Home Improvement DIY

It doesn’t matter if you are painting indoors or out, you’ll still have paint jobs that need masking.  If you are looking for a crisp and professional looking paint finish, masking is a must as it’ll prevent globs and streaks appearing in places they shouldn’t.

Tape

Masking Tape – The easiest and cheapest way to do this is by using ivory masking tape.  Before sticking the tape down, stick it onto some fabric to reduce its stickiness.  This will prevent the tape pulling up paint or varnish and making a mess.  But for sections where the plastic covering or tape will remain in place for more than a day, blue tape can be a big time saver.

Blue Tape – To be sure that there isn’t a problem with paint and varnish being pulled off by masking tape, blue tape is the best option.  It’s also known as safe release tape because it will come off cleanly.  After a day in the sun and air, ordinary crepe tape will split and ooze. That leaves glue and pieces of masking tape on the surface when it’s removed. That can make cleaning up a lot more difficult.  Blue tape doesn’t have that drawback.

Covering

Newspaper - Some DIYers may feel tempted to use newspaper instead of tape.  This can work well on smaller jobs but overall newspaper can have undesirable drawbacks.  Newspaper readily gets wet, whether from paint or water. That leads to too-easy tearing, making the covering useless.

Masking Paper – There is another option which still involves paper.  However it’s a specialized paper specifically designed for house paint masking jobs and is flexible and sturdy.  It sheds water and holds up well to paint drips.  The downside is the price and might not be reusable depending on how you treat it.

Plastic Sheeting – Plastic, especially tarps or covers that are made specifically for paint jobs, is often the best bet.  If you use cheap plastic, for instance bags for lining your trash can, you will find they’ll rip.  They just aren’t designed for the abuse you give it when moving ladders about etc.  Using plastic covers (which often come in large rolls) made for the job yield the best result. Frequently, it can be re-used.

For a good clean and professional jobs always make sure you have the best materials at hand.  Otherwise you’ll be disappointed.

Putting them to Use

Using plastic sheets and tape is not difficult.  All you need is time and care.  It isn’t fun, but the better you prepare, the better the final results.

Apply a strip or area of tape to any exposed outlets (after removing the covers) to keep paint from getting inside. The same goes for light switches. Not only does dried paint make it difficult or impossible to use the outlet or switch, it may cause electrical problems, such as providing insulation where it shouldn’t be.

Apply the tape in long strips to the plastic, leaving an inch or so of adhesive exposed. Then apply the mask to window sills, door frames and anywhere you think they should go. Have a good look to ensure that nothing is visible that isn’t supposed to get painted.

Now onto the easy part. Painting.

 

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