7 ways to use tape when painting

What are 7 ways to use tape when painting? When you’re gathering everything you need for painting, tape is just as important as a paintbrush or roller. Without some tape on hand, painting can be a messy business!

Painter's tape is less sticky than masking tape and is therefore better to use when painting as it is easier to remove without causing any damage.

Here are seven ways to use tape when painting:

1. Wooden door frames and window panes

Painting or staining wooden door frames and window panes will protect the wood from sunlight, moisture, insects, and woodworms. The tricky part is not getting paint or stain on the glass when painting the frames. After all, you still want to be able to see through the glass. Place the tape on the inside edge of the frame and you won’t have to worry about painting over the tape – just peel it off after painting or staining.

2. Vertical lines

A striped paint technique is a showstopper! It’s a fun way to make any wall in your home pop. There are so many ways to do this technique, so you can let your creativity run wild. Play around with different color schemes, like a monochromatic affair with variations of the same tone, perhaps with shades (mixing colors with black) or tone (mixing colors with white). Find a color combination that works for you.

Whatever you decide, make sure to use tape to keep your stripes separate. It’s important to measure and place the tape correctly, and to rub the tape with something like a bank card to make sure no paint seeps under the tape during the painting process.

3. Avoid ceilings

One of the biggest misfortunes of painting a wall is inadvertently painting the ceiling at the same time. There’s always a tight space between the wall and the ceiling, so it’s best to use tape to keep paint smears off the ceiling. Any paint you want on the ceiling should be applied and dried before you paint the wall, and then you simply place the tape carefully around the top perimeter of the wall. Another tip for ensuring a smooth paint job is to swap your paint roller for a painter’s brush for the first five inches of the wall – and do this before you paint the rest of the wall.

4. Protection of light switches and plug points

Tape is particularly useful for protecting light switches and plug points from being painted over. Ideally, light switch and plug point covers should be removed before painting begins. If this is not possible, using tape around the covers is essential to avoid a messy paint job.

Using a thinner paintbrush around small objects that cannot be removed from the wall will also help keep things organized. You can look at our topic on how to make glitter paint and come up with different ideas. Don't forget to turn off the electricity in the room while painting. If you are going to hire painters for the job, it is important to ask how they will protect your property.

5. Squares, shapes and other objects

When it comes to painting walls, the only limit to what you can design is your imagination. Painter's tape is your creative friend. It will help you paint and integrate clever squares, stylish shapes, and organized objects. Take some time to browse Pinterest or browse the internet for some ideas, and you'll find hundreds of inspiring images to replicate on your own walls.

Why not try some of these options:

• Eclectic motifs
• Checkerboard concepts
• Diamond diagonals
• Geometric arrangements
• Typographic features
• Stripe patterns
• Color blocking
• Abstract angles

6. Clean the edges and corners

One of the challenges you will face when painting walls is keeping all the edges and corners clean. Before you grab your brush or roller, take a damp cloth and wipe down all the edges, corners, door frames, window sills, skirting boards and cornices in the room.

This will help the tape stick to the surfaces. Tape all decorations slowly, carefully and as straight as possible – this will eliminate the risk of paint seeping under the tape and wavy lines around edges and corners.

7. Horizontal lines

When painting horizontal stripes in a room, first choose your paint colors – whichever will be your base color. Paint the entire room with this base color, then paint the stripes on top. Of course, let the base coat dry. This gives you a little time to do some math. You will need to decide how many stripes you want, and then you can calculate the exact measurements for each stripe. It is best to exclude the baseboards from the calculation.

Make small marks on each end of the wall where the stripes should be, and then carefully place painter's tape horizontally across the wall. There should be tape above and below each stripe to make sure each stripe is exactly the same. A handy tip is to do another close-up of your base color on the inside borders of the stripes to fill in any small gaps in the texture where the tape won't stick. Let it dry, and then start painting your perfectly straight lines.

So there are lots of fun and useful ways to use tape when painting. Just remember to peel it off as soon as the last coat of paint is dry, and do it as carefully as possible.