How to Mask a Room Before Painting?
Any experienced painter knows that prep work is one of the hardest parts of the job. You don’t just whip out a brush or roller, dip that into a can and start painting. You’ll need to remove any existing layer of paint first. You must also cover parts of the room with painter’s tape. Here are tips on how to be efficient every time you prep a room for a job.
Pick the Right One
Before you start tearing off strips of masking plastic, make sure you invest in quality painting supplies. If the tape has poor adhesion, that’s inconvenient as you’ll need to fix the area again before you get started. Ensure that the work goes without a hitch by using painter’s tape with excellent adhesion.
Use Different Kinds
Painter tapes have different levels of adhesion, depending on the needs of your project. There are low adhesion tapes that are ideal for delicate surfaces like wallpaper or paint that come with a faux finish. Medium adhesion tapes work best for interior and exterior projects. It can stay in place for up to two weeks. And high adhesion tapes are the best if you’re dealing with rough, textured, and exterior surfaces. Do you need to secure drop cloths? Then these are the best tape to use. Given the strong adhesion, though, especially when you use excellent brands of tape, you’ll need to remove it within seven days. Otherwise, the adhesion might be too strong that it might damage the surface if you wait too long.
Consider the Width
It’s also smart to choose your tape carefully. Consider the width of the tape. Is it the right match for your project? The last thing you want is to have to keep putting paint in one place because the width is too thin. Ensure good coverage with tapes with a bigger width. That way, you won’t have to keep repeating your efforts in covering an area.
Clean the Site
Before you get started with masking the room, make sure you clean every inch of the area, from the windows and walls to the floor and ceiling. Paint has a tough time sticking to a dirty surface. You’ll want to clean up the area before you start putting tape on any of the surfaces. A damp rag is best in removing dust and debris.
Use a Putty Knife
Once you’ve put a tape in place, run a flexible putty knife along the entire length of the tape to squeeze out any air or get rid of any air pockets. That will improve adhesion, too. If you want stellar adhesion, then don’t skip this step. Using your hand instead of a putty knife doesn’t quite get the same results, too.
Allow Room for Error
If you are masking a room, are you painting the floor? If you are, then make sure you put a srip of wide painter’s tape along the trim. Painter’s tape combined with wide masking tape that’s about 6 inches should give you plenty of room for error.