Talked to a painter in Nashville who changed how I look at masking tape

I was complaining about bleed-through on a two-tone job, and this old painter named Dave said he trashes 3M blue tape for anything over 24 hours. He told me to use the green stuff from Sherwin-Williams instead, and it cost me $4 more a roll but saved me an hour of cleanup. The way he explained it made me realize I've been cheaping out on materials without thinking about labor time. Has anyone else found a tape that actually holds up better on longer jobs?

2 comments

2 Comments

lee_butler20d ago

Funny you mention that. I started taping with Frog Tape after a drywall guy told me the same thing about labor costs eating up savings. The stuff costs more but I swear I spend zero time pressing edges down.

the_jessica20d ago

Bought a roll of Frog Tape last week for a baseboard job and it changed my whole vibe. I usually get paint bleed under the cheap blue tape and it drives me NUTS having to go back with a tiny brush to fix the line. The adhesive on Frog Tape is no joke though, I accidentally left a strip on overnight and it still peeled off clean without pulling up the paint underneath. My wife walked by and asked if I was actually enjoying painting for once. Now I'm that guy who buys the expensive tape and tells everyone they should too because nobody has TIME to fix sloppy edges.