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Community Center » Do It Yourself » Paint those walls

Paint those walls

Nebraska Dave

Posted: Tuesday, February 3, 2009 4:02 PM

Joined: 1/31/2009
Posts: 15

I have to be the world's greatest living procrastinator. How many times do have to learn the lesson of not leaving tape on the wood work too long. The tape will adhere itself to the surface and pull off paint. In addition to this there is the factor of paint from the wall to the tape being an unbroken surface. The lesson here to be learned would be to remove the tape just a few hours later after painting or don’t use tape at all. But do I learn that lesson? Noooooo!! I have to say that tape on the trim for nine months makes for extremely difficult removal.

There is a skill called cutting out that can be mastered with enough practice. I have tried all the gadgets and gismos the home improvement stores have to offer but a steady hand, careful eye, and a handy damp rag to remove unwanted paint are hard to beat.

I started one of these paint jobs in an upstairs bathroom back in April right after retirement. However the warm weather soon drew my interest to other things outside. The summer came and went. The holidays were celebrated, but the tape remained in tack. Now with nine months of drying and bonding to the trim surfaces, the tape has become welded to the wood and requires a great deal of effort to remove. If I cut a slice down the crease where the wood trim and the wall meet and carefully pick at the tape on the wood side, the tape comes off in chunks of a couple inches at a time. It’s a real tedious job to say the least. It looks like someone before me has painted the trim over stain and varnish. Since the paint didn’t have a good surface to adhere to, the paint has come off with the tape. Ya think I would learn how to do this as many times as I've done it.

RCronnie

Posted: Saturday, July 10, 2010 8:35 PM

Joined: 7/10/2010
Posts: 1

We have all pulled that little stunt of leaving the masking tape in place to long. It is no fun to remove I must admit. Today, those of us that only paint when forced to by our wives or daughters, have learned a lot of hard lessons. But the new masking tapes that are available today have helped me do a much better painting job than in the past.

Today's masking tapes will peal off a surface without any damage to the walls, unless of course you leave them for months on end. The new tapes also provide a much better edge. The paint does not bleed under the edge and create a jagged line when the tape is removed. Some tapes today are specially designed for rough surfaces. With just a little pressure with your finger, the edge will provide a tight seal and keep the paint edge nice and clean. I have never learned the cut-in technique so I must rely on the tape to give me that clean edge, especially where the walls meets the ceiling.

I have finally wised up, and now I take the time to purchase the right painting tape, then spend the saved time under the shade tree with my favorite beverage. Some of the new tapes can be left in place for up to ninety days if you ever needed to, or decided to procrastinate. I keep watching the trade magazines for a painting machine that will paint the walls for me while I rest in my recliner. I hope I find it soon, the wife is scrubbing walls with TSP. That surely is not a good sign. If you would like to investigate some of the new masking tapes available for painting, check out the 3M website. I have provided a link for you. Just follow the section labeled, Painting Tips & Techniques.

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Scotch-BlueBrand/Scotch-Blue/?WT.mc_id=www.scotch-blue.com

Best of luck with your next painting project

Ronald Dean Rellinger

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