When to Use Painter’s Tape—Do You Want Painter’s Tape?

I repaint the partitions in my condo so continuously that individuals typically make the error of pondering I like to color. Let me make clear: I don’t like to color. I discover it to be among the many extra tedious house enchancment duties as a result of it requires tons of prep, particular instruments, and for the furnishings to be in a state of disarray till it is executed. What I really like is well altering up the vibe in my house, and portray, whereas annoying, continues to be one of many best (and cost-efficient!) methods to try this.

Everybody has their portray preferences, although, and many individuals will swear up and down that it’s essential to tape off each final little bit of your private home whereas others say that tape is a whole waste of time.

So, which one is it? The reply: it relies upon.

Taping all the pieces up earlier than you paint requires rather a lot of labor on the front-end of a mission, however many would argue that it’s price it to get the precise end result you need. The opposite fundamental technique for attaining a crisp line is “reducing in,” which makes use of an angled brush loaded with paint to fastidiously carve out a straight edge. That is the go-to for skilled painters, as a result of when you get it down, the method is way faster than utilizing tape.

Personally, I’ve discovered that tape doesn’t at all times work the way in which I need. I’ve been burned too many occasions the place the darker colour bleeds by means of onto the unique white partitions, so I often use a hybrid of tape and reducing in.

Execs of Tape

• You will get an excellent straight line for those who’re portray a mural or half a wall.
• Surfaces you don’t wish to get paint on are principally protected.
• The oddly-satisfying expertise of peeling the tape off to disclose a clear line.

Cons of Tape

• Taping all the pieces off at first takes an extended time and must be precise.
• For those who use a less-than tape model, it’s seemingly your paint will bleed by means of.
• Even for those who’re utilizing the very best painter’s tape on this planet, there’ll seemingly be a couple of blemishes.

Execs of Slicing In

• No actual prep concerned—simply load up the comb with paint and go.
• You will get into all of the random nooks and crannies {that a} paint curler can’t.
• It’s meditative when you get the hold of it.

Cons of Slicing In

• Requires a little bit of follow and endurance.
• To start with, you would possibly discover that your hand isn’t regular sufficient for an excellent clear line, however follow will assist.

The right way to Tape Earlier than Portray

There are some locations in your house the place you’ll wish to use tape, particularly for those who’re a newbie. I personally at all times tape corners the place two partitions meet if I’m solely portray a kind of partitions, over cupboards and home equipment that butt up towards the wall, and generally on door trim when there’s a very small nook between the trim and wall.

I extremely advocate investing in Frog Tape, which is a private and trade favourite over each different model—it’s well-known for the way crisp you will get traces. However even Frog Tape might use slightly insurance coverage (as a result of partitions are bumpy and paint tends to bleed) which is the place your unique colour turns out to be useful. When you’ve taped all the pieces off, paint a line of the unique paint colour over the tape. This acts as a seal between the brand new paint colour and previous, so something that will bleed below the tape is definitely simply the unique colour. Oh, and at all times peel tape off at a 90-degree angle whereas paint continues to be moist.

The right way to Minimize In

For ceilings, most trims, and round retailers, I reduce in with a paint brush. There’s definitely nothing flawed with utilizing tape round these areas, so for those who’re not assured in your reducing in skills, by all means, take the additional time to tape.

Slicing in is a straightforward course of, however requires follow to actually nail it, in addition to a high-quality angled paint brush that’s comfy to carry. The excellent news is that nice paint brushes don’t have to interrupt the financial institution—my favourite brush is that this little Wooster one that’s grippy and suits completely in my hand. I additionally love utilizing a paint cup with a deal with for loading and off-loading paint; this one comes with a super-handy magnet to carry your brush in place when not in use.

I’d advocate watching a couple of YouTube movies on the way to reduce in, like this one or this one, and working towards in an space you’re both going to repaint or don’t thoughts messing up. The fundamental thought is that this: load your paint brush up with paint, offload the surplus, after which press the angled brush as you go to form of push the paint right into a straight line, towards trim, or right into a nook. Begin a couple of inches away from the sting and slowly work your manner nearer for a crisp line, reloading the comb continuously to maintain the paint rolling easily. Some painters may even moist the comb with water first to guard the bristles and skinny paint a bit for a smoother brushstroke.

A Couple Extra Choices

There’s a hack for all the pieces, together with portray, so it ought to come as no shock that there are instruments to color straight traces or round trim with out having to tape or reduce in. I haven’t tried these strategies myself, however they give the impression of being fairly darn cool. For partitions round home equipment or trim, this paint information acts as a barrier with the added bonus of unveiling a straight line while you’re executed, although I think about that is finest for small areas.

For window trim, there’s a really cool product referred to as Masks & Peel that you simply apply over the trim and window the place they overlap, let it dry, then paint over it with no effort to make straight traces. Then, as soon as the paint is dry, use a razor to attain the place the window and trim meet, and peel the product off to disclose completely clear traces.