I bought the good painters 3M masking tape (not the more expensive blue
stuff but the expensive low-tack tan colored stuff). I did a nice straight
mask line down the vertical corners on the left and right. The problem?
After the 2nd coat (about 3 hours after the first), I immediately started
pulling up the masking tape. It did NOT pull up the old white paint
underneath. BUT it did pull up the edge of the left side new paint where
the paint had gone on top of the masking tape. I had a terrible mess down
the whole side ripping up all the new paint. Strangely, the right side
pulled up without that problem.
Why? Did I pull it up too early? What should I do.
Go to a hardware store and buy one of those paint edger pads with
rollers on one side. It costs about 5 bucks. The rollers automatically
space the pad from the adjacent wall and follow its contour, giving
you a perfect edge.
Don
I've tried those but wasn't too happy with the results. So I used a brush
instead. Maybe there's some high quality one I haven't used but most of
the "cool" edging products seem to be junk and made of junky plastic.
Really!? I'm surprised.
I think they're great and I use them all the time and always get perfect
edges at the ceiling and around the trim. If you happen to make a
mistake, you quickly wipe it off and redo it.
The kind I use are plastic (from Ace Hardware, I think) and have
a pad with short fibers about 1/8 inch long. You dip it in a
regular roller tray, being careful not to get paint on the wheels.
Try it again sometime.
Don
Too late for your current problem- you will have to cut in a fresh edge. But
I was always taught to use a fresh blade in a utility knife, or even a
single-edge razor, and ever-so-lightly score the fresh paint on the wet edge
of the tape. That breaks the bond between the paint and the tape, and almost
eliminates tearoff. But having said that, don't obsess over it- even pro
jobs aren't perfect up close, and five feet back, you can't see the tiny
variations.
aem sends....
"ameijers" <aeme...@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:PUFV8.81207$UT.55...@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
Painters tape comes up more easily than masking tape, so I prefer
that, but sometimes run out. The only problem with painters tape
is that I can only find it in blue or green and it casts a shadow
at the top of the wall, so it's hard to see if another coat is
needed at the top or not.
Personally, I like to remove the masking tape while the paint is still
wet or at least not fully dried, whenever possible. I also use the
blue painters masking tape, which comes off very easy. I think it's
easiest to use the best tape for the job, it will save you time and
effort in the long run, and money if you have to do anything over due
to cheaper tape that doesn't work as well.
> I bought the good painters 3M masking tape (not the more expensive blue
> stuff but the expensive low-tack tan colored stuff). . . .
> BUT it did pull up the edge of the left side new paint where
> the paint had gone on top of the masking tape. I had a terrible mess
down
> the whole side ripping up all the new paint. Strangely, the right side
> pulled up without that problem.
In Canada only the green 3M tape (it seems)
is used by professional painters. Its adhesive
is supposed not to adhere (too strongly) with
latex paint materials.
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs (Ottawa, Canada)
dphil...@trytel.com.com.com.less2