Whether you’re a novice painter or a moderately skilled one, there’s always one problem that comes up after all teh work is done; removing the tape. If you’re painting a room and would like to save yourself the trouble of painting the trim and ceiling, you’ll want to use painter’s tape. This tape is simply masking tape used to cover the trim around the floor, ceiling, windows, and doorways. It usually comes in blue from brands such as Scotch and Duck. The tape costs around three or four dollars for a sixty yard single width roll. What makes this tape different from standard masking tape is that paint wont bleed through and it’s supposed to be easier to remove,
Once the painting is finished and the paint is completely dry, it’s time to remove the tape. Normally it’s recommended that you wait around fourteen days for the paint to be completely settled before removal, but this technique will fix the wait. The problem is, the tape is easily removed, but so is the fresh paint! If you decide to just go ahead and start pulling on the tape you will most likely end up with paintless spots. THe good thing is, there’s a very easy way to quickly remove this tape without messing up your paint job.
Whenever the paint gets heated it will dry as well as soften, which might sound a little awkward. The liquid content of the paint will evaporate while the plastics and other ingredients in the paint will soften. Too much heat on the other hand will cause the paint to bubble, but it really takes a lot to do that. By drying and softening the paint, you allow it to bind better with the material it’s covering while also letting it tear easier. Heat will also soften the adhesive on the tape. So, to avoid added touch ups, simply take your hair dryer or heat gun (be very careful with the heat gun or else you will end up with bubbles if the paint gets too hot). Run the dryer or heat gun along the edge of the tape and paint slowly, being careful not to hold the heat to close or in one spot too long. Smoothly pull the tape off and be amazed at the line left without a mess and more work!
