Painting house, question on blue tape, green, or ornage tape?

[rnln]

Everyone is saying blue tape blue tape all the tie and I have been using since the beginning, over 20 os them. They are pain in the A. Most of the time it won't stick and frustrated me so bad, especially on tiles and new paint. It's only ok with clean old paint. I know the white tape will leave residue and it'll kill you when it come to clean up time. How about the green and orange tape? Are they stronger and won't leave residue? Which one is better for my case?
Thanks.

[slodave]

Green for door frames, orange for windows, blue for everything else...

The blue painter's tape comes in different stickiness... You sure you're just not buying the weakest? You've gotta look at the inside of the roll (maybe the plastic wrap). There will be a scale..

[rnln]

really? I didn't there are different scale of stickness. I just grab a bunch of 1.5" 3M everytime I walk to the paint dept. I'll look next time. Thanks.

[slodave]

3M US: Scotch-Blue

I know there's more than two.. But you have to look.

BTW, green is for rough surfaces...

[rnln]

Thanks Slodave.

- do green and orange leave residue? Anyone know?
- Why not use the highest adhesive level? What is the draw back?
Thanks.

[Wilywilly]

Better to just paint without tape. In half the time it takes to tape a room you will get so good that you can't tell the difference. Just go slow and steady to start with. Of course if you have the DT's or Parkinsons this may not be such a good idea. jmho

[billjam]

"Ornage" sounds the most expensive - I'd use that!

[Talewinds]

I've been frustrated by the seeming high prices of the painter's tape the last coupe of years. I used to keep nearly a dozen rolls on hand (we've done a LOT of room painting over the years), but now when I go to the Lowe's/HD I find myself knee-jerking when I see the prices and running away and NOT buying until I absolutely need it. I mean COME ON, $6 a roll?!?!?

But I've also been wondering about the green tape.... The blue tape gives me more bleed under than I think it should, even when I use a rubber roller to set the tape line. When I tape something and then peel it up later I want to see a laser line on that paint.

[crustychief]

Originally Posted by rnln

Thanks Slodave.

- do green and orange leave residue? Anyone know?
- Why not use the highest adhesive level? What is the draw back?
Thanks.

When you remove the tape you want the surface you taped to stay put. Reduced sticky means you can tape a fresh surface sooner after painting.

[Laneco]

I used green "Frog" tape on the last house I painted the interior on (our rental). It was ridiculously expensive but it worked REALLY well. This house has light beige walls, white ceiling and white baseboard/woodwork. On this paint job, I did try to do more work without tape. In alot of places, I did a really terrific job, it looks like a pro did it. Other places, well, let's just say I spent far more time cleaning up my mistakes than I would have ever spent taping it off...

Tape is the friend of the infrequent painter.

angela

[porsche4life]

Hint for you guys looking for a really crisp edge in tight technical spot... Go to the autoparts store and buy the blue 3M tape that auto painters use. Its vinyl based and works around corners much better. Expensive tho.

[VINMAN]

I'm also of the "no tape culture". With a little practice, you will be amazed at how good you get. I agree abut the price of tape nowadays. It's disgusting. Masking tape used to dirt cheap. I blame the influx of DYI tv shows. The people on those shows use tape like its nothng.

[notfarnow]

Originally Posted by Wilywilly

Better to just paint without tape. In half the time it takes to tape a room you will get so good that you can't tell the difference. Just go slow and steady to start with. Of course if you have the DT's or Parkinsons this may not be such a good idea. jmho

+1

A pro painter told me the best, fastest way to paint a room:

1) cut in around ceiling, don't worry about overlapping onto the wall a bit. Do NOT lose time being fussy. Then roll ceiling

2) paint trim around windows & doors. Focus on good coverage & keeping a wet edge. Overlap onto walls a *wee* bit... again, no extra points for painting in the lines.

3) Cut in wall color along ceiling, doors & windows. This is when you take your time & be fussy. By ONLY cutting in the wall color, no tape should be necessary... cutting in against the ceiling & trim is easy to do freehand. When finished, roll on wall color

[gr8fl4porsche]

The new Frog tapes do work well but they have very low adhesion.

Less adhesion is so the tape doesn't pull off the paint underneath it.

You can use regular masking tape as long as you tape, paint and remove within a few hours.
As mentioned, the standard stuff will likely remove the existing paint, so do a test first.

But, here is the answer you are looking for, the secret to perfectly masked lines.

This tip works anytime you are using 2 paint colors. Walls to ceiling, walls to accent colored walls, walls to painted trim or stained trim.

1. Paint first color.
2. Let dry overnight if possible.
3. Mask off newly painted surface using 3M 2080 Blue.
4. Take a very small amount of paint, the color you just used and paint the edge of the tape.
You only want to use enough paint to seal the edge. The paint will bleed under the tape
a little bit but that is ok since it is the same paint which is already applied.
5. Wait a half hour or so.
6. Now you can use you favorite applicator to paint the 2nd color. The new paint cannot
bleed under the tape because you sealed it.
7. As soon as you are finished painting, gently remove the tape. Do not wait overnight or
for the paint to dry.

You now have a perfectly masked line.

[gr8fl4porsche]

Of course you don't need to use tape, but when you do, follow the above tip.

[Scuba Steve]

I used to:
Remove baseboards -> go crazy painting -> paint baseboards while they're off -> use air nailer to quickly reattach baseboards -> putty and touch up holes, and recaulk.

Now since I can tape off the top of the baseboards quickly I
Tape baseboards, go crazy painting -> remove tape -> paint baseboards (no tape)

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by Scuba Steve

I used to:
Remove baseboards -> go crazy painting -> paint baseboards while they're off -> use air nailer to quickly reattach baseboards -> putty and touch up holes, and recaulk.

Now since I can tape off the top of the baseboards quickly I
Tape baseboards, go crazy painting -> remove tape -> paint baseboards (no tape)

I take everything apart. Moulding, door knobs, hinges etc....

[myamoto1]

Originally Posted by gr8fl4porsche

The new Frog tapes do work well but they have very low adhesion.
I had horrible luck w/ Frog tape. It wouldn't stick to any semi-gloss surface at all!

But, here is the answer you are looking for, the secret to perfectly masked lines.

This tip works anytime you are using 2 paint colors. Walls to ceiling, walls to accent colored walls, walls to painted trim or stained trim.

1. Paint first color.
2. Let dry overnight if possible.
3. Mask off newly painted surface using 3M 2080 Blue.
4. Take a very small amount of paint, the color you just used and paint the edge of the tape.
You only want to use enough paint to seal the edge. The paint will bleed under the tape
a little bit but that is ok since it is the same paint which is already applied.
5. Wait a half hour or so.
6. Now you can use you favorite applicator to paint the 2nd color. The new paint cannot
bleed under the tape because you sealed it.
7. As soon as you are finished painting, gently remove the tape. Do not wait overnight or
for the paint to dry.

You now have a perfectly masked line.

Above is what I finally figured out after some trial and error (probably more error than trial). Here are the results:







You can see in 2nd from the top, light blue line in the 2nd picture, where I didn't use this technique. I got a decent amount of bleed through. At this point, I had already painted the stripes twice and worn a hole through my jeans, from doing the knee shufflle around the room laying tape.

Also - see my comment above about Frog tape. Not worth the money at all in my opinion.

[rnln]

The 2080 blue tape just doesn't stick well on fresh paint and other stuff such as tiles. Today, while spraying, I realized that 3 or 4 of my new tiles are painted white because I have been spraying on them whitout knowing. The tape blew away. Arg..

[slodave]

If I remember what I read the other day, the orange and green are better suited to tile and brick, blue will do exactly as you found out. Using the stickiest tape on paint can result in ripping the paint and older layers off when removing the tape...