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Please help me with this domestic dispute.

 

 When you are preparing for painting, do you use masking tape to block out the area you are not painting -- like the edge of the cornice, the skirting boards and the window frame.

 

OR do you just paint with great skill and done need to do any of that rubbish.

 

Me, knowing I don't have great skill, masks the whole area with masking tape - someone else in this household obviously has great skill that I do not possess. that person is not the one doing the painting.

 

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I never tape.  I despise painting tape.  ? Here's why:  even if you tape very carefully, you can make a small mistake in taping and the paint will seep underneath and you'll never know it until it's too late.  If you're painting and make a small mistake, you can quickly wipe it away. However, I have done massive amounts of painting; probably at least 30 houses. I paint very carefully and use a really good brush. Mine looks professional, if I do say so myself. ? 

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I would tape for myself, but DH actually CAN cut in without using tape. He's proved his skill multiple times. His dad is the same way.

But if there is a person who THINKS they have the skill but doesn't possess it, that would be very frustrating...

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18 minutes ago, mom@shiloh said:

I never tape.  I despise painting tape.  ? Here's why:  even if you tape very carefully, you can make a small mistake in taping and the paint will seep underneath and you'll never know it until it's too late.  If you're painting and make a small mistake, you can quickly wipe it away. However, I have done massive amounts of painting; probably at least 30 houses. I paint very carefully and use a really good brush. Mine looks professional, if I do say so myself. ? 

Yes, a good brush is essential!

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I no longer tape. I am the family painter and have painted way more than my fair share. When I was a young painter, I taped everything with painters' tape. It was a PITA, but I thought it necessary. There were still imperfections. Nothing is worse than pulling tape away and part of your paint! Ugh. It's so much harder to touch that up and even if you buy the good tape and are very careful it will sometimes happen. Tape won't save your ceiling either. I think I do a better job without tape. I use a good brush, a steady hand, and a wet wipe for accidents and it looks better or just as good as with the tape in half the time.

HOWEVER- if you don't have the experience, definitely tape. If my kids are going to help with any of the cutting in or woodwork, I'll tape for them. 

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Dh and I have different approaches- he likes to tape, I like to use a cut in brush. In the end both of us do excellent work so we have agreed that whoever is doing the painting gets to choose the method.  If we do it together one does trim and the other walls so our methods don’t collide. 

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Yes- please, please, please remove outlet covers. The previous owners of our house did not and I've had a terrible time trying to pry them off the walls as they were sealed in. And then I have to replace them all because they spattered paint all over and I can't get it off. It wasn't too noticeable when the spatter was the same color as the walls but now it sticks out. And check your floor for splatter. Every time I mop, I get more splatters off that the previous owners left on the hard wood. It's tiny dots here and there, but it would have come up easily if they'd just mopped the floor a day or so after painting. Now I ruin my fingernails every time.

The only thing I was too lazy to do was removing the door frame to cut into a tight corner. I don't have the skills for that and DH wouldn't do it. 

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I would tape using frog tape like Patty Joanna does it especially if the trim contrasts with walls.

We just installed new baseboards and door trim this year. We bought it primed, then painted the fronts, cut it and nailed it in, patched the nail holes, caulked between the trim and wall, primed the area that meets the wall, then finally painted all trim again. In some areas I taped and others not. It’s an involved process but I like sealing everything together. Looks great and SO happy it’s finally done.

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We tape. But we don't use masking tape. We use Frog tape - it helps seal those areas you don't want paint but still comes off smoothly. We've tried off-brand Frog tape, but we go back to Frog tape. It is more money but we've found it works better for us. 

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I personally choose to mostly not tape. I do remove light switch and outlet plate covers, and then put tape over the outlets - I've swiped an outlet with the roller before, and it was a beast to clean, plus I had to flip the power so I wasn't scared of wiping it. 

However, I think whoever is DOING the work of painting should be free to choose HOW to do the work.

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I tried Frog tape when we painted our bedroom a couple of months ago. I don't really know what my expectations were, but as far as I could tell it worked exactly as well as the regular blue painter's tape by Scotch or Duck. I can't say we've ever encountered any issues with those, though, so I really don't know how Frog tape could have been better.

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I tape and so does DH.  It is a lot of work, but I have found every time I think I can get by without it I mess up.  However, right now I am painting our carport and I am not bothering.  I am using thin cardboard to use as a guide in certain places, but since I don't care as much about the little imperfections, I am not bothering to tape.

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I do tape baseboards, but only to catch drips not because I can't cut in cleanly. I use a special angled brush with a short rubber handle for cutting, and I've done enough painting that I can draw a straight line with that brush just as well as I could with a pencil. I always remove outlet and switch covers. If I were painting a large area and wanted help from the kids (or anyone else who was not very experienced) I would insist they tape. But frankly it's quicker and easier for me to skip the taping and just do the painting myself.

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Having once been the person who told others (read: DH) how to do things, I've realized that if I want something done a specific way, I need to do it myself. And if someone else is doing the work, then I need to back off and let them do the work, however they want.

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27 minutes ago, JIN MOUSA said:

Having once been the person who told others (read: DH) how to do things, I've realized that if I want something done a specific way, I need to do it myself. And if someone else is doing the work, then I need to back off and let them do the work, however they want.

I learned this lesson myself soon after I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis.  If I couldn't do the dishes or clean or whatever and dh had to do it, then he got to do it his way.

I had to tell myself over and over: There is more than one right way.  There is more than one right way.

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15 hours ago, Annie G said:

Do people really not remove outlet and switch covers? That’s nuts. It takes like 20 seconds. 

 

Some people like their outlet and switch plates to match the wall color.  There are several ways this can be done, the least expensive way is to paint over the exisiting plates.   The thing is, the plates are supposed to be removed from the wall, primed, painted, and reinstalled when dry.  This allows for easy removal in the future.

Apparently previous owners of our house liked this look but took the lazy route to achieving it.  They not only painted the plates, they also painted the outlets, switches, baseboards and everything else attached to the walls.  We not only had to replace the plates, but also most of the switches and outlets. 

In answer to the original question, I taped the floor but did not tape anything else.

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42 minutes ago, Sherry in OH said:

 

Some people like their outlet and switch plates to match the wall color.  There are several ways this can be done, the least expensive way is to paint over the exisiting plates.   The thing is, the plates are supposed to be removed from the wall, primed, painted, and reinstalled when dry.  This allows for easy removal in the future.

Apparently previous owners of our house liked this look but took the lazy route to achieving it.  They not only painted the plates, they also painted the outlets, switches, baseboards and everything else attached to the walls.  We not only had to replace the plates, but also most of the switches and outlets. 

In answer to the original question, I taped the floor but did not tape anything else.

Don’t think I’ve ever seen them painted. Or wait....maybe that’s the point. When painted wall color you don’t notice them. 

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Some people are just terrible painters and try and fail to paint around the outlet covers and then don't wipe up their messes. In every room of the house. Some people also fail to paint or tape their baseboards when painting the wall and subsequently leave paint dots all over them. 

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