Hot take: Painters tape is a waste on textured walls

Spent 3 hours taping my living room baseboards and corners in my 1970s house, only to have paint bleed under every edge because the texture left gaps. Next time I'm just using a good angled brush and taking it slow - tape cost me $12 and all that patience for nothing. Has anyone found a brand that actually seals to rough drywall?

3 comments

3 Comments

vera_lewis227d ago

FrogTape's the only one that worked for me lol. The yellow kind with the special edge. You gotta really press it into the texture with a putty knife or your fingernail, not just stick it on. I did a whole ceiling line in my bathroom with that stuff and zero bleed compared to the blue tape that left me crying over the baseboards lol. The key is to rub it down hard after you put it up, like really work it into every bump. Sharp angled brush is great too but my hands shake too bad for that method lmao.

sage30827d agoRising Star

I noticed something about the yellow FrogTape that most people miss. That special edge works great on flat walls but it actually does something different on popcorn ceilings. @vera_lewis2 is right about pressing it in but the trick is to burnish it with something warm first. A dry towel on high heat for a minute then press it down hard. The heat makes the adhesive flow into the texture better than cold pressing ever will. Its the same principle behind how they apply vinyl wraps on cars.

blair_taylor3227d ago

Right, because who doesn't want to add a hot towel pressing step to their painting routine? Pretty soon we'll need a heat gun and a spray bottle for a simple ceiling line.