tape is NOT for making straight paint lines!!!

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grrrrr

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Sunday, 27 November 2005 21:45 (twenty years ago)

trust your hands, people

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Sunday, 27 November 2005 21:45 (twenty years ago)

this probably should have gone in the "rommates" category

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Sunday, 27 November 2005 21:45 (twenty years ago)

t/s: tape vs. rulers

― GARGLEBY (dr g), Sunday, 27 November 2005 21:50 (twenty years ago)

Tape is the only thing that saves me from slathering paint all over floors and windows. I'm a terrible painter. Bad small-motor skills (you should see my handwriting). I blame nature.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Sunday, 27 November 2005 21:53 (twenty years ago)

are we talking about art or house painting?

― GARGLEBY (dr g), Sunday, 27 November 2005 21:55 (twenty years ago)

I was thinking house, but I guess it could apply either way.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Sunday, 27 November 2005 22:01 (twenty years ago)

I use tape (house painting). I know it's bush-league, but I have an extremely unsteady hand, and tape enables me to work faster.

― Beth Parker (Beth Parker), Sunday, 27 November 2005 22:02 (twenty years ago)

It's not bush league, it's nice and neat. Trouble is, if you have an unsteady hand while applying the tape, you're buggered no matter what.

― Paunchy Stratego (kenan), Sunday, 27 November 2005 22:03 (twenty years ago)

Professionals use tape. It's MUCH faster.

― giboyeux (skowly), Sunday, 27 November 2005 22:03 (twenty years ago)

Trouble is, if you have an unsteady hand while applying the tape, you're buggered no matter what.
You can hire a professional taper. Check your yellow pages.

― Beth Parker (Beth Parker), Sunday, 27 November 2005 22:15 (twenty years ago)

Home taping is killing the painting industry!

― I do feel guilty for getting any perverse amusement out of it (Rock Hardy), Sunday, 27 November 2005 22:19 (twenty years ago)

!!!!

― Beth Parker (Beth Parker), Sunday, 27 November 2005 22:31 (twenty years ago)

I only know one painter who doesn't use tape, and he's slow as molasses (that could just be that he's a weed-addled hippie, but you never know).

― Erick Dampier is better than Shaq (miloaukerman), Sunday, 27 November 2005 22:45 (twenty years ago)

http://www.publispain.com/posters/bodies_rest_and_motion.jpg

― athol fugard (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 27 November 2005 22:47 (twenty years ago)

Okay, this is the deal. if you are painting a wall in your house that is adjacent to a wall that is a very different color, just putting masking tape down the side of the other wall, snug into the corner, will NOT cut it!! because most corners of rooms are not perfectly straight, and because masking tape doesn't make a complete seal against the wall, if you just slop the paint over the tape willy-nilly, hoping to peel off the tape afterwards like a magician, revealing a clean line from top to bottom, you will be SORELY disappointed!! i thought everyone knew this??

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Sunday, 27 November 2005 23:13 (twenty years ago)

to make a clean line: load up your brush with paint, and wipe bristles against top of can to remove excess paint, but make sure not to wipe the very tips of the bristles, because you want that to be really laden with it. slowly and steadily drag the brush down the corner, watching the very tip of your brush create a smooth, clean line. mmmm!!!

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Sunday, 27 November 2005 23:16 (twenty years ago)

Well yeah, you still have to be careful even with the tape. The tape helps, is all. You can't expect it to do all the work.

xpost:
I can't make a clean line even with that routine. Clean lines are not in my DNA. Mechanical drawing (a required course in middle school) was my lowest grade ever.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Sunday, 27 November 2005 23:18 (twenty years ago)

i actually think anyone can do it, gypsy. this is one of the major tenets of my life i suddenly realize.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Sunday, 27 November 2005 23:19 (twenty years ago)

For cutting in ceilings and walls like that, I use a thin piece of cardboard or a spray board (used to block the ceiling and such when using a spray rig) angled into the corner to give a sharp edge.

― Erick Dampier is better than Shaq (miloaukerman), Sunday, 27 November 2005 23:23 (twenty years ago)

But I'm really a firm believer in just painting all the walls the same damn color.

― Erick Dampier is better than Shaq (miloaukerman), Sunday, 27 November 2005 23:24 (twenty years ago)

if you're an amateur you can use tape if you prefer it! however:

Professionals use tape. It's MUCH faster.

is OffTM. Professionals never use tape and the reason they don't is because it's much slower.

― jed_ (jed), Sunday, 27 November 2005 23:27 (twenty years ago)

yeah why are your walls different colors? when i went home for thanksgiving my mom was so anxious to show me how she'd redone my brother's bedroom after he went to college. she was like, "ok, do you notice something special about this wall?" i didn't notice anything. "it's an ACCENT WALL!!!!! see, it's a little bit darker than all the other walls!" people are insane! i think she's been watching too much extreme makeover: home edition.

― caitlin oh no (caitxa1), Sunday, 27 November 2005 23:28 (twenty years ago)

accents wall's shouldnt be a "little bit darker".

― jed_ (jed), Sunday, 27 November 2005 23:31 (twenty years ago)

maybe a little bit lighter? i don't even remember, it was so stupid. are they supposed to be way darker, or a different color altogether?

― caitlin oh no (caitxa1), Sunday, 27 November 2005 23:34 (twenty years ago)

the only non-white paint color i like for interior walls is lemon yellow.

― athol fugard (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 27 November 2005 23:35 (twenty years ago)

is OffTM. Professionals never use tape and the reason they don't is because it's much slower.
Uh, er... not really. Depends on the professional.

One of the painting contractors I deal with regularly would do anything to avoid picking up a brush. He and his crew take days taping off an entire house, putting paper down - and then they spray the whole thing in one or two passes. The only time they do any brush work is for final touch-up.

Putting down tape can be faster, if it means you don't have too slooooooooowly go down each corner and edge for cutin, or having to go back and touch lines up that aren't perfect.

― Erick Dampier is better than Shaq (miloaukerman), Sunday, 27 November 2005 23:35 (twenty years ago)

this thread needs some alan canseco

― GARGLEBY (dr g), Sunday, 27 November 2005 23:42 (twenty years ago)

but actually, as tracer said, the masking tape never gives you a completely tight seal - i've never seeen a prefessional painter use masking tape, except on floors if they are painting the skirting.

of course they are going to mask it off if they are using a spray gun but that's an exception.

caitlin i think an accent wall should be a complete contrast not a slight variation.

― jed_ (jed), Sunday, 27 November 2005 23:43 (twenty years ago)

They commonly use them on glass, as when painting window sills, too.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, 27 November 2005 23:44 (twenty years ago)

also Jim Lambie to thread: ihttp://www.tate.org.uk/magazine/issue4/images/touch_zobop_large.jpg

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, 27 November 2005 23:46 (twenty years ago)

And on the edges of trim, and numerous other places. 'Accent walls' and painting decorative lines on the walls are generally the domain of crappy TV shows.

If professionals don't use tape, then Kelly-Moore and Sherwin Williams are confused given the huge displays of the many varieties availabe in every store.

― Erick Dampier is better than Shaq (miloaukerman), Sunday, 27 November 2005 23:46 (twenty years ago)

The DIY blue GT stripes we put on the bonnet of my mate's shitty white Holden Camira look great, and are straight. We used tape. Just don't be a retard.

― Sasha (sgh), Monday, 28 November 2005 00:01 (twenty years ago)

professionals don't use masking tape on glass because the residue the tape leaves is much harder to get off glass than paint is.

― jed_ (jed), Monday, 28 November 2005 00:02 (twenty years ago)

i actually think anyone can do it, gypsy. this is one of the major tenets of my life i suddenly realize.

I think you're right, with sufficient care and practice. But some people are going to need more care and practice than others -- I think if I painted 100 rooms in a row, I could probably get the hang of clean lines. (If I didn't kill myself first; I really hate painting.) But since I paint on average one room every three or four years, I don't have the skillz. So tape it is.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Monday, 28 November 2005 00:20 (twenty years ago)

if masking tape doesn't actually work, then why does it exist? quit using shit tape i say.

― Kim (Kim), Monday, 28 November 2005 00:26 (twenty years ago)

professionals don't use masking tape on glass because the residue the tape leaves is much harder to get off glass than paint is.
Painter's tape. Low-residue, comes in either green or blue, lasts for 3, 7, 14 or 60 days depending on the type.

I enjoy painting. Latex paint smells good, and it's nice and peaceful.

― Erick Dampier is better than Shaq (miloaukerman), Monday, 28 November 2005 00:46 (twenty years ago)

yo heart http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/353110/2/Blue_tape.jpg

― GARGLEBY (dr g), Monday, 28 November 2005 00:47 (twenty years ago)

Straight lines aren't necessary...
There are much better uses for tape.

― Tape Store (Tape Store), Monday, 28 November 2005 01:47 (twenty years ago)

OK, but if you're a conformist and planning to paint edges, corners, door trim and window sills get an angled brush. Used to be called a sash brush. You'll find them right next to the reglar ones. They have a longer, narrower handle and are meant to be gripped like a pencil. They can vary in width from 1/2" to 3". Right tool for the job.

― jim wentworth (wench), Monday, 28 November 2005 01:50 (twenty years ago)

wtf is this all about? what's it to you if people use tape when they're painting their house? is tape precious? is there some tape-related nastiness in your past?

hm. i use tape whenever i'm painting walls because i am a bit cavalier about it and would get it everywhere otherwise. also if i'm painting a wall then chances are it's bright blue, and chances are the ceiling and carpet aren't.

besides you have to use masking tape up fast or it all just gums together and becomes totally unusable.

― emsk ( emsk), Monday, 28 November 2005 02:09 (twenty years ago)

Tracer, I think you have intimacy issues. Perhaps you should have a pow wow with your roommate.

― GARGLEBY (dr g), Monday, 28 November 2005 02:11 (twenty years ago)

http://www.hardwarestore.com/media/product/262519_front500.jpg

― bingo (Chris V), Monday, 28 November 2005 16:28 (twenty years ago)

NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER TAPE!! Get a good-quality angled brush and load up on paint, proceeding exactly as Tracer has suggested. Also necessary when painting the wall at the ceiling edge, in the absence of crown molding. Esp in old houses, edges are NEVER straight and tape will only over-simplify.

Bingo, have you gotten any actual USE out of those paint shields? I find they're a huge pain to handle and I can never keep the egde CLEAN between strokes. Even if I tuck a rag in my pocket and swipe the edge off each time, it gets smeary.

― Laurel (Laurel), Monday, 28 November 2005 16:35 (twenty years ago)

Brush quality is key here, people. Can't emphasize enough -- when in doubt, buy a new one instead of "economizing" with that ratty, emaciated thing from the deep recesses of the under-kitchen sink cabinet.

― Laurel (Laurel), Monday, 28 November 2005 16:38 (twenty years ago)

I bought some special little moon shaped pieces of tape to use on my nails when doing a French manicure. They don't work.

― Mädchen (Madchen), Monday, 28 November 2005 16:42 (twenty years ago)

This thread totally needs some Alan C. science.

― Dan (Post-Haste) Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 28 November 2005 16:46 (twenty years ago)

Also, what is painter's tape for if not for making straight lines???

― Dan (Montage?) Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 28 November 2005 16:49 (twenty years ago)

i just painted my whole house using paint shields. came out good. except on textured walls...

― bingo (Chris V), Monday, 28 November 2005 16:49 (twenty years ago)

i just painted my whole house using paint shields. came out good. except on textured walls...

Also, what is painter's tape for if not for making straight lines???

Its for taping your wifes mouth shut when she complains about getting paint on the ceiling.

― bingo (Chris V), Monday, 28 November 2005 16:50 (twenty years ago)

http://www.simply-natural.biz/media/natra-care-panty-shields-curved_big.jpg

― Dan (Multifunctional!) Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 28 November 2005 16:52 (twenty years ago)

Dan, it's great for making straight lines, but the dividing line between two walls or a wall + ceiling (or even wall + window frame etc etc) is never REALLY straight! It's like that theory about half-life decay in which you can only ever travel HALF of the remaining distance to your destination -- you'd never actually arrive blah blah blah. After a few previous paint jobs and/or decades of life, especially, there's never any TRUE delineation between wall and wall (or wall and ceiling &c), there's just a sort of gentle curve in which paint will gather. Tape or a shield forces an exact kind of thing where there really isn't one.

Also, when painting top edge of walls if you must err a bit, err on the wall side rather than the ceiling side. It will be less apparent if there's an extra 2mm of ceiling color on the wall than it will if there's an extra 2mm of wall color on the ceiling!

― Laurel (Laurel), Monday, 28 November 2005 17:00 (twenty years ago)

Laurel speaks truth.

― jed_ (jed), Monday, 28 November 2005 18:19 (twenty years ago)

Okay, this entire thread premise is totally flawed.

― Dan (Having Your Cake And Eating It, Too) Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 28 November 2005 18:20 (twenty years ago)

i coulda sworn that as far as hiring a "professional tapeing" that this was the industry term not for putting down tape, but for applying plaster to finish off ceiling joints, etc.

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Monday, 28 November 2005 19:28 (twenty years ago)

Well, that too. Applying tape for painting purposes is actually referred to as "masking", I'm fairly sure.

― Laurel (Laurel), Monday, 28 November 2005 19:28 (twenty years ago)

'tape, bed and texture'

― Erick Dampier is better than Shaq (miloaukerman), Monday, 28 November 2005 19:33 (twenty years ago)

tape is for giving you a guide and so that stray bristles from brush don't swipe little scars of paint on wrong wall.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Monday, 28 November 2005 19:38 (twenty years ago)

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