When to remove Masking Tape

[Rick K]

Hi,

I've just painted the roof (Ivory satin finish with no anti slip) and now want to paint the handrails down onto the roof with an approx 3 ins wide strip onto the roof, this will be red. I will also have red circles around the base of the mushrooms.

It will be two weeks since the roof was done so that should be cured.

I will put masking tape on, sand the satin finish where I want to recover and put an undercoat followed by 2 coats of gloss.I have read that masking tape needs to be removed whilst the paint is fresh.

I am looking to do this over 3 days. I will be outside so looking for 3 good days together!

My question is, should I remove the masking tape after each coat, and then reapply. Or is it OK to leave until I finish the 3rd coat?

 

Thanks for any advice.

Rick K

[Burgiesburnin]

Yes, remove the masking tape and then reapply. The alternative is to break the seal of the paint against the tape with a very sharp blade.

[Higgs]

Hi,

I've just painted the roof (Ivory satin finish with no anti slip) and now want to paint the handrails down onto the roof with an approx 3 ins wide strip onto the roof, this will be red. I will also have red circles around the base of the mushrooms.

It will be two weeks since the roof was done so that should be cured.

I will put masking tape on, sand the satin finish where I want to recover and put an undercoat followed by 2 coats of gloss.I have read that masking tape needs to be removed whilst the paint is fresh.

I am looking to do this over 3 days. I will be outside so looking for 3 good days together!

My question is, should I remove the masking tape after each coat, and then reapply. Or is it OK to leave until I finish the 3rd coat?

 

Thanks for any advice.

Rick K

 

 

Ideally, all the glossed areas on the roof should be done first. The gloss is going to require a higher finish and this is made more difficult if working within the masking around the mushrooms and within the masking at the gutter boarders. The routine would be - the handrails and gutter; all the areas around the mushrooms; around the hatches; chimney collar. The last job on the roof would be the actual roof paint.

 

All the gloss areas, this way, can be freely painted without worrying about containment to width, etc. The masking up for the roof paint would take care of all of that.

 

Masking tape sould be removed for each change of paint type, ie, primer, undercoat, topcoat. What happens is that, for instance, a grey undercoat is applied, up to the edge of the tape. if you then paint a topcoat without removing the tape, then remove the tape, the grey edge of the undercoat will be noticable at the edge when tape is removed.

 

Good quality tape can be left on for weeks, cheap tape no more than a couple of days. Cheap tape usually doesn't give you the best clean edge either, and requires more pressure to obtain a reasonably clean edge.

 

Leave the tape on until the coat of paint applied has become touch dry. Too much skin and build up of paint can create tearing problems and may remove paint. Pull tape away from painted area, with the tape at about 45 degrees across itself, keeping the tape low and back on itself. I would not advise using blades. It would be better to have keyed the surface properly and not to allow a big build up of paint across the tape.

 

Wet weather is going to cause problems so, avoid paint and using tape if rain is expected, otherwise, keep your fingers crossed.

 

Keep sanding away from tape as you risk roughing up the edge of the tape and spoiling the clean edge. Use scotch pads and, the edge of tape can catch bits and a vacuum with a soft brush and also tak rags are useful to remove debris.

 

Where some bleeding has occured - the fresh exposed paint should be allow to cure further than touch dry. The reason is, the paint below the tape will not have cured as much and you should be able to recover the clean edge of the paint by lightly wiping the bleed with white spirits. You cannot do this if the exposed paint hasn't gone off enough. Don't hang around when you do this wipe.

 

Ps - Don't put tape onto paint that is too fresh. Too fresh and the tape can leave an impression.

Edited June 7, 2014 by Higgs

[bag 'o' bones]

A sign writer friend of mine reckons its best to remove the masking tape just before the paint completely sets as in just touch dry. Leave it any longer and you risk leaving behind an imbedded tape 'edge'. Also if the tape is removed before the paint has completely set, it lessens the stepped interface between the two colours.

 

Also use good quality 'clean edge' masking tape designed for the purpose rather than the general purpose stuff they sell in DIY stores. Cheap stuff is very 'paint creep' prone.

Not entirely convinced the strip will require an undercoat (not a professional opinion though). Even after two weeks the underlying paint will still be slightly soft. Flatting back to provide a key for two coats of gloss would be enough I would have thought.

Edited June 7, 2014 by bag 'o' bones

[Higgs]

A sign writer friend of mine reckons its best to remove the masking tape just before the paint completely sets as in just touch dry. Leave it any longer and you risk leaving behind an imbedded tape 'edge'. Also if the tape is removed before the paint has completely set, it lessens the stepped interface between the two colours.

 

Also use good quality 'clean edge' masking tape designed for the purpose rather than the general purpose stuff they sell in DIY stores. Cheap stuff is very 'paint creep' prone.

Not entirely convinced the strip will require an undercoat (not a professional opinion though). Even after two weeks the underlying paint will still be slightly soft. Flatting back to provide a key for two coats of gloss would be enough I would have thought.

 

 

I would agree. Keying up is sufficient and undercoat unnecessary.

[MtB]

I've learned it is best to remove masking tape within an hour or three of painting.

 

The longer it stay on, the more firmly it sticks so the risk of pulling off the background paint on removal rises according to how long you leave it.

 

Letting it get rained on also seems to make it stick like, well....

 

Take it off asap and re-mask for each coat.

 

 

MtB

[Rick K]

Thanks very much to everyone for your replies, some great advice there for a novice like me! Better not get masking tape from Poundland then! :-). Is there a particular make of masking tape that I should try to get?

I have bought some narrow tape for use on curves around the mushrooms, thought I would then put standard width tape around that to give me a bit more room for brush error.

 

Rick K

Suzie B

[Higgs]

I've learned it is best to remove masking tape within an hour or three of painting.

 

The longer it stay on, the more firmly it sticks so the risk of pulling off the background paint on removal rises according to how long you leave it.

 

Letting it get rained on also seems to make it stick like, well....

 

Take it off asap and re-mask for each coat.

 

 

MtB

 

 

It is sometimes not possible to remove tape immediately or very soon after painting. There will be occasions when two or three coats of paint are going on. As in, panels. In which case it pays not to apply paint in thick coats. Rely on build up of thin layers.

 

There shouldn't be a great risk of pulling the background paint off, if the keying and prep work has been done thoroughly and taping up up does not occur too soon on top of fresh paint.

Edited June 7, 2014 by Higgs

[Higgs]

Thanks very much to everyone for your replies, some great advice there for a novice like me! Better not get masking tape from Poundland then! :-). Is there a particular make of masking tape that I should try to get?

I have bought some narrow tape for use on curves around the mushrooms, thought I would then put standard width tape around that to give me a bit more room for brush error.

 

Rick K

Suzie B

 

 

3M's. medium tack, or similar. If you buy vinyl tape, be aware that the manufacturers may apply the adhesive in tiny, close together bands. This will allow bleeding and the tape should not be removed too soon. The bleed is easy to remove as the vinyl will not allow the paint underneath it to cure. It can easilly be wiped off with damp rag, with white spirits on. In this case, exposed paint will need to be dryer than touch dry.

[Higgs]

There are some types of painting that one can comfortably remove tape very quickly. Roof and floor paint; the thicker primer and undercoat paints; Removing tape quickly when it is possible, will leave a softer edge to the finish. If you are sure of your work and the likelyhood of bleed is minimised, go ahead and remove tape at the earliest opportunity. There is only one proviso; if the paint is still tacky and you haven't removed all the dust from tape surface, by tak ragging, you will sprinkle that dust onto your freshly painted glossing.

[Phil Ambrose]

Oh and just to remind you that red paint fades very quickly, its the worst pigment for fading. (dont ask me how I know)

Phil

[Rick K]

Oh and just to remind you that red paint fades very quickly, its the worst pigment for fading. (dont ask me how I know)

Phil

Thanks Phil, I remember a red Volvo I had that was more like a pink one when I sold it!

 

I'm only using red because I'm not fully repainting at this time and am matching up with what is on the sides up to the handrail. I'm not expecting it to be a perfect match although the red on the side up to the handrails doesn't seem to have faded too much.

 

Rick

Suzie B

[ditchcrawler]

Yes, remove the masking tape and then reapply. The alternative is to break the seal of the paint against the tape with a very sharp blade.

And risk cutting into the paint and letting the rust in.

[Rick K]

Thanks for all the advice. Got the job done over the weekend and very pleased with the results - gives me more confidence to do further work.

Cheers

Rick

Suzie B

[Burgiesburnin]

And risk cutting into the paint and letting the rust in.

And risk cutting into the paint and letting the rust in.

 

Yes, always better to remove fairly soon and reapply

[talisman]

Never had a problem with leaving tape on ? Use low tack tape ,you can leave it for a week or more. I agree with Higgs.