted pigment, and we sample on your wall before starting. |
Working with us from overseas
Enquiry to installation, one point of contact. Export packing, shipping, commercial terms and quality control →
Design intent and what drives the cost
| Technique | Hand-painted acrylic mural |
|---|---|
| Positioning | The classic, most repairable way to put artwork on a wall. |
| Floor area normally quoted | 4–26 m² per commission |
| Typical production window | 3–6 working days from approved drawings |
| Main cost drivers | Area and repetition; substrate preparation; detail and modelling time; surface finish; access and working hours |
| What we quote separately | Material, labour, finishing, packing, freight and site measures - each as its own line |
Representative work
Wall Painting & Murals projects photographed on completion.
Wall Painting & Murals — Campus culture wall
Wall Painting & Murals — Hand-painted acrylic mural
Wall Painting & Murals — Corporate culture wall
Wall Painting & Murals — Hand-painted acrylic muralCommon questions
Can you paint over an existing painted wall?
Will brush marks be visible?
Can you paint over an existing painted wall?
Discuss hand-painted acrylic mural
Send photographs, drawings or a 3D file with approximate dimensions. You will get a technique recommendation, a reference price band and a production schedule.
Other techniques in this capability
- Oil & textured hand painting
- Decorative plaster texture wall
- UV print & art wallpaper
- 3D trompe-l'œil wall
- Glow-in-the-dark mural
- Corporate culture wall
- Campus culture wall
- Community & rural culture wall
- Restaurant & café wall art
- Hotel & guesthouse wall art
- Shopfront & brand wall
- Exterior facade & hoarding painting