Ahh, the lowly roll of masking tape. It has such infinite uses, yet this simple tool is used incorrectly by so many. It’s simplicity is deceptive however, for this misunderstood roll of paper and glue can unlock the secret power of paint.
Today we will talk about the care and feeding of your masking tape, why not all masking tape is created equally and techniques for getting quality results when using masking tape. We here at OCmodshop are not responsible for any paper cuts you incur from following any of the instructions written here. You take full responsibility for your actions, missteps, injuries, and dead kittens when applying any information contained here. Always wear eye and breathing protection when spraying paint!
The Good, The Bad…
You are in your favorite hardware store. You stop by the masking tape isle and low there is the 99 cent masking tape. You have purchased it so many times. It has become an old friend. Yet you feel something is missing. This old friend has cheated and lied to you. Cheap tape is good for sticking paper together and not much else. A good roll of masking tape is going to cost $4-10 depending on width of roll. Cheap tape is made of very thin paper that has little flexibility.
The adhesive is sprayed on the paper very thin and is grainy. This causes poor adhesion at its edges and will allow paint to bleed under, ruining your work. The cheap, grainy adhesive used on poor quality masking tape may also cause paint lifting. Cheap tape can also leave behind some of its adhesive in the form of residue, this is by far the worst thing.
Good tape uses paper that is made of more than just wood pulp. There are synthetic additives that give the tape an almost vinyl like flexibility. This is important for following curves or masking around corners. The same holds true for the adhesive.
Good tape uses a heavy even coat of adhesive that is designed to release from the surface without taking your paint with it. Masking tape is rated by its adhesive strength from 1- 100. Use something in the 50- range for most paint work. Too much adhesive strength will lift your painted edges and make them jagged.
Allow me to paint you a picture. You just masked off your case and sprayed a great coat of
cherry red in a flame pattern. You spent hours prepping the surface and planning the color
scheme. The paint was not cheap either, that cherry red set you back $20 including the white primer-sealer so it has real pop. Because you spent so much you just grabbed the 99 cent roll of tape on your way out of the store.
As you peel away your tape it pulls the paint off around some edges and has allowed paint to bleed into your base coat in other areas. The job must be done all over again…Think you saved money now? Is it worth $5 not to have to redo all that work? I tend to think it is.
If something is worth doing, it is worth doing right. Here is a quote from Scott Grundfor Co. that I think sums it up for you. “Years ago I had the misfortune of using some inexpensive tape. To make things worse, the tape stayed on the car for several weeks. I ended up removing it with lacquer thinner, steel wool, and a safety razor blade. The inferior tape adhesive stuck to the chrome, rubber, and glass and literally had to be scraped off. As I recall, this took me several days. Believe me, a roll of 3M tape is cheaper than several days of labor.”
Say 3M Is Civilization! Say It!
There are many brands of good masking tape. Your local auto body supply store will have
plenty to choose from. 3M’s brand of masking tapes are a good choice and are very easy to
find. If your local places don’t carry good tape try searching online for “auto body
painting supplies”.
3M makes rolls of blue masking tape that have good adhesion and very smooth edges. It is usually found under the name “painter’s tape”. It ranges in price from 4-10 dollars. The wider the tape the more expensive it will be. It is a good idea to equip yourself with some 3/4″, 1″, and 2″ wide rolls. Most hardware stores will stock this blue tape, but tend to overcharge as much as $2 a roll for it.
If you have an auto paint & supply store in your area check there before being gouged by the big home improvement stores. The blue tape is good for most things, but I still recommend having some plain yellow 3M tape as well. It is thinner and easier to work with in really tight places.
Good tape is the start to a quality job, but there are some other things you will need. X-acto knife with #11 and #16 blades used for trimming tape down and slicing excess off. Rubber Squeegee- Used to burnish the tape so it has good contact. Carbon paper or tracing paper used to transfer designs or images to the tape. 12″ or 6″ metal ruler used for cutting tape down to thinner widths. wooden toothpicks used to burnish tape down in tight areas and inside corners. The last thing is a clean flat area to work. Do not mask parts in the same place you just finished chopping out a blow hole with your Dremel.
Care and Feeding
Tape must be cared for if it is going to perform. The most common mistake I see is where the tape is stored. The sides of a roll of masking tape are sticky. If you lay the roll of tape down on a towel or a dirty table top all the crud will now have a new home on the edges of your tape.
When you pull off a piece and lay it down on your work the edge will be contaminated with lint, dirt and god knows what else. This will cause major flaws in the paint edge where the tape is peeled off. Thus a clean lint/dirt free table area must be used when masking.
The tape should be stored on a rod or wire hanger or a tape dispenser if you can afford it. The edges must be kept clean or the tape will be useless. A roll of tape should also never be left in direct sunlight for extended periods. The sun and heat will cause the adhesive to release and make the tape useless. Abuse your tape and it will abuse you.
Techniques vary from person to person. All I can really do here is give you some things to avoid and good habits to practice. First off always remember to burnish the tape down around its edges. This is especially important on very thin tape or pinstripe masking. Failure to do this will result in paint leaking under your tape an ruining your work. Use yellow 3M masking tape for pinstripes. The blue stuff is a bit to thick for super fine lines.
When masking a line that is very tight don’t use the outside/inside edge of the tape, it can be rregular and cause imperfections in the line you are trying to make. Instead cut the tape down with an X-acto knife, creating a razor sharp edge to mask with. I just tear off a piece and stick it on some clean plexi, then use my metal straight edge to shave off a few mm from one or both edges of the tape. If you have to mask some compound curves or flames, use tape that is about 1/8″ in width, if you can’t find tape this size cut some down like mentioned above. Thin tape will bend and flex into a curve easily.
A good habit is patience. When you are doing a multi-colored masking/paint job wait a day for dry time of each color. If you pull the tape off too soon the paint will not “cut” as you remove the tape (see the image below for a visual on “cutting” with tape). By pulling the tape off at a steep angle away from the paint it “cuts” the edge reducing the chances of leaving an irregualr painted line.
Mask and re-mask; on complex jobs you may have to remask the part many times as you complete layers of the design. Don’t be lazy and try to skip this, too many applications of paint on the tape will cause it to shrink and pull away just enough to allow bleeding, ruining your work. When in doubt remask the part. Try not to leave the tape on for extended periods of time, like say, a month.
The tape will break down over time and may leave its adhesive behind when you remove it. Even good tape can fail. Avoid leaving a masked part in direct sunlight, the sun can wreak havoc on some tape, causing it contract and expand as moisture evaporates from the paper. The adhesive can also melt and be forever stuck to your work. When removing the tape, if you get some small areas where the adhesive has stayed on your part, don’t try to rub it off or wash it off.
Instead use a new piece of tape rolled up and dab the sticky spot. This will almost always pull that leftover glue off. When taping a curve always cut about 3 times as much length as you will need. It is easier to work with and bends better if you have about 6-10 inches of tape to hold on to and maneuver. Avoid creases in the tape. Creases can lead to paint bleeding. Keep the tape as flat as possible. If you have to pull the tape off the work piece to many times it will stretch and you will not be able to make a straight line with it. Do the right thing and tear off a new piece to work with.
Like most things you have become good at, you will need to practice your masking skills. I suggest getting a scrap of plexi or masonite or even metal if you can find it and masking off something on it and paint it for practice. Learn from your mistakes on scrap not on the thing you want to make perfect.
Most of what I have learned in my life has been through trial and error, masking included. I have screwed up my share of stuff. Starting over is not fun, but you have to look at it as an opportunity to learn and grow. The great thing is you can always sand it and start over. This piece below is a good example. I have sanded the paint off of it 3 times. The great thing is that even though it looked ok painted It just was not right for the case and by re-doing it I found changes that will make the case 100 times better than the original plan. It is an opportunity to learn and educate yourself.