You cannot do a professional looking paint job on your house unless you have painters tape on hand to stop you from making those little mistakes. This tape will stop you from getting paint on surfaces where you do not want the paint to be. It can also help you make straight lines and paint designs.
In our quest to find the best painters tape we asked professional painters and average homeowners, to try the products and tell us which ones worked best, and which ones were simply not worth the time and effort it took to apply them. The following list is the painter’s tape that our experts and novices agreed upon.
Painter’s Tape & Masking Tape – Comparison Guide
| IMAGE | PRODUCT | DETAILS | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Best Overall
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Best Overall
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ScotchBlue 2090-48A-CP |
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Check Price |
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Best for Crisp Lines
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Best for Crisp Lines
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Scotch 3M Masking Tape |
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Check Price |
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ScotchBlue 2090EL-36E Tape |
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Check Price | |
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XFasten Professional Blue Painters Tape |
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Check Price | |
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FrogTape 1358463 Multi-Surface |
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Check Price |
Top 5 Best Rated Painters Tape Reviews
1. ScotchBlue Painter’s Tape – 6 Pack
The ScotchBluepainter’ss tape can be used to tape glass like on your window panes, metal, lightly textured walls, or your smooth trim boards, window casings, and baseboards.
This is the number one selling painters tape in the United States. Professional painters and homeowners have been using this blue painters tape for the last twenty-five years.
It was the first blue painter’s tape introduced and it has proven itself repeatedly throughout that period of time.
It has a medium adhesion level so it comes off of the surface you apply it to without causing any damage to that surface. You can also apply this tape and leave it in place for fourteen days, that is two full weeks, and you will still be able to remove it without causing any damage to the surface it was applied to.
It does not matter if you are going to apply your paint using a brush, a roller, or a spray paint gun, you are going to need to protect some areas from paint transfer or mishaps. This tape is a perfect choice.
2. Best for Textured Walls: Scotch 3M Masking Tape
The Scotch 3M 2020-1A-CP-24A-CP masking tape is a sturdy tape that will keep paint from getting onto surfaces where you do not want the paint to go. However, you do not want to use this masking tape to tape lightly textured sheetrock or plaster walls, or painted surfaces because it can pull some of the paint and texture away from these surfaces when it is removed.
You want to use this heavy duty masking tape to tape vinyl, carpet, and unpainted wooden surfaces. This is a strong tape that will hold together and stop paint from bleeding through and onto the surface beneath it.
This masking tape is designed to be applied and removed on the same day. Do not allow the tape to stay on the surface area for more than twenty-four hours because it becomes harder to remove.
This masking tape can be used on both interior and exterior surface. You can use it when you are painting with water-based paint or a solvent based paint. It will provide good protection and help you make crisp and clean lines.
3. Best for Textured Walls: ScotchBlue Painter’s Tape
When you need to create super sharp paint lines ScotchBlue 2090EL-36E is the painter’s tape to choose. You can apply this painters tape to baseboards, window trim, over hinges on cabinets, to glass surfaces, to metal surfaces, and just about anywhere you want to protect from the possibility of paint contact.
You do not have to be in a hurry or worry that the tape will not be removable because you can leave this tape in place for a period of up to sixty days and it will still pull away from the surface without damaging what you were protecting.
This is a UV resistant tape so the sunlight streaming through the window will not affect the performance or protection you will get from it. It is perfect for use on window trim where you need precision control.
It has proprietary edge lock protection technology designed into it so it stops bleeds and unintentional paint contact. The roll of tape has 60 yards on it so one roll goes a long way, and the best part is you can buy this tape in different widths so whatever you are painting will be completely protected.
4. XFasten Professional Blue Painters Tape
When you have to paint and you want a professional looking job, and you do not want the paint to get on some surfaces, then XFasten professional blue painters tape is the product for you. It creates sharp lines and narrow edges and is suitable for use on interior painting and on automotive painting and detailing.
You can leave the XFasten painters tape in place for two months or sixty days and it will still be easy to remove without causing any damage to the surface it was protecting. You can put it on delicate surfaces like textured walls, wood trim, porcelain, metal, glass and more. When you remove the tape there will be no sticky residue left behind.
It resists the effects of humidity, UV rays, and moisture so it can be used in any climate and during any time of the year.
The XFasten painters tape pulls easily off of the roll and it does not have a tendency to curl and become difficult to apply. It is easy to manipulate so you spend less time taping the room and finish your job faster
5. Best for Clean Lines: FrogTape Multi-Surface Painting Tape
This painters tape is a vibrant green instead of the traditional blue, but the patented PaintBlock technology used in the creation of this tape will stop paint bleeds, paint seepage, and help you create sharp paint lines.
If you are using FrogTape on an interior surface you can leave it in place for twenty-one days and it will still release cleanly leaving no residue or sticky film behind. If the tape is going to be in the direct sunlight you should not leave it on the surface longer than seven days.
It can be used on cured paint walls, wood surfaces like baseboards, cabinetry, and window trim, as well as on glass and metal surfaces. The PaintBlock technology designed into this tape is activated as soon as latex paint touches it. Once activated the tape will create a barrier and seal the edges so that the paint cannot cross the barrier.
You get a professional result and crisp lines when you use FrogTape to protect the surfaces you do not want to get paint on.
FAQ About Painters Tape
How long to leave painters to tape on after painting?
Painters tape is designed to cover any areas in your home or on your automobile that you do not want paint to get on. It generally comes in rolls that are 60 foot in length, and each brand of painters tape has a different recommendation for how long the product can stay in place before it becomes problematic.
The original painter’s tape is capable of staying in place for about fourteen days before it starts to either turn loose on its own or get stuck to the point that you have a difficult time removing it. There are some brands of painters tape that can be left in place for as much as two months or sixty days, and there are brands that can only be left in place for one or two days.
If you decide to buy masking tape to tape your house you will have to paint quickly because masking tape can only be left in place for about twenty-four hours. This tape has a sticker residue and it can damage delicate surfaces like drywall or decorative trim.
Another consideration for how long painters tape can be left before it is removed is the amount of humidity in that air and the amount of sunlight that the tape is exposed to. The UV light can deteriorate the tape and cause it to not function properly, and it can make the tape stick to the surface vehemently so that the tape is hard to remove.
When to remove masking tape after painting car?
When you are painting a car you have to use masking tape to cover things like the trim around the windows, the tail light covers, and the door handles. Once the car has been painted you want to remove the tape, but you need to wait and make sure the paint is almost completely dry before you do this.
You do not want to inadvertently touch the newly painted surface and leave a fingerprint or smudge in the new paint job. You do however want to remove the masking tape before a twenty-four hour period elapses. Masking tape can develop a stronghold after twenty-four hours and this makes it harder to remove, and once it is removed it may leave a heavy, sticky residue behind.
So you should take the tape off as soon as the paint has cured enough that you can touch it without making a smudge or transferring paint onto your hands. Scroll more to know different between masking tape and painters tape.
When to remove frog tape after painting?
Frog tape is one of the best painter’s tapes on the market. It has a component developed into it that activates when it is exposed to latex paint so it forms a tight seal that the paint cannot penetrate.
If you are painting indoors and the tape is not exposed to a lot of sunlight you can leave it in place for twenty-one days with no problems. If the tape is exposed to a lot of sunlight you will want to leave it for no longer than seven days. FrogTape is easily removed and will not leave a sticky residue behind.
How to tape a room before painting?
In order to get a professional looking finish, you need painter’s tape to protect some areas of your room.
- If the ceiling of the room is going to be a different color than the walls you want to go around the top of the wall and the edge of the ceiling with tape so the two colors do not bleed together.
- You want to tape over any baseboards that are in the room
- You want to tape around your windows so the trim is not painted while you are painting and cover the window glass
- Tape over any door handles, hinges, or exposed hardware
How to apply painters tape to the ceiling?
You will need to get a step ladder so that you can easily reach the ceiling.
- Start taping in one corner
- Pull enough tape off of the roll so that you can tape the area that you can easily reach from your ladder
- Place the tape on the ceiling and extend it to the end
- Press a putty knife or something with a flat edge against the tape and lightly pull it across the tape so it presses the tape firmly against the ceiling
- Move your ladder and when you start to apply the next strip of tape overlap the previous piece by at least ¾ of an inch
- Continue around the room
Final Word
When you are painting, the painter’s tape is your best friend. This type of tape is not as sticky as other tape varieties, and it is made from a material that resists leaking when it gets wet with paint. You place it on any surface you do not want the paint to touch.
You can use painters tape and create designs, patterns, and images on the wall that you are painting. The area under the tape will stay one color while the area between the paint strips can be painted another color.
This material is the only way that you can paint the interior of your home, or the exterior of your car, and get a professional looking final product.
