I haven't used masking tape much historically, but now I have found Frogtape, which is really quite a revelation. I've learnt some lessons from it though, and made some mistakes.
Here's the pros and cons (and how to avoid them) of using it:
This is when I used it on the hallway - on the floorboards and the walls.
It's really important to smooth it down really well at the edge otherwise it's still possible for some paint to get underneath. It's a bit tricky though if you have a random bump or lump in the walls, but do the best you can.
The difficulty I found is that when I was trying to put it on, if I went slightly off course, the instinct is to pull it off quickly. Why do we have this instinct?! You want to pull it off before it sticks? No idea, but it's completely unfounded, yet somehow I can't stop myself doing this! It's this quick ripping action which does no favours for the tape, and on some sensitive surfaces, can pull off the paint from the surface beneath. This was my problem.
It's easy to tear however, and once you have smoothed it down, very easy to paint over.
To pull it off, do it whilst the paint is still wet, and do it slowly. Pull the tape almost back on itself for best results to prevent it pulling off the paint underneath. It's the 90 degree pull off that's not good:
But some fine sandpaper, and a little touch up, and all is forgotten:
You'll notice I mostly used the yellow tape - this is for delicate surfaces. As I was running out of yellow tape I started using the green tape on the floor and it was absolutely fine.
Both the yellow and green tapes are for emulsion paint and water based paint (which my Johnstones Acrylic Eggshell Paint was), but there is also an orange tape for oil based paints too.
Frogtape has definitely changed my life - my DIY life anyway!
What products have you used that have changed your DIY adventures for the better?
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