5 Fun Facts About Painters Tape

DIY home painters debate whether painters tape is necessary when painting a home. But the real argument here is deciding which battle you chose to tackle; preparation or clean up? If you never make mistakes or like excessive amounts of clean up, ditch the painting prep! However Peak Pro would never recommend that. Whether or not to use painters tape is a no brainer to Peak Pro! In this blog we will let you in on five fun facts about painters tape and convince you that preparation is necessary to creating the professional look our clients love.

Painters tape is typically used to block paint from dripping into unwanted areas, like floorboards, doors, window and floor trim, or even to create a fun pattern when painting! Painters tape isn’t just some generic tape, painting tape is more flexible than masking tape and doesn’t bubble up when applied. If you use a tape that bubbles and doesn’t adhere to the surface, you risk letting paint seep into unwanted territory.

1: How to get the perfect lines: Seal the tape with a bit of paint!

Any painter knows that painting a perfectly straight line is nearly impossible. You have to carefully think about your direction, pressure, and saturation. However you can achieve this perfect line without the drips by creating a seal along the painters tape. This should be done when starting your painting project and after you have properly masked your perimeter. When you start painting, brush a bit of paint along the tape edge to create an additional seal against paint bleeding under the tape.

2: Use Painter’s Tape When Painting With a Foam Roller

Foam rollers help get the job done faster, and smoother than a paint brush on large walls. But more often than not, when rolling at high speed, paint tends to fly off and create a nice spatter paint all around the room. If you want to avoid the splatter paint look on your carpet or hardwood floors, use painters tape and masking paper. Extending the painters tape with masking tape will protect most woodwork from splatter and drips. Peak Pro recommends using around a 3in masking paper so that the paper creates a shelf, protecting anything beneath it. For protecting floorboards and carpets, it would be best to use a longer masking paper that will flop down and provide more floor coverage from foam roller spatters.

3: Painters Tape Can Be Creative!

Want a cool modern geometric pattern on your wall but you aren’t the best artist? Create negative space with painting tape. First make some cool geometric patterns with painters tape and remove all bubbles from tape. Then paint the wall like normal. Finally, remove the tape. With this process you will achieve crisp contrasting lines exposing the base color underneath.

4: Yes- There is a right way to pull off tape!

When done painting, remove the tape after the last coat has dried. In a well ventilated area paint typically takes 30mins to an hour to dry. There are several things that can go wrong when peeling off painters tape. Firstly if you wait too long to peel the tape, it will become difficult to remove and adhere to the surface and possibly pull off paint or not come off at all. This can be avoided by not leaving tape on for too long, or by pulling the tape off at a 45 degree angle gently and consistently. Second common mistake is pulling the tape off too fast. This can remove some of your fresh paint if it is still wet. Pulling the tape off too fast can even rip the paint off underneath the tape. If you see a layer of paint that looks like it will lift away along with the tape despite perfect painting practice, use a putty knife to lightly break the seal between the wall and the tape before you remove the tape.

5: Temperature matters!

It is important to consider which how you pull off painters tape when in extreme temperatures. Extreme temperatures can affect how easily the tape comes off. Cold temperatures can make the tape crack and break and come off unevenly while hot temperatures can make the tape stickier, leaving adhesive behind. Peak Pro recommends taking it slow, and gently breaking the seal with a putty knife.
If preparation isn’t your thing and neither is clean up. Let Peak Pro paint your interior or exterior home for you. Preparation is our jam! We want to give you a beautiful paint job without the splatters and drips. If you are looking for a Front Range painting company in Colorado or Austin Texas, Peak Pro will take the DIY painting project off your hands and give you the professional paint look. Request a quote here!