[Leah Frances]

You are going to hear it from the pros. But I'm just a newbie HOer and it is a waste of time to tape. A huge waste of time. Get a really good sash brush. Work on a full stomach. Take a deep breath and practice. It really is much faster and SO MUCH OF A LESS HASSLE.

The first time you tape off a whole room and go to peel of the tape and the paint comes with it, you will thank me. :thumbsup: you can do it.

 

[jschaben]

Guys -

I need to paint (by brush) some wood wainscoting with Sherwin-Williams Pro-Classic acrylic latex in semi-gloss white. Afterwards, I need to tape off the top railing/edge to then paint the walls. Tape would be the Scotch 3M light blue tape or the yellow Frog tape. Both are supposed to be good for delicate surfaces.

How long does the paint need to dry before I can tape it off?

Instructions on the paint bucket says it dries to the touch in 1 hour and can be repainted in 4 hours but I previously had a painter do some work in my home and he claimed that the paint needed to dry for ~ 3 days before he'd put tape on it. (Note: he was using the tan/creme colored Sherwin-Williams masking tape, VERY sticky stuff, not the light blue colored Scotch3M tape for delicate surfaces.)

Thoughts?

Hi - I just painted some panelled kitchen doors with ProCoat. The panels and frames were different colors so they got taped off between paint jobs. I used the green Frog tape and allowed at least 24 hours cure before taping and didn't have any issues. I did score the paint line with an Xacto knife before removing the tape just to keep from tearing the paint film. I don't know if it would have been a problem, just did it as a precaution because I noticed ProCoat forms a very tough, elastic film.:thumbsup:

 

[chrisn]

You are going to hear it from the pros. But I'm just a newbie HOer and it is a waste of time to tape. A huge waste of time. Get a really good sash brush. Work on a full stomach. Take a deep breath and practice. It really is much faster and SO MUCH OF A LESS HASSLE.

The first time you tape off a whole room and go to peel of the tape and the paint comes with it, you will thank me. :thumbsup: you can do it.

I tend to agree, paint the walls first and then cut in the trim. Now ,most do it just the opposite but this is how I was taught many, many moons ago and I still do it that way. In fact ,I just did my first job after a year and was very pleased that I can still cut a straight line:laughing:

 

[ltd]

ok remember to caulk in any gaps, now when you paint wainscoting feather a small of paint on wall about less than 1/4 inch don't build up a ridge just feather . i would use frog tape ribbit ribbit :huh:and let it dry over night press your tape with your your finger tips ,make good contact but you dont have o go crazy have a damp rag ready for any spatters on wainscoting

 

[jsheridan]

Painting order of operations: Top Down, Inside Out. Paint the walls first, overlapping onto the top sill of wainscotting. Then cut the top of sill to the wall. I'm generally not a fan of using tape, as I never do and discourage DIY's from the habit. It's time consuming and fraught with possibilites. Cutting a straight line is not that difficult. I have an online tutorial that seems to have been helpful to some,
Painting Without Using Painter’s Tape. Whether you tape or not, be mindful that a line on chair rail is viewed two dimensionally, it is viewed from its level, as when sitting in a chair, and from the top and side when standing. Good Luck.
Joe

 

[Twister]

Leah / jschaben / chrisn / ltd / jsheridan -

Thank you very much for your replies. I don't mean to offend anyone but I'm going to give taping a try. I actually think I can do a decent job cutting in by hand (quite frankly, at least as good a job as the last painter I hired) but I really want to try taping because...

A) I tested some green Frog tape on a 2' x 2' piece of primed sheetrock and I was absolutely blown away by how sharp and crisp the line was even after 2 coats and pulling the tape ~ 4 hours after the 2nd coat and.....

B) I want to prove I can do a better job than the last painter I hired. I hired him with the agreement that he would tape. He said he normally cut in by hand but he agreed to tape because I asked him. Then when he got in my home he got offended I wanted him to tape and said "I'm a professional. Trust me." I did and....it didn't turn out near as well as the Frog tape that I tested. He 'only' charged me $500 a day PLUS his hotel (he was from out of town). What a croc. So, I'm kind of in a @#!*^$!! mood to show I can do it better than him. I pay a lot of attention to detail and quite frankly I know I can do it better.

I've had a horrible experience with tape once before but I was also using a crummy Wal-Mart paint. I pulled the tape and the paint just tore. I also think I loaded the paint waaaaay too heavy on the tape edge (used those cheap foam throw-away brushes). I'll never make those two mistakes again.

I'll take a look at jsheridan's tutorial in case I end up eating humble pie...

Thanks, guys!

 

[Twister]

Painting order of operations: Top Down, Inside Out. Paint the walls first, overlapping onto the top sill of wainscotting. Then cut the top of sill to the wall. I'm generally not a fan of using tape, as I never do and discourage DIY's from the habit. It's time consuming and fraught with possibilites. Cutting a straight line is not that difficult. I have an online tutorial that seems to have been helpful to some,
Painting Without Using Painter’s Tape. Whether you tape or not, be mindful that a line on chair rail is viewed two dimensionally, it is viewed from its level, as when sitting in a chair, and from the top and side when standing. Good Luck.
Joe

Joe -

WOW!!! :thumbsup: I went to your website and you are truly a master! I'll say it right now: if I'd had cut lines from the last painter I hired that would've turned out as straight as yours I would have been thrilled! I'm still going to try the tape but if it doesn't work, I'll try your techniques.

Question: what is the purpose in painting beyond the future cut line when applying the opposing color of paint, for example, painting the door jamb color not only on the door jamb but also a half inch or so out onto the wall?

I truly appreciate learning from someone whose goal is simply to help someone else, to educate them in how to do a job RIGHT, and not to somehow take advantage of them. I've been remodeling my home for almost 5 years and I cannot tell you how many selfish sharks I've come across in the remodeling business in my town.

 

[chrisn]

Painting order of operations: Top Down, Inside Out. Paint the walls first, overlapping onto the top sill of wainscotting. Then cut the top of sill to the wall. I'm generally not a fan of using tape, as I never do and discourage DIY's from the habit. It's time consuming and fraught with possibilites. Cutting a straight line is not that difficult. I have an online tutorial that seems to have been helpful to some,
Painting Without Using Painter’s Tape. Whether you tape or not, be mindful that a line on chair rail is viewed two dimensionally, it is viewed from its level, as when sitting in a chair, and from the top and side when standing. Good Luck.
Joe

A man after my own heart, we are in the minority here, I think, but it works:thumbsup:

 

[chrisn]

twist, when you are ready to remove the tape, take a razor knife and run it along the edge and then you will never have the paint pull off the wall:no:

 

[Leah Frances]

OP - one of the purposes of overlapping is so that you are not trying to 'meet' two different edges. Because the first paint goes completely under all you have to worry about is the second paint.

Also, paint starts getting some dimensionality and you don't want the 'ridge' to interfere with finishing your trim.

The cleaner/sharper/well caulked each transition is, the easier it is to do. I have plaster and some of my crown-molding to ceiling junctions are not as straight as they appear to be. Working by hand allowed me to 'cheat' the 'line' here and there so that it LOOKS right, even if it isn't .


BTW- this goes for tape too. It is pretty easy to do a GREAT job with tape on your flat test sheet. It's another thing in the real world. If I had taped my crown molding I would have ended up with a wavy line.