Choosing a tape to help protect your surfaces and ensure clean lines when painting should be an easy task, right? But actually when you’re seeking professional quality results, it’s a choice that shouldn’t be made lightly.

There are indoor and outdoor applications to consider, as well as regular and irregular surfaces and even the seasons need to be taken into account. Each one of these considerations need a different type of tape to be completely successful and achieve the cleanest possible job.

 

For Indoor Application

When painting indoors on regular surfaces, with a warm to moderate temperature, you can choose a general masking tape. Your average general masking tape is a blend of flexibility and performance with good price. The only consideration here is to ensure that the tape you choose resists the paint type you are working with, and to take care when applying it to the surface you need to protect.

For Outdoor Painting

 

When painting outdoors there are a variety of other conditions that need to be taken into account. There’s the rain, UV from the sun and high/low temperatures which all need to be considered. Many masking tape will lose their adhesive properties when exposed to these conditions and result in the paint bleeding through to the edges.

 

For Curved Surfaces

When painting it’s sometimes necessary to protect a curved or narrow surface. Painters often find that many masking tapes will break in their attempts to stretch them to follow the curve. In this situation you need a tape that’s specifically designed to be stretched and elongated.

For High Temperature

When painting in hotter climates, like during Summer or in an industrial environment, it’s necessary to use a tape that can resist heat exposure for long enough to complete the job.

For Delicate Surfaces

Painting delicate surfaces requires a low tack masking tape to avoid causing damage to the surface itself. Tack refers to the speed at which an adhesive can quickly adhere to a surface. In order to avoid damage to pre-painted surfaces a low tack, or restrained tack masking tape can avoid damaging the finish when removed.