Today I’m sharing with you the best masking tape for painting – use this tape with watercolors, acrylics or on a house painting project and always get the best results! The right tape helps you get crisp lines, clean borders and it peels off without surface damage.
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Every artist is different, and every sketchbook is different right? Below are a few of the best masking tape for painting that I have reordered multiple times because they work the best for my needs.
best masking tape for Painting
The ABSOLUTE best masking tape for painting I have used is the Mr. Pen Masking Tape Roll. It comes as a pack of three tapes, and measures 0.6 inches wide. It is easy to tear and remove and best of all is tacky and not too sticky at all. This means that it adheres to the paper just enough to stay there till we paint and is easy removable afterwards.
I have used this tape multiple times in my Strathmore Mixed Media Sketchbook and I love how clean the page borders turned out!
Now if you want to create thinner white stripes to add journaling, I like to use this Dalus Washi Tape that comes in a rainbow of colors. This tape is approximately 0.3 inches wide, and again leaves no residue on the paper. It peels of super easily making it another best masking tape for painting! Here I created a stripe of straight lines that came out so beautiful!
In my Tape Resist Painting Tutorial, I used this even thinner VIVIQUEN Washi Tape that measures just 0.12 inches wide. This tape creates the thinnest white stripes and is SO much fun to peel to reveal the beautiful crisp lines! This thin tape is especially useful to great geometric patterns.
Tips for Preventing Surface damage:
More than anything else, peeling the tape off with a clean removal and straight line gives great satisfaction! But using the wrong paper/tape combo can yield frustrating results. Here are a few tips to keep in mind for best results.
- The masking tape you use needs to have low tack. What that means is that it should adhere to the paper enough for us to paint over it, but should be easily removable. It should definitely not leave a sticky residue on the surface.
- While peeling your Masking Tape off the page, you want to fold back the tape and pull it at a 45 degree angle.
- I always get the best results when I peel off the Masking Tape before the paint dries 100% completely. Don’t peel on fresh paint, but dont wait for the paint to dry completely either. Somewhere in between is the right time. Whenever I have let the paint dry overnight, I have had problems peeling the tape off. You want to really peel the tape off when the paint is almost dry and just a touch damp to the touch still. If the paint dries thoroughly, chances are the paint will cake onto the tape and a chunk of the dried paint will pop off upon peeling.
- If you are unsure how sticky your masking tape is- here is an easy hack. Place the entire strip of masking tape you have torn onto the leg of your jeans and lift it off. This will remove some of the stickiness and help peel off easily. Make sure to keep the edges of the tape straight and not bend the tape.
- Always peel your tape super slow. Even if you accidentally rip a portion of the paper, don’t lose your cool, continue slowly and it might not turn out as bad as you think!
- If you find that the Masking tape is tearing the paper while you are peeling it, bring a heat gun or a hair dryer to the tape. Heat the tape a little and then gently peel. The heat will melt the adhesive a bit and will peel off easier.
When it comes to painting the walls in your home, I have used many masking products over the years. This blue painter’s tape, green frog tape or the wider white masking tape. For ceilings or homes with older plaster, this delicate surfaces tape is made for the paint job. These are products I’ve seen professionals use and give results.
Best masking tape for painting
Masking tapes have so many great uses. I love using it to create neat white page borders and to protect the blank pages beneath in my sketchbooks or to create neat white lines to add journaling. While painting walls, these tapes give results and ease of use. Finding the best masking tape for painting will require a bit of trial and error depending on what is available near you and I hope today’s post helped you a bit. But when you find the right tape for your project that guarantees clean edges, the satisfaction is the best. Happy Painting!
Hi I’m Smitha! I live in Minnesota with my husband and two daughters. You’ll always find me painting florals in my sketchbook. And I love the sheer joy of making something with just my hands! But my bigger love is capturing it all on camera Read more.
Thanks for stopping by today! If you learnt something from this tutorial, do share this post with a friend or on social media! Tag me @smithakatti #smithakatti I’d love to see what you create!
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