Paint tape question?

Question

My husband and I disagree on this, I want to prep my room for painting tonight with the blue 3M painting tape so I can start tomorrow and get it finished. My husband believes that if I put the tape on trim, ceiling, etc. that when I pull it off tomorrow it will be really stuck and pull some of the old trim paint off. Will 12 hours on the paint really do that?

Answer 1

3 points about what you want !
Ok , you want to tape up the room the day before you paint , good idea for getting an early start the next morninG .
The surfaces that you wnt to apply the tape to , are they clean , esp. no oil grease etc , are these surfaces also smooth ? If they are dirty clean them with appropriate cleaning materials , if they are otherwise not smooth , i.e. flaky , pitted , or cracked the paint you are going to apply shall go behind the tape into these pits flakes and cracks . doessome thing need to filled plastered , now is the time to do this .
As for applying the tape it doesnt have to be " STUCK " to where it is to be used with 1000 kg. of pressure per cubic millimetre , use just enough pressere to ensure that paint cannot get behind tape . For easier removal of tape you may think to stick only the " leading edge to the surface , i. e. the edge of the tape that shall meet the new paint especially if the tape width is a bit wider than you actually need .
Removall of tape after paint job is finished , this can be done usu . when the paint is finger tip dry ( touch an area , try a corner , out of the way place , NOT the middle of a wall , door etc ) , lightly touch with your fingertip and if there is no stickyness then you can begin to remove your taping job . If you are doing a big job or a few other smaller jobs , segments of the used and removed tape can be used again ( arm span lengths +/- up to six feet long can be temporarily hung one end on the ceiling / horizontal surface the other end taped to perpendicular surface / door / window frame then re used / re taped to / for another paint job about to happen .
One final point about tape removal time , the tape should be removed as soon as possible if you have been applying a paint of a THICKER CONSISTANCY no problem if the tape comes off asap as fingertip dry has been established , this should lead to cleaner lines as to where the masking tape and new paint have been meeting .
If the paint you have been applying is of a THINNER CONSISTANCY be careful that you are not pulling tape off where allthough the surface of new paint looks solid , any disturbance shall cause not dry paint to run over surfaces it should not be on .
Finally if you run into problems when pulling tape. . . STOP . . . . establish what is the problem !
If the problem is only where leading edge of tape is meeting new paint take a cutter knife along that edge of masking tape and cut by following edge of tape , this is not elephant hide but less than 1 m/m of paint , no gouging if you have been painting over a wood surface the cuttter knife may want to follow the grain of the wood , instead of the edge of the tape if the tip of the blade is inserted into the paint / wood ( next door s kitchen ) too deeply . Use cutter knife only where it is neccessary
If you run into :- tape refuses to come of cleanly / refuses to budge , wait until you are absolutly sure paint job is completely dry then , soak tape with water , you won't need a hose but the tape should definately be wet and you may also have to use cutter knife along the edge where new paint job meets edge of maskingtape

Answer 2

No, it'll be fine. Painter's tape is designed to be sticky enough to hold, but not sticky enough to damage anything (unless the paint is old and kind of flaky already, then it will pull off). If you're not sure, test it. Put a piece of tape on an inconspicuous place (like behind a china cabinet or something) and then pull it off after a little while. See if it did anything at all to the old paint. We never had any problems with it. If he insists that it's better to wait until morning, then let him put up the tape himself lol!

My boyfriend painted his living room at a different time than he painted his kitchen which is connected. He left that blue painters tape across the ceiling between the two for 3 months before he got to the kitchen, and when he pulled it down it hadn't affected anything, so I'm sure 12 hours won't do anything at all (unless, like I said, the paint is REALLY old and already peeling off, then the tape would help pull it off). His dad is a professional painter and didn't even mention taking it down because he knew it would be fine.

I also helped my exboyfriend paint his kitchen cabinets. We had the blue tape on there for at least 2 weeks before we finished and it didn't damage anything then either.

Good luck!

Answer 3

1

Answer 4

I prefer to avoid the risk and expense of using the blue tape by using extra care when pointing in the edges. I use a high quality 1 1/2 " wide angle-cut brush (10 - 15$). Apply a line of paint about an 1/8th of an inch from the line, then flow the paint right up to the edge on the second stroke. Put on enough paint on that first application to feed the brush for the second stroke. It saves a lot of money at 6-8$ per roll and you don't have to worry about the old paint or drywall tape getting damaged.

Answer 5

Yup, what the other posts are saying... If you are taping, use masking tape. I do not like the old original tan kind, the blue is fairly good and will remove much more easily. I have been wanting to try the new green kind (frog tape), as most of my masking has not molded well enough to the texture and I end up with an uneven line - the green claims to be better at this. Best of all in my experience is a good angled brush, a fairly steady hand, and a good dose of patience. With a little practice, you can leave a very nice line.

Answer 6

if you buy the blue tape, you can leave it on for 2 weeks. the other masking tape( off yellow or cream color) 24 hours.
I painted my wood trim in my house and I left the blue tape on my wall for 2 months (60 days) it came right off with no problem. Only if it is hot I would recommend doing it tomorrow, but if it is inside and you have the air on. You will have no problem.
Tell your husband to stop trying to get out of it tonight.lol just teasing. Really, if you go to Home depot or Lowe's on the package it says 2 weeks residue free. Get you hubby a Red Bull it will give him a lot of energy, he might even have it painted for you by morning.

Answer 7

I've used the expensive blue tape and had bad results. I stuck it on walls and ceilings that had been primed a week earlier and when I pulled it off two days later it took paint and sheetrock paper with it in spots. Other times I've had good luck with it. I think that it all depends on the condition of the surface you are sticking it to. If you have patience you can use the 3M white tape. It's a pain to work with, but it doesn't ever peel anything off.

Answer 8

The blue tape is designed to not stick as tightly as regular masking tape. If you get the correct kind it should have a reference to this feature on the label.

Unless the old trim is really fragile, there should not be a problem. Do remember to remove the tape as soon as you have finished painting. If you leave it until the paint is dry, it might not leave a nice clean line.

Answer 9

3M tape is pretty good quality, it shouldn't peel off the paint (of course this can be affected by extreme heat or cool). You tend to have more trouble when you leave it up for a long time after painting. Leaving it up long after the paint dries makes a little bridge between the wall and the paint...the moisture of the paint makes the tape stick even more....if you can, pull off the tape just after your final coat is touch dry!

Answer 10

Use 3M's Blue tape with the orange core. I am a decorative painter and this is by far the best tape to use. It costs a bit more than regular blue painters tape, but it is well worth the expense. A 1 inch roll will run you about $9.00-$10.00 dollars.