Tricks for taping before painting that make a huge difference

Dear painter, we can hear your frustration: taping takes forever and sometimes it doesn’t make you skip cleaning. Unless you do it right with some tips and tricks. Follow these rules to get a nice and clean result.

If you’re like most people planning a painting project, the way you use painter’s tape is probably the last thing on your mind. Actually, masking is the most important part of your paint job.

Here are a few tips to make a difference even before you start painting:

1. Choose the right painters tape for the right job
2. Tear your tape when you find difficult spots
3. Double check the baseboards
4. Seal the edges of your masking tapes

Choose the right painters tape for the right job

Masking and painting is just like cooking with top quality ingredients: good products make a great dinner, the right masking tape leads you to an impeccable result.

Here are a few examples with Q1® painter’s tapes range.

3560 Q1® Precision Line Masking Tape is a professional high-performance product and is engineered for HPLV and airless paint spray. It’s the best choice for precise high quality spray painting jobs. Works perfectly with masking film.

3415 Q1® Multi Purpose Indoor Masking Tape is a multi surface painters tape that sticks well to several and irregular surfaces, such as baseboards, trims, walls, wood, metal. This product is engineered for almost all indoor paint or renovation works and can assure an easy removal on any surface you are going to mask.
The best tape to match with masking paper.

For the preservation of indoor delicate surfaces, 3570 Q1® Delicate Surface Masking Tape is the right choice. This painters tape is the best when you need a lower adhesion level to help prevent surface damage and to get sharp lines. 7 days indoor clean removal guaranteed.

3590 Q1® Sensitive Surface Masking Tape is specifically designed for extremely delicate indoor surfaces, such as wallpapers, plaster and freshly painted walls.

Thanks to its smooth but effective adhesive and innovative tape construction, this product offers excellent paint anchorage and sharp break lines, without damaging the freshly painted or ultra-sensitive surface beneath.

You can read further advice on choosing the right painters tape here

Tear your tape when you find difficult spots

Applying the tape the usual way can be challenging with smaller items (like light switches), narrow curves or crooked spots.

Small pieces of tape work best around uneven decorative moulding and curved edges.

Ok, this may sound like a really long and boring job, but think about it: your only alternative is to do an uneven job and retouch with a tiny brush all the mistakes you made for being lazy. What about now?

Double check the baseboards

Here’s a common mistake that you must avoid: make sure that the painter’s tape is covering the top of the baseboards, but not covering the wall.

We hate that tiny white stripe that ruins the overall result, don’t you? You better learn this trick and make it a routine, if you want to save time for later and skip the final touches.

Seal the edges of your masking tapes

Run your fingers or a putty knife back and forth over the edge of the tape. This trick will make you obtain sharper paint lines and avoid paint bleeding under the tape.

When you’ll have to unmask everything, don’t be afraid: a good quality masking tape sticks well, but at the same time it grants an easy removal. This will allow you to remove painter’s tape without peeling paint underneath.

Turn a plain paint job into an amazing one.

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