Hugely OT - painting tape

[rustychisel]

Rant: after many years of home renovating and general handyman stuff, I've come to the conclusion that painters tape is a massive crap fail and NEVER works as it should.

Hello 3M; your products suck. Blue tape, green tape, even regular old masking tape (not good for this job at all), they just don't work.

They lift paint, they don't adequately define and cut an edge, they allow penetration into corners, they allow bad edge definition with all paints (water based, oil based, turpentine, matt, satin or gloss). They're just rubbish.

Having completely stripped, rebuilt, refurbished and repainted a glass panel door, let me be the first to say the job is adequate by my standards and abilities, no more, and none of this relatively good job is due to masking tapes which do not do the job as described.

[Cicli]

I use Stans.

[ultraman6970]

THe tape works what happens is that you have to sand the walls first... nobody does that but maybe prof... painters. I'm in the process of painting the whole house and have the same complain about the tape... it lifted the paint in a few places but I did not sand the previous paint job either you know.

The other thing is that if you paint over primer, the color top coat grabs a lot better and the tape won't have that tendency to fail, I ran over a drastic color change in a bathroom so had to prime the whole room 1st. The places I used the tape did not have a any problem in a matter of fact had issues getting the tape off but the paint did not lift.

3M has a tape that is not too tacky either. Always you can try that or buy like a metal stick that is designed to paint edges w/o using tape, no idea if you have seen it.

The other thing, wait a couple of days to remove the tape. That the paint is dry doesnt mean bonded to the previous surface you know.

Hope this helps.

[rustychisel]

Thanks, good thoughts.

The door was completely stripped to bare wood, remodelled, sanded, washed and cleaned, primer paint used, then 3 coats of high gloss. YMMV

[echelon_john]

Painters don't use painters' tape.

[Tandem Rider]

Painters don't use painters' tape.

This is true.

Buy the best brushes that you can find and learn how to cut with them. Faster, neater etc.

A very good friend is a painter. He gave me a good brush and showed me how to use it. It's a world of difference. (Don't "wipe" the brush on the edge of the can).

[likebikes]

frog tape.

[tiretrax]

I quit using painters tape years ago because of the problems you mention. Best to use an angled Purdy's brush and have a steady hand

[Vientomas]

Good clean brush, no tape.

[Idris Icabod]

I always tape and then paint the lighter colour (the one I am masking off) that I want to paint on to the tape which essentially seals the tape against the wall, let dry and then paint the darker colour, when I peel the tape I get clean lines even on delicately textured walls.

[rustychisel]

So what you're saying is "Friends don't let friends use tape."? :bike:

[paredown]

Yes to cutting for a lot of what needs doing.

A pro I worked with a few years ago showed me how to use a very thin coat of caulk over the edge of the tape when painting to baseboards/door trim etc where you needed an edge and fill small gaps. Then run your finish color over the edge and pull the tape before everything is completely dry.

Straight line color changes--run a thin layer of your primer coat over the edge of the tape to seal it, then the finish...

My big complaint these days is that the tape is thinner and not as strong, so it tends to break when pulling.

[daker13]

I find blue tape to be super useful around the house--just not for painting.

Especially if you have kids.

[tumbler]

I hear this stuff is good...

http://www.customisedbikes.co.uk/store/catalog/velox_rimTape.jpg

[pbarry]

With an object like a glass panel door you are better off using a good brush. Add up the time to tape accurately, then the time to remove when done, and half or more of the whole door could have been painted with a good brush. If you must use tape, and there are situations where it's needed, try to barely overlap the tape from the painted surface area. Thick pàint overlap will bleed under. Also, only press down hard on the outside 10mm or so of the tape, where it meets the paint--this helps removal. It can be removed carefully before the paint is fully dry. This will usually prevent tearing the paint.

Brush work is fun but maddening until one figures out the proper methods and your skills develop. Good luck on your next one. :beer:

[Hardlyrob]

My wife's business is restoring wooden window for old houses, so her and her crew are painting window sash every day - they learned long ago it is much better to get your technique in shape and skip all the tape, window corners etc. - none of them work that well. Getting better at cutting is faster, cleaner and cheaper.

[zap]

I've had great success using 3m blue tape. Sand and clean the surface first. Also, you can't just apply the tape. You need to rub the edge so it adheres better. I don't paint enough to practice edge work without tape….besides, even pro's get a little wobbly.

[Lewis Moon]

I've had great success using 3m blue tape. Sand and clean the surface first. Also, you can't just apply the tape. You need to rub the edge so it adheres better. I don't paint enough to practice edge work without tape….besides, even pro's get a little wobbly.

Yep, this. My colleague tells me I need to learn to do ARC/GIS gymnastics, but I only use it once, maybe twice per year. Not a good investment in time.
I've learned to use a little rubber roller to push the tape down to stop bleeding and if I start to have new paint pull up, I either go over it with a paint brush, if it's small, or bust out an exacto knife while I'm pulling the tape if it looks like it might be big.

[echelon_john]

Given that tape is an inferior solution to learning to cut in, I have had good luck with the frog tape when I've masked to paint tartans.

It seals better than the regular blue tape. Just make sure you're starting your brush ON the tape and pulling paint AWAY from the tape, instead of brushing up to the tape. This will make for less leakage under the tape.